Ricotta and Herb Ravioli

This was how the fresh pasta started.  It was kind of a project.

Ricotta and Herb Ravioli

from The Art of Simple Food

1 cup ricotta

2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil or softened butter

1 egg

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons mixed chopped herbs such as marjoram, basil, thyme, savory, parsley, or sage

salt

fresh-ground black pepper

plus 1 recipe of the Fresh Pasta

To make the ravioli filling... mix everything together in a bowl besides the pasta dough.  That's right.  Then you're done.  Oh but wait, now you have to roll out the pasta dough.  

ricotta and herb filling

Roll out all the dough until it's fairly thin and cut it into sheets that are about 14 in. long.  Keep the stack of well-floured pasta sheets under a towel to keep them from drying out as you work with one sheet as a time.  

Spoon 1 tbs of the ricotta and herb filling.  Keep about 1 1/2 inches between each blob of filling.  

Spray lightly with a fine mist of water.  Fold the upper half of the pasta over the lower half and then gently press the two layers of the pasta together, making sure to squeeze the air out of the little pockets.  Use the zigzag roller to cut the ravioli apart.  

Separate them and lay them out on a sheet pan sprinkled with flour.  Make sure they aren't touching each other because apparently the ravioli filling with seep through the pasta and everything will stick together.  Cover them with a towel or something and refrigerate them until you are ready to cook them.  

Cook the ravioli in salted simmering water for 5 to 6 minutes or when the pasta is done.  Drain and serve, with 1-2 tbs of butter and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Eat!

***

Everything was actually pretty easy to do, but I did over stuff some of the ravioli.  It worked out alright though.  However, I did put all the ravioli in the pot at once and they all ended up floating to the top and some of them didn't cook evenly.  I had to use a strainer to submerge the ravioli so they would actually cook.  So I would suggest only putting a few ravioli in the pot at a time and that way they'll cook without too much effort on your part.

Here's another guitar song.  Last summer I went to an amazing concert, courtesy of my lovely friends.  Rodrigo y Gabriela are two guitarists that... well, you'll just have to listen to it.  This is called "Hanuman":

Waters, Alice, Patricia Curtan, Kelsie Kerr, and Fritz Steiff. "Ricotta and Herb Ravioli." The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2007. 271. Print.