Spinach, Ricotta and Mushroom Ravioli with Homemade Marinara

Thanks to Mike and Cindy, I am the proud new owner of a new pasta maker! I decided to try it out but I had a hard time deciding which type of pasta to make. I have done the goat cheese thing and I hate marscapone, so I settled on ricotta. I searched for a yummy recipe but in the end I went with what I like. I kind of just made this up as I went along and it turned out great! I also had a new, smaller ravioli stamp. Now I don't always have to make the GIANT raviolis!

I know I have posted a pasta sauce recipe before, but I wanted to try something different. The other one is still very good but also very time consuming to make. This one only takes about thirty minutes from start to finish and is just as delicious! Peter said he still likes the other one better but he's not the one spending hours in front of the stove so sometimes he will have to deal with the easier version!

For the pasta dough recipe, please see this post.

Spinach, Ricotta and Mushroom Ravioli
1 1/2 cups chopped spinach, thawed, patted dry
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan reggiano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Just before it begins to smoke, add the mushrooms and saute for ten minutes. Add the chopped spinach and cook for three minutes.

Move the mushroom and spinach mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until course. In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms and spinach with the ricotta and parmesan reggiano. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix thouroughly.


Homemade Marinara Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper

In a medium stockpot, heat the olive oil, add the onions and simmer until translucent, five to ten minutes. Add garlic and simmer for one minute. Add wine on high heat and cook until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, parsley and salt and pepper for three minutes. Simmer fifteen minutes.

On one half of the pasta dough, drop a teaspoon of the filling, 2 inches apart. Fold over the other half of the dough, like a blanket. Press air out of the pockets. Use knife, or ravioli stamp, to cut into squares. Crimp edges with fork, unless you have used a stamp. Brush ravioli with egg wash. Dust ravioli and sheet pan with cornmeal, lay out to dry.

Bring 3 quarts of salted and oiled water to boil in a large pasta pot. Add three or four ravioli at a time, as not to crowd them, and cook for two or three minutes. Remove, plate and cover in a foil tent until you have finished cooking all of the ravioli.