Classic Ravioli Recipe: 3 Tips for Making Perfect Ravioli
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 26, 2024 • 4 min read
Homemade ravioli is among the greatest comfort foods in the history of Italian cuisine. The classic dish is easily customizable and perfect for a weeknight dinner.
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What Is Ravioli?
Ravioli are a style of Italian pasta, typically featuring a cheesy filling encased in a thin envelope of pasta dough. Ravioli have been a staple of Italian cuisine since the fourteenth century and were enjoyed by the aristocracy and the working class alike. Ravioli dough can be cut in various shapes, like squares, crescents (mezzalune), or circles. You can also customize ravioli by size, like ravioletti, a bite-size portion, or raviolo al’ uovo, a larger style featuring a single egg yolk nestled inside. Ravioli are typically served in a broth or sauce or with a drizzle of brown butter or olive oil.
3 Tips for Making Perfect Ravioli
There are many different techniques for making fresh pasta. These three tips will guarantee a great batch of ravioli:
- 1. Seal the edges. Unlike tortellini, another pasta shape that relies on folding to seal its contents inside, ravioli are best sealed with a bit of water before being cut with a crimping-style pasta cutter or paring knife. Sealing the pasta with water helps ensure that the filling will not leak out in the cooking process.
- 2. Roll the dough into a thin sheet. The thinner the dough, the more delicate and snappy the pasta will be. As the old saying goes, you should be able to read the newspaper through a sheet of properly rolled pasta dough. Rolling the dough correctly also makes it easier to seal the edges and encase your filling. After being cooked, the ravioli should have the gentlest give as you bite into it, rather than a thick, doughy chew.
- 3. Pair the filling with the sauce. You can pair ravioli with various fillings and sauces. For a rich, decadent dish, fill your ravioli with silky butternut squash purée and serve it with brown butter and crisp, fried sage leaves. For a creamier dish, fill the ravioli with a spinach-ricotta filling and cover it in a traditional marinara sauce or alfredo cream sauce. For brighter flavor, add lemon zest to the cheese filling and cover in a bright olive oil and herb-based sauce, like pesto.
Classic Ravioli Recipe
makes
24 medium ravioli, or 48 smallprep time
20 mintotal time
53 mincook time
3 minIngredients
- 1
To make the pasta dough, mix the flour with 1 teaspoon of salt, then turn the flour onto a clean work surface.
- 2
Using your knuckles, create a well in the center of the flour, leaving a thin layer along the bottom.
- 3
Crack the egg into the well, and using a fork, whisk the egg until frothy, using your other hand to add a little flour into the mixture as you go.
- 4
When the egg-flour mixture is thick enough that it is no longer runny, use a bench scraper to cut in the rest of the flour.
- 5
Bring the dough together with your hands, and knead until it forms a smooth ball, about 5–10 minutes. The finished dough should very lightly spring back when pressed with your finger but otherwise hold the indent.
- 6
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, mix the ravioli filling. Combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan in a medium bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- 7
When you’re ready to roll out the dough, lightly flour a clean work surface. Using either a rolling pin, a tabletop pasta roller, or a stand mixer attachment for making pasta, roll the dough into a single layer until it is thin, but does not rip. If using a roller attachment, mark the halfway point of the finished ribbon of dough with a paring knife; if using a rolling pin, divide the dough into two halves before rolling.
- 8
Using a piping bag or teaspoon, portion out the filling across one side of the dough according to the desired size of ravioli: anywhere from 1 inch to 2 inches apart. Aim for a neat teaspoon or so, but avoid overfilling.
- 9
Use a fine pastry brush or the tip of a finger to surround each mound of filling with a very thin swipe of water—this is where the second pasta sheet will seal.
- 10
Gently drape the second sheet of dough over the matrix of filling, and use your fingers to pat down around each dome. Using a pasta crimper or paring knife, cut into equal squares, or use a small cookie cutter to make rounds.
- 11
Stack ravioli neatly and place them in a freezer bag until ready to use or cook immediately in a large pot of salted boiling water for 2–3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked ravioli and transfer it to a large saucepan with your sauce choice.
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