How To Cook: |
|
|
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the 1 cup of ricotta, the farmer cheese, the ¾ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, grated onion, 3 egg yolks and 1½ teaspoons of salt and carefully stir them together until they are well mixed. Set aside until you have rolled out the dough.
|
2. Divide the pasta dough into four pieces and roll out the first one quarter of the dough to make it as thin as possible.
|
3. Cover the rolled pasta with a damp towel to prevent its drying out, and roll out the second quarter of dough to a similar size and shape.
|
4. Using the first sheet of rolled-out pasta as a sort of checkerboard, place a mound of about 1 teaspoon of the cheese-and-egg-yolk mixture every 2 inches across and down the pasta.
|
5. Dip a pastry brush or your index finger into a bowl of water and make vertical and horizontal lines in a checkerboard pattern on the sheet of pasta, between the mounds of cheese filling.
|
6. Be sure to use enough water to wet the lines evenly (the water will act as a bond to hold the finished ravioli together).
|
7. Carefully spread the second sheet of rolled-out pasta on top of the first one, pressing down firmly around the filling and along the wetted lines.
|
8. With a ravioli cutter, a pastry wheel or a small, sharp knife, cut the pasta into squares along the wetted lines. Separate the mounds of ravioli and set them aside on wax paper. In the same fashion, roll out, fill and cut the 2 other portions of dough.
|
9. To cook, drop the ravioli into 6 to 8 quarts of rapidly boiling salted water and stir them gently with a wooden spoon, to keep them from sticking to one another or to the bottom of the pot.
|
10. Boil the ravioli for about 8 minutes, or until they are tender, then drain them thoroughly in a large sieve or colander.
|
11. Serve the ravioli with tomato sauceor add butter and freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese, and gently stirthem all together immediately before serving.
|
MEAT-AND-SPINACH FILLING FOR RAVIOLI:
1. Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet and cook the onions, stirring frequently for about 7 or 8 minutes, or until they are soft and transparent but not brown.
|
2. Add the ¾ pound finely ground raw veal and cook, stirring constantly, until the veal loses its red color and any accumulating liquid in the pan cooks completely away.
|
3. Transfer the entire contents of the skillet to a mixing bowl and stir in the chopped spinach, grated Parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.
|
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs lightly and add them to the onion, veal and spinach mixture. Taste and season with salt.
|