homemade mushroom & cheese ravioli

it's been a while since i made pasta. and i forgot how much time it takes to assemble ravioli. it isn't hard, i just always think it's going to be faster than it is.



i made these with ground beef in them too, but next time, i'll skip the beef - it didn't do much for flavor - but you're welcome to use it if you like it.



the recipe is easy. adaptable. add a lot of cheese if you like. or more fontina than mozzarella or more mozzarella than parm. whatever you want, you can have.



i used a 2.5 inch circle cookie cutter to cut them apart. usually i cut them with a pizza cutter. either way works, but the cookie cutter ones look a bit nicer. homemade, yes. like a six year old made them, no.





and let me tell you about this tomato sauce. it left me speechless. it's so freakin' good. and so freakin' easy. it's incredible. and will be perfect with a plain old bowl of spaghetti.



mushroom ravioli filling
this makes a lot. and would probably be really good as a chunky sauce - with tomatoes added - to spaghetti.

feel free to change the ratio of cheese or remove whatever you don't care for.

12 ounces white mushrooms, cut into small pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
italian seasoning
~1/4 cup parmesan cheese
~1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
small brick of fontina cheese, cut into 1/4 by 1/4 inch cubes

1. saute the mushrooms and garlic in one tablespoon each of melted butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. season with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning and cook until mushrooms are brown, 15-20 minutes, depending on how small your mushroom pieces are.
2. when the mushrooms are done, mix in another 1 tablespoon butter.
   
3. let the mushroom mixture cool about 20 minutes. mix in the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
4. when filling ravioli, add 1 teaspoon of the mushroom mixture and push a cube of fontina into it before topping with another pasta sheet.

homemade ravioli
the pasta made 30 ravioli. i have enough filling left to make another full batch.

1. put three cups of all purpose flour in the center of a worksurface (i have a large platter i use, so i don't get flour all over my counter).
2. scramble three eggs with a pinch of salt in a bowl.
3. make a well in the center of the flour. pour in the eggs.
4. using a fork, swirl the flour into the eggs until mostly incorporated. use your hands to incorporate the eggs. if there's a bit of flour that won't mix in, don't worry about it.
5. knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
6. wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for about an hour at room temperature.
7. make the filling and sauce while dough is resting.
8. after resting, use a knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into eight portions.
9. take out one portion and keep the rest wrapped in plastic until you use them to prevent drying out.
10. cut the one portion in half.
11. using a pasta press, press the dough to the thinnest setting.
12. lay out on a cutting board and use your cookie cutter to figure out the layout of the raviolis on the sheet. place about 1 teaspoon filling to the center of each circle.
13. use a pastry brush to brush water on the pasta, around all edges of the ravioli. this will be the glue holding the tops and bottoms together.
14. use the pasta press and press the second half of the portion into a sheet.
15. lay the second sheet on top of the filled sheet.
16. as you press the top onto the bottom, make sure to get out as much air as possible. if not, the air will heat up when boiling the ravioli and they may explode.
17. use the cookie cutter to cut out the ravioli and discard the remnants.
18. use a bench scraper to remove the cut ravioli from the cutting surface. be careful not to crush the ravioli when removing them.
19. with your fingers, move around the edge of the ravioli and pinch the edges closed.
20. place the ravioli on a single layer on a sheet pan dusted with semolina flour so they don't stick.
21. repeat with the remaining dough.
22. bring water to a boil and cook ravioli for 3-4 minutes. serve with tomato sauce.

tomato sauce with onion and butter from smittenkitchen