By special request, I’m posting my ravioli recipes. This is Shawn’s favorite, but it’s also a little difficult to get the noodles under control. This is the kind of recipe to do if you’ve got 3 or 4 hours to set aside to make.

First is first, the noodles.

3 cups flour

2 eggs

1/3 cup water

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

On a large flat CLEAN surface, such as a counter top, or a table, as what I use, scoop the flour out and make a big well in the center with the measuring cup. Add all the other ingredients and begin to mix into the flour. It gets messy and sticky, but it’ll gather as you mix.

Knead pressing your palm into the mix  toward the table and out, then fold in half, quarter turn to the right, and repeat for 8-10 minutes. It’s a good workout! Just saying. If the dough continues to be flaky, dip your fingers in water and keep kneading until it is gathered into a play dough-type of consistency.

Wrap in plastic wrap and stick it in your fridge for at least an hour.

Once you’ve let it rest, pull it out of the fridge and cut into eighths. This is the point in which you will really really wish you had a dough roller. But, if you’re like me, you don’t so you have to use elbow grease. Roll out the dough until it’s really thin, about a 1/2- 1/4 inch thick. I know I’m done rolling when I can see the table through the dough. make it as even as possible, and as rectangular as possible.

Once you have your dough sheet, about a foot by two feet… (hopefully it rolls out that well for you) plop your filling in the center, about 2-3 inches apart. We’ll talk about filling options in just a little bit. Before you can close your little ravioli, you need to make a quick egg wash. Just mix up two eggs with a fork in a bowl. Try to fluff it a little, and it’ll make it easier to handle. With your fingers or a brush, trace one side of the dough making three corners around each filling pile then fold the dough lengthwise to make your ravioli pouches.

Carefully press out any air bubbles and smash the two sides together with your fingers. When you’ve got it smashed and ready, use a pizza roller and cut out your squares.

Drop your raviolis into salted gently boiling water for about ten minutes. The cooking time will depend on how thick your dough is.

Finally, scoop out your cooked pockets of heaven and put in a bowl.

The only way to make it better? Butter sauce. Just melt one stick of butter in a pan, add sage or other spices you like that go with the filling you made, and brown the butter. Now, there’s a difference between browning and burning the butter, so keep the temperature low and keep stirring until it’s browned up to perfection. It requires a bit of patience, but it’s o-so worth it.

Fillings

I’ve made this recipe twice now with two different fillings. The first was a butternut squash filling, and the second a ricotta spinach filling.

For the butternut squash, just cut the squash in half and roast it in the oven at 350` with a pat of butter in the wells where you dug out the seeds. In a tinfoil pouch in the same pan, place half an onion, sliced, with about a tablespoon of butter in it. Close it up and let it bake with the squash. It took about an hour for mine to soften. Wait for it to cool enough to scoop out the soft flesh into a blender or food processor. Blend it until it’s smooth, adding salt, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, or any spices you like until it tastes good to you. Tasting your food is the best policy.

The ricotta spinach was easier, only requiring a container of ricotta, one bunch of adult spinach, and half a minced onion. Slice up your spinach into ribbons. Immerse them in  water, then drain to get out all the sediment stuck to the leaves. place the spinach into a hot pan with the minced onion. Cook it until the onion is soft and brown and the leaves are completely wilted. Let it cool before mixing it into the ricotta, then add spices like salt, pepper, basil and oregano to taste. Remember, keep tasting!