Ever since making fresh pasta over the summer, I’ve been thinking about when I was going to buy a pasta roller and get making some fresh pasta.

Lo and behold, I didn’t have to. When a friend was cleaning out her house, she found an old one that nobody used, but was in perfect condition. And so, I was gifted with a pasta roller. That was soon followed by a pasta drying rack and a ravioli tray (for my birthday).

I waited until I had some time, and decided to try out another magazine clipping recipe, because those clippings were the reason behind starting this blog in the first place.

I love ravioli, but I’m always disappointed by the tiny portions you get in restaurants. Even the recommended portion size on fresh ravioli from the supermarket seems ridiculously small. I do realise that over time we have become used to ginormous sized portions of pasta, when in reality (in Italy) pasta was a course before the meat, and so therefore would never have been a huge portion.

Either way, I felt happy that I could make my own ravioli and choose how much I got to eat, without being limited by restaurant sizes or packaged versions.

I love the ravioli tray. It’s so easy to use, and makes life a lot less messy when it comes to adding the filling. Just make sure you sprinkle the tray with flour first, so that they pasta doesn’t stick to the tray. Of course, you can just as easily make ravioli with no tray, simply spoon the mixture onto one pasta sheet, with plenty of space in between, then use a pastry knife to cut squares or circles of ravioli.

Ingredients

fresh pasta dough
butter
2 bunches of spinach, washed and de-stemmed (save the stems for veggie stock)
3 eggs
150 g soft goat’s cheese
40 g fresh grated parmesan

1. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, add the spinach and cook until just wilted. Set aside, and allow to cool. Once cool, wrap in a paper towel (or tea towel) and squeeze out excess water. Chop finely.
2. In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs, then add the goat’s cheese and combine well. Add the spinach, and the parmesan, and mix again. Set aside.
3. Roll out a portion of pasta dough from the highest setting, to the thinnest. Cut the pasta sheet in half.
4. Lay one half of the pasta dough on a well-floured ravioli tray.
5. Beat 1 egg in a bow with a tablespoon of water, then brush the egg wash over the up-facing side of the pasta sheet on the ravioli tray.
6. Carefully spoon the spinach filling into the wells of the tray, be sure not to overfill the pasta.
7. Gently lay the other half of the pasta sheet over the top, and use a rolling pin to seal the two pasta sheets together.
8. Peel the ravioli out of the pasta tray.
9. Place a pan of water on to boil. As soon as the water is boiling, place the ravioli in the pan and cook for 4 minutes.
10. Serve with your choice of pasta sauce or simply olive oil and some grated parmesan.