Norma's Ravioli
entrees
This is one of my all-time favorite dishes. It's been made over the years by Gigi, Aunt Norma, and Sydney, but for me it will always bring back memories of Christmas dinner at Norma's house. There are a lot of family stories that go with this dish. My favorite memories are of my Dad searching all over Norma's kitchen/house for evidence of her making Ravioli. She would always deny it and say she didn't have time to do it this year, but somehow those ravs would always make their way to the dinner table. A word of caution for anyone that wants to make this dish: it takes several days to make. The pasta is made by hand from scratch, and so is the meat filling. It's a ton of work, but I can't wait to do on my own sometime soon. Thank you so much to Sydney for giving me this recipe. This site wouldn't be complete without it.
Ingredients
- Ingredients for homemade pasta
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 10 teaspoons water (optional)
- Ingredients for meat filling
- 2.5 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced onion
- 2.5 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb mix
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 3/4 lb. lean ground beef
- 2 ounces ground pork shoulder (OR 1 or 2 baked pork chops; cut the cooked meat off the bone and grind it.)
- 1 small package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 egg yolks
- Salt and pepper to taste (Start with ½ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper)
Instructions
Step 1
Start by making the pasta. This recipe makes approximately 8 main-course servings. Using a food processor: Combine flour, eggs, oil and salt in work bowl. Process until dough just comes together, about 10 seconds. If dough appears dry, add water through feed tube, 1 teaspoon at a time, until firm dough forms, processing 5 seconds after each addition of water.
Step 2
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Run small portions of dough through pasta machine (if available,) to form thin sheets of pasta. Do not run dough through machine too quickly. Catch dough as soon as it comes out of machine and drape it over a pasta rack or baking rack (the kind you use for cooling baked cookies.) If you do not have a pasta machine (our grandmother and aunt did not,) roll the dough with a rolling pin on a well floured surface until each sheet is thin enough for use. You will discover arm muscles you didn’t know you had as you roll the dough to the desired thinness. Drape sheets of pasta as described above.
Step 3
Now it's time to make the meat filling. This recipe makes about 1.5 cups of filling. Melt butter and oil in heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Mix in rosemary, dried herbs and minced garlic. Increase heat to medium and add ground beef and ground pork shoulder, salt and pepper. Saute the mixture, stirring, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add spinach. If using cooked ground pork chop, add after beef is cooked through, stir, and then transfer entire mixture to bowl. Cool to room temperature. Stir in Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and egg yolks into meat mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.)
Step 4
To assemble ravioli: Lay a thin pasta sheet on floured surface. Place small mounded spoonfuls of meat and herb mixture in rows, leaving at least 1 inch of space around each mound. Cover with another sheet of pasta. Using a small drinking glass (the old-fashioned way) or a knife (more efficient way), cut each row into separate rounds or squares. Use a fork to crimp the edges of each ravioli (so the filling will stay within the pasta during cooking.)
Step 5
Refrigerate or freeze until ready to cook. To cook: Heat a large pot of salted water until boiling. Gently lower about a dozen ravioli into the water at a time. Cook until the ravioli float to the water’s surface and are tender. (Taste to test for tenderness.) Transfer batch to a warm bowl and cook next batch.
Step 6
Serve with your favorite spaghetti sauce and more grated Parmesan cheese. Buon appetito!