ravioli
filled with meat, parmigiano reggiano, and spinach in a buttery sage and meat sauce
Ravioli filled with meat, parmigiano reggiano, and spinach in a buttery sage and meat sauce
Serve: ~ 80 ravioli
Ingredients
Dough
400g 00 flour
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
fine sea salt
Filling
300g beef brisket
200g pork shoulder
20g plain flour
1 white onion
2 garlic cloves
100g white wine
200g fresh spinach
50g parmigiano reggiano
1 whole egg
cold water
Sauce
100g unsalted butter
a bunch of sage
Method
Meat
Roughly chop one white onion and mince two garlic cloves.
Cut the beef and pork into small cubes.
Heat vegetable oil in a pot over medium. Once hot, add the meat and brown on both sides, as shown below. Once browned, transfer the meat to a tray.
In the same pot, add the chopped onion and stir, cooking until softened. Then, add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant and tender, adjusting the heat to low to prevent the garlic from burning.
Once the onion and garlic are cooked, increase the heat to medium and deglaze the pot with white wine. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot, then let the liquid simmer for about 2/3 minutes.
Add the white flour and stir well to combine. I’ve added the flour to help thicken the sauce, giving it a richer texture. Alternatively, you can skip adding the flour and simply let the sauce reduce for a longer period.
Return the browned meat to the pot and add cold water until the meat is covered. Let it simmer on low to medium heat for about 45 minutes.
Spinach
Heat a pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil gets warm, add the spinach and season with salt and black pepper. Cook the vegetable until it’s soft.
Drain the spinach and let it cool down on a tray. Squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible using both hands. It’s important to remove all the moisture, as any remaining liquid could make the ravioli filling too watery, making it difficult to seal the edges properly.
Back to the meat
Strain the meat, onion, and garlic through a colander, leaving only the meaty broth in the pot. Set aside the cooked base, and allow the liquid to reduce for a few more minutes. Season with salt to taste.
While the liquid is reducing, grate the parmigiano reggiano and whisk one egg.
Once the sauce has reduced, taste it again, adjust the seasoning if needed, then cover it with cling film and set it aside.
Ravioli filling
Add the cooked meat along with the onion and garlic into the meat grinder and mince. If you don’t have a meat grinder, you can use a food processor instead.
Next, grind the spinach. If the spinach gets stuck, you can add a bit of already ground meat to help push it through.
Transfer the ground mixture into a bowl, then add the whisked egg, parmigiano reggiano, sea salt, and black pepper.
Mix thoroughly to combine.
Make the dough
Assemble equipment and get ready your workspace:
big wooden cutting board (a counter is also just fine)
pasta machine (though you can also roll the dough out by hand)
bench scraper
spray bottle filled with water
pasta rolling cutter
bowl of flour for dusting
rolling pin
fork for mixing
tray for made ravioli
Whisk 4 large eggs with a pinch of sea salt in a bowl.
Sift the 00 flour into a bowl, then create a large well in the center to accommodate the eggs, and pour in the whisked eggs.
Gradually, start stirring the eggs into the flour in circular motions.
Once the eggs are roughly combined with the flour and it becomes difficult to mix with a utensil, transfer the rough dough onto a clean surface.
Using a bench scraper, begin incorporating the remaining flour and any small bits. If the dough feels too dry and difficult to bring together (your eggs might be smaller than mine), add a bit of water. I recommend spraying the dough with water rather than pouring it from a jug to ensure you don’t add too much.
Once the dough becomes more cohesive, clean the working surface with a bench scraper and start kneading.
To knead the dough, press the heel of your palm into the centre of the dough, stretching it away from your body. Fold the dough over, press it down, and rotate it.
Continue kneading until the dough reaches the texture shown in the photo below (it should take about 20 minutes). At first, it might be hard to knead, but give it time, and it will become much easier to work with.
Flatten the dough, wrap it in cling film, and let it rest for an hour at room temperature to relax, making it easier to work with.
Roll out the dough
After the dough has rested, knead it a few more times until it feels smooth and elastic.
Divide the dough into four portions. Work with one portion at a time, keeping the others sealed in a plastic bag to prevent them from drying out.
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to about 0.5 cm thick, ensuring it’s even and maintains a rectangular shape, with the top and bottom as similar as possible.
Set the pasta machine to the widest setting. My machine has 9 settings, with 1 being the widest and 9 the thinnest.
Feed the dough through the machine, then laminate it by placing it lengthwise on the counter and folding the ends toward each other. Once the ends meet, fold one side over the other (it doesn’t matter which direction). Gently roll the dough up and down with a rolling pin.
Adjust the machine to setting 4 (three notches up from the widest) and pass the dough through again. Fold the dough once more and use the rolling pin to further thin it out. If the dough feels slightly sticky, dust both sides with a little flour. When feeding the dough through, ensure it’s centered to avoid wrinkles.
Next, set the machine to setting 5, making the opening narrower, and pass the dough through. As the dough stretches, hold it underneath the pasta machine to prevent it from sticking together. If the sheet becomes too long, you can cut it in half and continue.
Turn the knob to setting 7 and run the dough through again. Finally, set the machine to number 8 and pass the dough through one last time.
Once the first sheet of pasta is ready, trim both ends with a bench scraper and cut it in half if it’s too long. Lightly dust both sides with flour and gently massage it in.
Stack the sheets on top of each other, ensuring they don’t stick. For extra precaution, you can place a sheet of baking paper between each one. Cover the stack with cling film and a damp cloth, then move on to the next piece of dough.
Continue with all the dough, checking the sheets frequently to make sure they don’t dry out.
Shape ravioli
Place a sheet of dough on the surface. If it’s not quite rectangular, trim the edges with a bench scraper. You can reuse the trimmings, perhaps adding them to your next soup!
Spoon small dollops of the meat filling (about 6 grams each) onto the sheet, leaving a finger-width of space between them. If the dough feels a bit dry, lightly mist the top where the filling is with a spray bottle.
Fold the dough by lifting the bottom half of the sheet and placing it over the top, as shown below.
Firmly pinch the edges and between the filling to seal, ensuring there are no air pockets.
Using a pasta cutter, trim the longest edge, then the sides and between each dollop of filling. At this stage, you can gently repinch the dough around the filling to ensure the raviolo stays sealed during cooking.
Serving
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
In a pan, melt the butter and add the sage leaves. Gently infuse the butter over medium to low heat. Once the butter has melted, pour in the reduced meat sauce and stir.
Once the water begins to boil, add salt.
Carefully drop the ravioli into the boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes, or until they rise to the surface. If you're unsure of their doneness, take one out and taste it.
Once the ravioli are cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the glossy, savory sauce. Add a splash of cooking water and gently swirl to coat.
