Cheese Ravioli

Making your own homemade ravioli is a very rewarding endeavor. It is so tasty and, while a little time consuming, you can make a lot at one time and freeze the remainder to use later for a quick and easy meal. I use my Super Easy Cheese in this recipe, but if you want to make this without having to make your own cheese, you can substitute crumbled queso blanco or queso fresco cheese, available at most supermarkets now.

Homemade Cheese Ravioli

For the Pasta:

3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 TBS olive oil
2 TBS water

Mix all ingredients together well. It is easiest in a food processor or stand mixer. Knead dough together slightly to finish it off and get a nicely formed dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and set aside for at least half an hour.

After the dough has had a chance to rest, prepare a pasta machine with a flat roller. While you can use a hand-crank one, it is much easier and quicker to use a pasta roller attachment for a stand mixer. Cut dough into about 6-8 balls. Using generous amounts of flour to keep the dough from sticking, run the dough through the pasta maker. Run a few times through the widest setting before gradually decreasing pasta thickness with the machine settings. Do not roll too thinly. On my KitchenAid roller, I roll through setting 5.

For the filling:

1 cup Super Easy Cheese curds (or crumbled queso blanco/fresco cheese)
1/2 cup crumbled chevre cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 TBS minced parsley (fresh or dried)

Thoroughly mix together. It is easier to mix if the cheeses are at room temperature.

Forming the ravioli:

Roll the pasta into long sheets the width available on your pasta roller. Lay out on a generously floured counter. Using a spoon or a disher scoop (I use a #100 scoop), place small balls of filling about 2 inches apart in a line on one side of the dough (about 2 tsp of filling). Smoosh the balls slightly. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash (one whole egg mixed with a splash of water) around the filling. Fold pasta over and press down firmly. If there are air bubbles, use a cake tester or toothpick to make a small hole to press the air out. Use a pizza cutter or crimping wheel to cut pasta apart. Set onto floured plastic wrap or parchment in only one layer thickness. You can cook immediately, or freeze until solid and then place in a ziptop bag until ready to use.

To cook and sauce the ravioli:

You can make any type of sauce you want for these pasta, but my favorite is an easy cream sauce. Boil the pasta for 5-7 minutes (the longer time if they were frozen) in salted water. Drain pasta and splash with olive oil to keep it from sticking together. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, add 1 TBS butter and 1 large clove of minced garlic with 1 cup of light cream and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Add a sprinkle of salt, pepper, and parsley. Cook over medium heat until it gets bubbly. Pour over ravioli, serve, and enjoy!