Ummm…this is YUMMY. Like, I made two pretty sizeable batches, cleaned up the kitchen, and immediately regretted not making an additional six or seven sizeable batches to freeze (freezer food! THE BEST).

 

 

I love ravioli. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. I would eat it every day. Unless it has brussels sprouts in it. Because I reallllllly don’t care for brussels sprouts. Not that I haven’t tried – I still buy them about once a year and try to work some crazy cookery magic (including, yes, putting them inside ravioli once or twice) to make myself like them. But you guys – I just REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. hate brussels sprouts. *sighhhhhh*

On a more positive note, though – this mushroom ravioli has no brussels sprouts in it WHAT.SO.EVER! (WINNING).

 

 

Also, confession: I think I’m having clam chowder withdrawls now that I’m back in the midwest. I ate a lot of clam chowder when I was home. A LOT a lot. And now it’s all I can think about. That and sourdough breadbowls. I DO have a sourdough starter on my counter ready to go (recipe comin’ atcha later this week, unless the pictures turn out terrible, in which case I’ll put it up…eventually) but for some reason the ONE THING I didn’t think to bring home with me from the West Coast was clams. I brought back a whole crab. I brought back salmon, smoked salmon, and salmon jerky. I brought back a caffeine and sugar high from too much Starbucks. But YOU GUYS. I brought back ZERO clams.

 

 

Fortunately, I have a bunch of mushroom ravioli to get me through this difficult, clam-less time. But not to worry! I plan on beginning a super-crazy-obsessive clam hunt. Immediately. And I WILL FIND CLAMS. Even in Illinois. It’s possible. (And see, I’m making this big deal about it, but I’m PROBABLY just going to go to the grocery store and find some staring me in the face sitting right next to the shrimp at the meat counter. Because now that I really think about it, I think I’ve seen some there before. How NOT exciting).

 

 

PS - is it bad to spend a whole post talking about clam chowder when I’m posting mushroom ravioli? Maybe. But these mushroom ravioli really ARE pretty awesome. I make them more than any other ravioli. And OH, do I MAKE RAVIOLI. Kyle decided to be the best boyfriend in the history of forever and got me an electric pasta roller for Christmas. It attaches to my Kitchenaid, and I don’t have to crank a handle to flatten out the dough, and it has officially CHANGED MY LIFE. Result: I have been swept up in a pasta-making frenzy.

 

 

 

Mushroom Ravioli

Makes about 50

 

For the dough:

5 eggs
2 tsp. salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 Tbsp. water

 

For the filling:

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. yellow onion, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. white button or baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 recipe mushroom cream sauce (I added a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar for an extra kick of flavor!)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

 

For the dough:

1. Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to form a well in the center of the flour.

2. In a small, separate bowl, whisk together eggs and olive oil. Add this mixture to the well you made in the flour.

3. Use your hands to mix ingredients together until well incorporated. The mixture should hold together but not be sticky. If the mixture is too dry, add water 1 Tbsp. at a time and mix to combine. When dough holds together and doesn’t stick to your hands, it’s ready. Let it rest for 15 minutes before you roll it out. You can also refrigerate it overnight and roll it out the next day.

4. Break pieces of dough off in 1/2 cup increments and run them through a pasta roller (I use this one. If you don’t have a pasta roller, you can also roll the dough by hand until it is about 1-2 mm thick). If you’re using a pasta roller, start by rolling the dough through on the #1 (lowest) setting. Roll the dough through the next 3-4 settings until it is very thin (I usually stop rolling at a #4 or 5 setting).

5. To form the raviolis, lay one sheet of pasta down on a flat surface. You can either use a ravioli press (that’s what I prefer, it makes them all very uniform in size), a ravioli cutter, or fill and fold them by hand. To fill and fold by hand, cut the dough into squares, place filling in the center of the square, and fold the edges over to make a triangle. With a ravioli cutter, place a little less than 1 tsp. of filling on the flat sheet of dough, repeating every 2 inches or so. Lay another sheet over the filling-covered sheet, and press down in between the fillings to hold dough together. Cut around each filling with a ravioli cutter (you can also use a cookie or biscuit cutter). If using a ravioli press, follow package directions to form ravioli.

6. Cook ravioli in boiling water for 7-8 minutes. Top with mushroom cream sauce and parsley. Serve immediately.

 

For the filling:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion, thyme, salt, and pepper. Saute 2 minutes.

2. Add sliced mushrooms. Saute an additional 3 minutes or until onion is translucent and mushrooms have cooked through. Remove mixture from heat and let cool.

3. Mix ricotta cheese into cooled mushroom mixture. Fill each ravioli with about 2/3 of a tsp. of the mixture. (see ravioli filling directions in step 5 above).

4. Cover ravioli to chill overnight or freeze for later, or cook immediately. Cook in boiling water for 7-8 minutes or until pasta is cooked through. Top with mushroom cream sauce and parsley. Serve immediately.