Potsticker-Shaped Ravioli

Homemade pasta seems to be quite the trend these days. A new restaurant in town is flaunting theirs, there was an article in the paper a few days ago about an Italian exchange student who makes his own, and many chefs are talking about theirs as well. I have never made my own pasta. The process has never really appealed to me; why bother when it's so inexpensive to buy and so laborious to produce? Well, fresh pasta is unparalleled in flavor. After reading about a kid making it, I had to give it a shot. When I thought of using homemade ricotta in a filling for tortellini, I just couldn't resist.


Well, it was a process. I don't have a pasta roller (which I highly recommend after this experience), so I had to roll the dough out by hand. I cut circles and started to twist them into tortellini, but they were using too little filling and taking me too long, so I just left them in half-moons as ravioli, using twice the amount of filling (they looked like potstickers). They actually looked pretty good, and I was feeling proud of myself. Until I started to cook them. I boiled them in batches, in salted water, and it took them forever, compared to the usual time for fresh pasta. Even then they were only al dente, and very chewy. It turns out that I needed to roll the incredibly stiff, incredibly difficult-to-roll-out-by-hand dough much thinner; hence my reference to using a pasta roller or machine. I might just have to look into one!

I tossed the somewhat cooked ravioli (I couldn't cook it anymore; the outside was overcooking while the inside remained chewy) with crispy pancetta, garlic, olive oil, green onions, dried heirloom tomato pieces, and some parmesan cheese. My family happily gobbled the dish up. In fact, my husband said it was a great "start," being my first time, I guess, and that he could get used to having fresh pasta around. Ha! Next time I think he can help with the process!! Actually, they did turn out well, even if they were pretty chewy. The flavor was spot-on, and if I can get the dough thinner in the future they will be fabulous! Oh, and I'll probably use a smaller cutter too; the ravioli expanded more than I anticipated and turned out to be very large (another problem with my cooking time, I'm sure)! Sadly, I didn't get a picture, but you can get a good idea of the process on this site.

Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta

Stir together:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flour

Make a well, then add 5 eggs. Stir lightly with a fork until dough starts to come together. Knead like crazy until you get a cohesive mass, then knead some more until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic and let rest at least 20 minutes.

Roll out very thinly and cut into circles or squares for ravioli, or roll into a loose cylinder and cut into strips for fettuccine (or just use that nifty pasta machine to make whatever shape you desire). Fill with desired cheese or meat blend. Moisten fingertip and run it along the edge of the circle. Fold over and seal. Repeat.

Spinach and Cheese Filling

1 cup ricotta cheese
10 oz frozen spinach, chopped, thawed, and squeezed dry
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Stir ingredients together, then fill pasta as desired.