Homemade Ravioli and Tortellini- 3 different fillings

First, I'm going to admit that this was supposed to be just homemade ravioli. Unfortunately for me, I had a little lesson in homemade pasta storage. My beef raviolis stuck together overnight and broke apart a little when I pulled them apart. Fortunately, I re-shaped them into tortellinis and they were delicious. My cooking counterpart was much more clever than I, putting a liner of plastic wrap down in between each layer of raviolis in her container. She had no problems :o)

This is my second go at making pasta. A friend has a pasta roller attachment to her Kitchen Aid (2 things I would love to have). She kindly brought it over and we had a great morning of pasta making. We made 3 different kinds of fillings between the two of us. All turned out. All were yummy.

Here's a few step by step pictures of laying out the ravioli.

Use a pasta cutter (or pizza cutter like we did) - spoon a small amount onto the strip, about 2 inches apart. Brush an egg wash around the filling to help seal it later.

Put the matching half over top. Press down around the filling to seal (press out air bubbles). Use your cutter to divide. Press the seals again around the edges.

My friend's beautiful pasta storage job.

Here are the recipes:

Pasta
2 cups flour (we did one batch with 1 1/2 cups white and 1/2 cup whole wheat and then a second batch that was 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat, both worked)
3 eggs
1 tsp water
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until the mixture begins to form a ball. Kneed the dough for a few minutes, sprinkling extra flour as necessary so the dough is not sticky. Cut dough into 4 pieces. Cover 3 with plastic wrap while working with the first one. Flatten out a little by hand or rolling pin and follow your pasta roller's instructions to create the kind of pasta you desire.

Beef and Cheese Filling
½ lb Ground Beef
3 oz Parmesan Cheese (I omitted, she used, both were good)
¼ Onion
2 – 3 cloves Garlic (I used 3, she used 1, again both were good)
1 Egg
some Fresh Oregano
some Fresh Parsley
(I didn't have fresh herbs on hand, I used some Italian seasoning, plus some dried oregano and dried parsley)

1. Chop and mince garlic and onion.
2. Grate parmesan cheese
3. Brown ground beef.
4. Add in chopped garlic and onion and finish browning beef.
5. Drain browned ground beef, garlic and onion in colander.
6. Chop or process fresh oregano and parsley.
7. Add oregano and parsley to browned ground beef, garlic and onion.
8. Beat or whisk an egg and stir into mixture.

*recipe courtesy of http://www.culinarysavant.com

Artichoke and Cream Cheese Filling


2 green onions, chopped
8 artichoke hearts, cut into quarters (I used marinated)

1 1/2 tbsp butter 

salt & freshly ground black pepper  

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup cream cheese

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add green onions and artichoke hearts.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes

Place into a bowl and puree with a hand blender (or put into a food processor and do the same).  Add cream cheese and egg.  Continue to blend everything together.

*Adapted from Artichoke Filling for Ravioli or Tortellini on Food.com

 

Butternut Squash and Cheese Filling

1 1/2 C baked butternut squash

1/2 cup strained ricotta cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Blend all ingredients together

My friend served this one the following way: "sautéed shallots in a lot of butter, tossing in chopped walnuts and lots of sage at the end for a few minutes and then poured it over the squash ravioli as a topping"  She said is was delicious.