homemade ravioli- too ambitious for this amateur?
I offered to cook my husband dinner for his birthday in a couple of weeks- he said homemade ravioli would be awesome.
Ummm... I'm a very amateur cook! I would love to try it- but am wondering if this is a bit too ambitious for a first pasta-making project. Could it possibly turn out good first try, or is this one of those things that takes some practice? I don't want to make him choke down his birthday dinner. Also, I have no 'equipment'- no pasta roller, or that cool ravioli rolling pin that stamps them out. Are they necessary? Would it make the process that much easier, or can I just roll out dough with a regular rolling pin and cut it? Is this the kind of thing I can make ahead of time, and freeze, or is it better fresh-made? I would love to do this for him, but the stream of curse words I am anticipating trying this might make him feel bad about even asking for it! Thanks for your help!
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17 Comments:
try using won ton wrappers
SSMom at 10:30AM on 03/12/09
interesting... same taste/texture as the noodle? Or is the taste really dependent on the filling?
FoodStuffs at 10:31AM on 03/12/09
buy some fresh pasta sheets, 2 layers, lay one layer down. dot your filling on the bottom layer.... you can figure out how big you want them....
place the top layer of pasta over the bottom. and press down in between fillings. then take a knife or dough wheel and cut out your ravs.... press each one to make sure they're sealed. you may need water or eggwash on the bottom dough to make sure the top layer sticks.
anyway, i haven't tried this myself, but have seen it done.
i say, nothing ventured - nothing gained. good luck.
i've also seen won ton wrappers used, but those are chinese and not italian....
pooch at 11:15AM on 03/12/09
I used to make pierogies with my mom when I was six yrs old and the processes are the same, just different fillings. It's an easy concept, but it can be time consuming with rolling the dough out. Here's a recipe from epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cheese-Ravioli-with-Fresh-Tomato-Sauce-239029 for basic cheese ravioli.
pgbakes at 12:00PM on 03/12/09
Or if you are too apprehensive, you could always cheat by going to a local Italian grocery and buying their "homemade" ravioli. Unfortunately they are hard to find in my area, but up in the NE there are tons of little shops which make their own, some with really cool fillings. It will be our little secret...
juliebugsmama at 12:04PM on 03/12/09
I've done it many, many times with the fresh pasta sheets, and used a pizza cutter to cut them. Unfortunately, I now live 200 miles away from the closest shop that sells them, in St. Louis. Anybody have any ideas on how/where/what I could use in place of it? I'm curious, too, on how won-ton wrappers affect the taste. Has anyone tried them for ravs?
Karencooks at 1:11PM on 03/12/09
Jesus Christ, people. Making pasta isn't difficult. Stop trying to scare this poor person by suggesting crap like won ton wrappers or processed pasta sheets.
French Laundry at Home at 4:50PM on 03/12/09
the thickness of the ravioli is rather important....filling is an easy kinda cant go wrong decision but the first time i made ravioli it was gross cause the skin was so thick like dumplings, so make sure the skin is paper thin i;d say
icelandadam at 5:13PM on 03/12/09
@French Laundry at Home, any suggestions on how to get the pasta thin enough without a pasta roller?
Embackus at 5:57PM on 03/12/09
@French Laundry at Home any suggestions at all? Anything positive to add to the discussion, or just "crap"?
SSMom at 5:59PM on 03/12/09
Thanks SSMom, that's what I really wanted to say.
Embackus at 6:06PM on 03/12/09
does anyone agree the thickness of the ravioli is important?
icelandadam at 7:17PM on 03/12/09
@icelandadam, the thickness of the pasta needs to be considered, but I'd say that "paper thin" is way too thin. I has to be able to stand up to the cooking process.
@foodstuffs, you can certainly roll the dough with a rolling pin, fold cut and crimp using tools you already have. A fork is a fine crimping tool. Or your fingers. There's a Good Eats episode that went into great detail about making it without any special tools.
As far a dough thickness, it will get a little thicker as it cooks, so keep that in mind. You want to roll it thinner than you want it to be after it's cooked, but thick enough so that it won't tear when it's cooking.
You want the dough snug around the filling, with no air bubbles that will expand and could cause the ravioli to burst.
If you happen to make the ravioli dough too thin to withstand boiling, you can cook it gently in shallow water, like in a covered frying pan. Don't ask how I know this.
Yes, you can make it ahead and freeze it.
Or if filled pasta is still a little scary, do a search for gnudi (pronounced like nudie). But make your own pasta. That might be a good first step.
dbcurrie at 8:33PM on 03/12/09
Shanghai wonton are, essentially, ravioli. They're fine for making homemade ravioli for folks who've not invested in a pasta roller.
However, it's easy and rewarding to make pasta dough in the food processor and then knead it a bit, and roll it out using a pasta machine (hand-cranked, of course). Sure, it takes a bit of practice to get the dough to the correct consistency, but from there on in it's very fast and very, very rewarding.
shaogo at 11:36PM on 03/12/09
i love this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkoSY50FUBM
cybercita at 12:30AM on 03/13/09
Thanks, everyone- there is a lot of good helpful info in here. You've made me a bit more confident about trying this. Thanks for the advice on the thickness of the dough once it's rolled out. I'm going to give it a try. Sans-pasta machine!
Don't be too hard on FrenchLaundry- that was the kick in the a-- that I needed.. it's pasta! Not splitting atoms.
FoodStuffs at 10:49AM on 03/13/09
I thought we were discussing cold fusion!... Bon Chanc FoodStuffs!
Pavlov at 8:25AM on 03/14/09