Spices & Sprinkles

Pasta Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups flour 
• 3 eggs 
• 2 T olive oil 
• ¼ t salt 

Pasta Directions:

1. Create a well in the flour and add the eggs, olive oil, and salt in the middle. Knead until smooth. This will take about 5 minutes, but you will know you kneaded it enough once you can push your thumb lightly into the dough and it springs back. 
2. Let rest for 1-2 hours in a lightly oiled bowl, covered with a clean dish towel. 

Filling Ingredients:

• ½ lb. Italian sausage, cooked and drained 
• 1 cup ricotta 
• ½ cup shredded mozzarella 
• Handful of fresh basil, chopped 
• Seasonings: oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper
  • The filling is really up to you and your preferences! This is my family’s favorite, but you can also use what you have in your fridge like spinach, other cheese, squash or pumpkin, and much more. The key is to make sure your filling is not too liquidy or else you will have a big mess when you try to fill your raviolis.

Filling Directions:

1. Mix together and set aside. 

Ravioli Directions:

1. Roll out the pasta with a pasta machine or as thin as you can get it with a rolling pin.
2. Place dollops of your filling in a line on the sheet of pasta almost halfway up, lengthwise. 
3. Brush eggwash around each dollop and fold the pasta sheet over to cover the filling dollops you made. Press down firmly around the filling on each one, but be careful to not press into the filling, or the ravioli will get a hole in it. 
4. Cut the raviolis apart and crimp the edges with a fork. 
5. Boil in salted water for about 2 minutes or until pasta edges are al dente (they will usually float to the top but it sometimes depends on how well you filled them and what you filled them with). 

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, finely diced 
• 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced 
• 3 T tomato paste 
• 2 T vodka 
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• ⅓  cup heavy cream 
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan  
• Handful fresh basil, chopped 
• Seasonings: pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano 

Sauce Directions:

1. Saute onion, garlic, and seasonings until tender. 
2. Add tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes. 
3. Add vodka and cook for another 2 minutes. 
4. Add the rest of the ingredients with more seasoning and cook for about 10 minutes. 
5. Serve over pasta topped with extra cheese and red pepper flakes. 

I think it’s fitting that my first post is this recipe. For Christmas, my freshman year of high school, I asked for a pasta machine, and Santa (my lovely parents) granted my wish. Ever since then, my family’s favorite recipe of mine has been this. That pasta maker is the only kitchen appliance or tool that I “protect” – if you have one, you know, absolutely no water goes near it! Even though it’s one of my prized possessions, it has traveled with me to a lot of friends’ and family’s houses because dried pasta is NEVER as good as fresh pasta.