Recipe for Spinach Cheese Ravioli

The other night we invited our good friend, Ben, over for a ravioli lesson. Ben lived with Josh while we were dating and shares our passion for good food. Ben recently expressed interest in making homemade pasta...so we set a date for ravioli night. We love an excuse to cook up a storm!

Josh made the dough while I worked on the spinach and cheese filling and the sauce. Ben helped us roll out the dough, cut, and fill the little raviolis. Ben was a natural:) We all had a great time in the kitchen...and of course we enjoyed eating it too! Homemade pasta is the best...especially when you stuff it with a delicious filling!! And just a note, we posted ravioli on our blog before,both recipes are good, but we like this recipe best...so give this one a try if you are going to make it!

Thanks for coming over Ben, we need to cook together more often!! And to all the single ladies out there, Ben is still a bachelor! He is a stud to say the least and trust me, you want a man who can cook...It is SOOO nice and Ben certainly knows his way around the kitchen..ha!! Ok, we had to give him a plug:, he is the best:)

Fresh Egg Pasta

4 large eggs
1 T water
3 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt

1. Place eggs, water, flour, and salt in mixer bowl. (we use our Kitchenaid) Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to Speed 2 and mix for 30 seconds.
2. Now use the dough hook. Turn to speed 2 and knead for two minutes. Remove dough from bowl and hand knead for 1-2 minutes. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Divide the dough into four pieces before processing with the pasta roller.
3. Roll out pasta according to your pasta maker’s instructions. We have the Kitchenaid attachment and it works wonders!!

Spinach and Cheese Ravioli

1 bunch of fresh spinach-wash and remove stems (about 1 pound) or use frozen chopped spinach (10 oz.)
½ medium onion, minced
1 T olive oil
¾ cup ricotta cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg yolk
Salt and pepper

1. Place damp spinach leaves in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover with a lid and let the leaves wilt. Once wilted let cool and then chop.
Heat 1 T of olive oil in a small skillet. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, until translucent. Stir in the spinach and salt to taste. Cook for about one minute.
2. Transfer the spinach mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in ricotta, Parmigiano-Reggiano, mozzarella, and the egg yolk. Mix well and set aside. The filling can be refrigerated overnight.
3. Lay out your long sheets of pasta on a lightly floured table. Place small balls of filling, about 1 teaspoon, in a line about one inch from the bottom of the pasta sheet. Leave about 1 1/4 inches between each ball of filling. Fold over the top of the pasta sheet, lining it with the bottom edge. Seal the bottom and 2 open sides with your finger. Use a ravioli cutter to cut out the individual raviolis. Place the ravioli on a large plate.
4. Boil a huge pot of water with salt. Add in the ravioli and cook for about 5-6 minutes. Strain and serve with the sauce of your choice. We used a homemade marinara sauce with lots of garlic. It was quite tasty!