What is ravioli? Ravioli Recipes

In cooking, many dishes are known that have an external similarity, but nevertheless differ significantly from each other. That is why experts are still arguing, figuring out what ravioli is. To give the correct answer to this question, you need to get to know the product itself.

Product Description and Features

Best of all, what is ravioli, Italians can tell. Indeed, it is in their national cuisine that this product occupies one of the leading places along with pizza, risotto and spaghetti. These are products from fresh semisweet dough, which are very reminiscent of our Russian dumplings. In fact, they are a special kind of pasta. That is exactly what any Italian cook will answer if they ask him what ravioli is. These products can have a variety of shapes:

• square;
• ellipse;
• circle;
• a triangle;
• crescent moon.

It all depends on what devices are used for their preparation. In addition, ravioli is made with different fillings. They are:

• meat;
• from poultry;
• fish;
• vegetable;
• fruit
• cheese
• mixed.

These original products can be either an independent dish or a side dish. If they use sweet filling (fruit or even chocolate), then they immediately turn into a very tasty and original dessert.

Interesting to know

Historians claim that the first mention of ravioli can be traced back to the 14th century. It was then that in the letters of Francesco Marco spoke about an unusual dish of stuffed cooked dough. If this product is considered a variety of pasta, then it could appear only after 5 centuries. Indeed, the name of this dish entered the dictionaries in 1841. So, what is ravioli and how do they differ from our famous Russian dumplings? Although both of these products are dough products with filling, but there is still a difference between them:

1. It is customary to mold dumplings with your hands, and the technology for making ravioli involves the use of special forms. This fact once again confirms that the Italian dish is a kind of pasta.
2. For dumplings, as a rule, a dough consisting of flour, salt and water is used. The semi-finished product from which ravioli is made necessarily contains eggs and vegetable oil.
3. In Russia, dumplings have always been made to boil in boiling water. This processing method is considered classic for such a product. At the same time, ravioli is prepared in different ways. They are not only boiled, but also fried in oil or deep-fried.

Such differences are mainly based on national characteristics and taste preferences of residents of different countries.

Italian "dumplings" with minced chicken

How to cook famous Italian ravioli yourself at home? A recipe with a photo for this case is best suited. It will help to do everything right and avoid possible mistakes. As an example, consider the option where the following products are needed:

• For the test:

3 ½ cups flour, 4 eggs, 50 milliliters of water, 10 grams of salt and 17 grams of vegetable oil.

• For filling:

0.6 kilograms of minced chicken, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 medium-sized shallot, salt, raw egg, 3 sprigs of cilantro or parsley and pepper.

• For the sauce:

½ cup white wine, shallots, 250 grams of butter, 30 grams of wine vinegar, 4 sprigs of cilantro and fresh basil, salt, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley and ground black pepper.

The whole cooking process can be divided into several stages:

1. First you need to make the dough. To do this, beat the eggs well, and then add water, oil and salt to them.
2. Pour the flour into a bowl, and in the center make a small depression, where to pour the prepared mixture. Mixing with a fork in a circular motion from the middle to the edges.
3. Knead the dough, periodically pulling it out until it sticks to your hands. This will require at least 10-15 minutes. After this, the semi-finished product should be allowed to lie down at normal room temperature for about 1 hour.
4. At this time, you can do the sauce. First, chopped onion, poured with vinegar and wine, put on a fire and wait until the moisture has completely evaporated.
5. Add oil and whisk the mixture a little.
6. After this, you need to introduce chopped greens pepper, salt and mix well.
7. To prepare the filling, you just need to combine all the ingredients. True, you first need to finely chop the herbs, onions and garlic.
8. Divide the dough into 4 parts, each of which is rolled into a thin layer.
9. For the preparation of ravioli, it is better to purchase a special form. First, it should be covered with half of one sheet. Then, making small indentations above the holes, fill them with filling. After that, cover the mold with the second part of the formation and roll with a rolling pin.
10. After this, the finished products must be put in boiling water, adding one tablespoon of oil and salt to it. Cook no more than 4 minutes.

Now the ravioli can only be put on a plate and pour the sauce prepared in advance.

Mushroom pasta

What else can you make ravioli? The recipe with a photo will tell the novice hostess how, for example, to make a popular dish stuffed with fresh mushrooms. In this case, you can use the dough without eggs. This will not affect the quality of the finished product. Of the products you need:

• For the test:

300 grams of flour, 60 milliliters of olive oil, salt and 165 milliliters of water.

• For filling:

400 grams of any fresh mushrooms, egg, salt, 50 grams of butter, 100 grams of onions.

Cooking method:

1. First you need to knead the dough using the familiar standard technique. Ready-made semi-finished product should stand for a while.
2. The preparation of the filling begins with grinding the main products. Onions and mushrooms should be chopped randomly, and then fry in oil until all the moisture formed has evaporated. After this, the mixture should be salted and allowed to cool.
3. For the preparation of ravioli, it is not necessary to have a special form. The dough can be divided in half, and then each part is simply rolled into a layer.
4. Put the filling on one sheet with small slides.
5. Spread free spaces with a beaten egg.
6. Cover with a second sheet.
7. Cut products using a special knife.

Further ready-made ravioli can be cooked or fried, depending on the desire of the hostess herself.

Forming Methods

The secret to making ravioli lies in a special way of forming blanks. If the dumplings are sculpted with your hands, gently pinching the edges with your fingers, then there are special devices for the popular Italian dish :

1. Figured knife. First, the filling is laid out on a thin layer of dough with a teaspoon. Between the slides there should be a small distance of at least 3-4 centimeters. The filling must be covered with a second sheet, the gaps must be cut with a special knife. As a result, products have spectacular curly edges.
2. The form. Depending on the size, it can have a different number of cells. First, it is covered with the first test layer. Then, in the places where the holes are located, the filling is placed. Then the structure is covered with another layer and well rolled with a rolling pin. After that, finished products fall through the openings and appear on the desktop.
3. Figured rolling pin. This original device is a cylinder in the form of a screw with three longitudinal ribs. Rolling such a rolling pin over a design consisting of two sheets of dough with filling, you can get blanks (envelopes), which then can only be cut neatly with a curly knife.

The ravioli obtained as a result of such actions can be further fried, boiled or baked in the oven, poured with pre-prepared sauce.

Cheese Filled Ravioli

In Italy, ravioli with cheese is most often prepared. This type of filling is best suited to the national traditions of this country. To prepare the dish you will need the following main components: 250 grams of goat cheese, a little butter, 150 grams of flour, salt, 75 grams of mashed beetroot, egg, Parmesan cheese, pepper and chopped greens.

Such a dish is made in stages:

1. First, to prepare colored pasta, you need to carefully beat a fresh egg into the flour, and then add the beets and salt. The dough should be soft and fairly elastic. To ripen it must be wrapped in a film and briefly set aside.
2. To prepare the filling, salt the cheese, and then gently knead it with a fork, adding a little pepper and herbs.
3. Roll out the dough on a table sprinkled with flour, in the form of a thin layer.
4. Spread the filling on it with a teaspoon so that between the slides there is a distance of about 4-5 centimeters.
5. Cover the products with a second fins and press them with your hands so that they stick together.
6. With a knife with a disk curly blade, carefully divide the structure into parts.

Now the ravioli should be boiled in salted water, and then served, watered and sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese.

Italian classic

Classic ravioli are products that Italians are used to cooking with ricotta and spinach filling. Making them, in principle, is not difficult. The main thing is that the following ingredients are available: ½ kilograms of flour, 2 whole chicken eggs, as well as 8 yolks and 2 protein, 30 milliliters of olive oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt and grated nutmeg, 30 grams of Parmesan cheese, 150 each gram of spinach and ricotta.

To properly prepare ravioli, you need to perform all the actions in a certain sequence:

1. First, from flour, 2 eggs and 8 yolks, you need to knead the elastic dough. After that, it should lie for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
2. For the filling, lightly fry the washed, dried and arbitrarily chopped spinach in oil. As soon as the greens are reduced in volume, it is necessary to add the remaining components.
3. Divide the dough into two parts, each of which is thinly rolled.
4. Put the filling on one sheet with neat slides.
5. Cover everything with a second layer and press it with your hands in between.
6. Cut the workpiece into separate ravioli.
7. Boil products in slightly salted water.

Serve these ravioli to the table hot, pouring them with olive oil and sprinkled with grated cheese. At the same time, it should have time to melt.

Forest scented

Each mistress herself can come up with a filling for ravioli. The classic recipe allows you to use absolutely any options. Take, for example, the one where the pasta is cooked with potatoes and mushrooms. The following ingredients are needed here:

• For the test:

½ kilograms of flour, 100 milliliters of olive oil, 20 grams of salt, as well as 4 eggs and 2 yolks.

• For filling:

6 potatoes, onion, 300 grams of fresh mushrooms, ground pepper, 60 grams of butter and salt.

The process of preparing such ravioli is similar to the previous options:

1. The dough is being prepared first. To do this, add all other components to the container with sifted flour. Kneading, as a rule, lasts about 10 minutes. After this, the finished semi-finished product must be wrapped in cling film and put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.
2. For the filling, you first need to boil the potatoes. Then it should be mashed and cooled. Separately, fry the chopped mushrooms with onions in a pan. After this, the products need to be combined, add a little salt to them, pepper and mix well.
3. Roll out the dough into a layer 1 mm thick and cut into equal strips. Their width depends on the size of the ravioli. Next, you must do the following: put the filling on one strip of small slides. The distance between them should be about 2 centimeters. Cover the food with a second strip and gently squeeze it. After that, with a curly knife with teeth, cut the workpiece into identical pieces. The same should be done with the rest of the strips.
4. Boil ready-made ravioli in salt water with oil.

After this, the product can be eaten. As an additive, it is better to use aromatic oil (garlic or basil).

Vegetarian option

How else is ravioli cooked at home? The classic Italian recipe with a photo will clearly show how you can fry these unusual “dumplings”. Required: 300 grams of finished dough, onion, 200 grams of pulp of fresh pumpkin, 50 grams of green peas and 1 tomato.

In this case, the preparation will be as follows:

1. For the filling, pumpkin pulp and onions should be cut into cubes, and then fry them, adding peas, until cooked.
2. Mix in a puree using a blender.
3. Roll out the dough into a thin layer and coat it with water a little.
4. On one side of the sheet with the same slides lay out the filling. The distance between them should correspond to the size of the product.
5. Cover the filling with the free side of the sheet and press firmly.
6. Cut the structure into blanks using a special knife with a figured blade.
7. Boil the products for 5 minutes in boiling water.
8. In a pan in oil, fry the tomatoes cut into pieces.
9. Add ravioli to them and warm the products together for 3 minutes.

Ready-made products will appeal to lovers of vegetables. Fried tomatoes perfectly set off the taste of fresh pumpkin, and will be a real gift for true vegetarians.

Traditional option

To prepare such an unusual dish in the spirit of true Italian traditions, it is better to use the classic ravioli dough recipe. He needs a minimum set of products: 250 grams of flour, a little salt, 2 eggs and 4 yolks.

A distinctive feature of this option is that there is practically no water in it. Moisture is taken mainly from egg white. The result is a brightly colored mass that really looks like a real paste. Cooking it is not at all difficult:

1. Sift flour, and then pour it into a bowl.
2. Beat eggs with salt.
3. Gradually adding them to the flour, knead in progressive circular motions.

In order for the semi-finished product to be soft and elastic, you need to remember one important rule: for every 100 grams of flour you need to take one egg. If the mixture is too thick, then you need to add a little yolks. This will not only fix the consistency, but also make the color of the test more vivid and beautiful. Ravioli is then prepared depending on the recipe selected.