Granny was divine in the kitchen. Every dish had something special and when she was making fresh pasta it was a good excuse for a family reunion.
I took home her pasta maker with the good hope that one day I will be able to prepare pasta as she did!
First experiment first, I decided to make ravioli, I've been such a naive!
Mistakes to avoid:
- use only 2 towels
- do other million things before shaping and filling the ravioli, the pasta will dry out and will be impossible to shape
- prepare the filling after having stretched the pasta
Ingredients:
for the pasta (roughly 100g+1egg per person)
200g 00 flour
2 eggs
(200g flour+2 eggs with a very rich filling should be enough for 3 people)
for the filling (I used the left-over to make a quiche)
220g jamon serrano
1 egg
220g fresh ricotta
salt&pepper to taste
for the seasoning
50g butter and a bunch of fresh sage
grated parmesan
Preparation:
in the right order:
1) Mix flour and eggs and keep kneading for about 10 minutes until you get a silky dough. Place it in a bowl, cover with cling film and place in a cold place for 30min/1h max. I put the bowl in the fridge to avoid temperature changes.
2) Use a food processor to chop the jamon serrano and then add the remaining ingredients for the filling. Bear in mind that the jamon is already salty, I suggest to taste and then pour in salt if needed.
3) Set aside the filling, remove the bowl from the fridge and prepare clean towels on the kitchen table/worktop, set the pasta maker and pour some semolina in a bowl.
4) Start making pasta and as soon as you have 2 sheets ready, add the filling spoonful by spoonful over one sheet keeping an even distance between each spoonful. Lay over the other sheet and press down the edges so they can stick together. Milk or a beaten yolk can help in sealing the edges.
The size for ravioli is up to preference choice; simple traditional fillings tend to work better with smaller sizes, while complex and delicate one with bigger sizes that allow to taste better the filling.
I had to made big ravioli because I let the pasta drying out and struggle to shape it properly, it ended up to be a right gamble with the jamon serrano filling!
Scatter some semolina over the ravioli to avoid them sticking while cooking.
5) Repeat step 4 until you run out of pasta
6) Preheat a frying pan with generous butter and sage. Boil some water, add salt and few ravioli at a time. Ravioli will take 3-5 minutes to cook, drain them and pan-fry with butter and sage.
Serve immediately with a generous handful of grated parmesan.
We enjoyed a chilled bottle of Prosecco.
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| big ravioli w/ jamon serrano filling ©italiansuitcase |
ps: granny had some white cotton towels she used only for making pasta, she always washed them with water and if necessary some natural soap under very hot running water. Never ever in the washing machine!