Ravioli

Cooking Skills: Pasta 2

Chapter 4 · Ravioli

Skill goal

Make, fill, seal and cook ravioli so they stay whole and taste of their filling.

The basics

Ravioli are pillows of fresh pasta around a filling, the most satisfying thing to make from a sheet of dough. They look hard, but there are only four skills: a dry filling, a thin, even sheet, a good seal and gentle cooking.

Problem to avoid	How	Why
Soggy ravioli	Drain ricotta, squeeze vegetables dry, roast squash until dry, cool the filling completely	Wet filling leaks through the dough
Bursting ravioli	Press out every pocket of air, and don't overfill	Air expands in the hot water and splits the seams
Ravioli that open	Brush the dough with water or egg before sealing, and press firmly	Dry dough doesn't stick to dry dough
Thick, doughy edges	Roll thinly and trim well; press edges flat	Double thickness at the seam must still cook through
Torn, mangled ravioli	Simmer gently; lift out with a slotted spoon	A hard boil knocks them about

Teaspoons of filling. It looks too little at first; the dough puffs round it. About 10 g per ravioli.
Keep the dough covered. Dough you're not using dries out and won't seal.
Work on a floured, semolina-dusted board and keep the finished ravioli apart on a tray.
The filling is cooked or ready to eat, because the pasta cooks for only 3 or 4 minutes.

Try it

Level 1 · Start here

Spinach and ricotta ravioli

1 hour 15 minutesmakes about 24 ravioli (3 portions)the classic filling

The best first filling: soft, mild and forgiving. The filling must be dry (the ricotta drained, the spinach squeezed), because wet filling makes soggy ravioli that burst.

Ingredients (3 portions)

200 g plain flour (or "00")
2 Lion-marked medium eggs
1 pinch fine salt
2 tbsp fine semolina (or extra flour), for dusting
1 small egg or a little water, for sealing
200 g ricotta, drained in a sieve for 30 minutes
60 g cooked spinach, squeezed completely dry, finely chopped
30 g parmesan, grated
1 pinch nutmeg
½ lemon, zest only
¼ tsp salt

Make the dough: mix the flour, salt and eggs, knead for 8 to 10 minutes and rest for 30 minutes (chapter 1). Meanwhile, make the filling (below).
Cut the dough in half and keep one half wrapped. Roll the other into a long sheet about 1 to 1.5 mm thick and about 12 cm wide, trimming the edges straight.
Filling: mix the ricotta, spinach, parmesan, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt until smooth.
Place level teaspoons of filling (about 10 g) on one half of the sheet, in a row, about 4 cm apart. Brush round them (and the long edge) with the beaten egg or water.
Fold the other half of the sheet over, and press the dough down round each mound with the sides of your fingers, pushing out all the air. Trapped air makes ravioli burst while cooking.
Cut between the mounds into squares with a knife or a fluted wheel, or use a round cutter. Press the edges with a fork if you like. Set on a semolina-dusted tray, not touching.
Cook in a large pan of gently simmering salted water for 3 to 4 minutes, until they float and the edges are tender. Lift out with a slotted spoon. Serve with the lemon butter below.

How many to cook

Cook what you will eat now, and freeze the rest on a tray (see the food safety box). Six to eight ravioli is a main-meal portion.

Level 2 · Sweet and savoury

Butternut squash ravioli

1 hour 30 minutesmakes about 24 ravioli (3 portions)a drier filling to master

Roasted squash has a lovely sweetness, but it holds a lot of water. Roast it until dry and caramelised, and mash it with breadcrumbs to soak up what's left.

Ingredients (3 portions)

200 g plain flour (or "00")
2 Lion-marked medium eggs
1 pinch fine salt
2 tbsp fine semolina (or extra flour), for dusting
1 small egg or a little water, for sealing
400 g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tsp olive oil
30 g parmesan, grated
2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch salt and pepper
6 sage leaves, to serve
1 tbsp butter, to serve

Make the dough: mix the flour, salt and eggs, knead for 8 to 10 minutes and rest for 30 minutes (chapter 1). Meanwhile, make the filling (below).
Cut the dough in half and keep one half wrapped. Roll the other into a long sheet about 1 to 1.5 mm thick and about 12 cm wide, trimming the edges straight.
Filling: heat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C conventional, gas 7). Toss the squash with the oil, spread on a tray and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until soft and browned at the edges. Mash until smooth, mix in the parmesan, breadcrumbs, nutmeg and seasoning, and let it cool completely.
Fill, seal, cut and cook the ravioli exactly as in the spinach recipe, with level teaspoons of filling, all air pressed out, and a gentle simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan and fry the sage leaves for 1 minute until crisp. Spoon over the ravioli.

Level 2 · Fresh

Pea and mint ravioli

1 hour 15 minutesmakes about 24 ravioli (3 portions)bright green and healthy

Peas make a fresh, sweet filling. Crush them coarsely, not to a purée, or the filling turns to paste.

Ingredients (3 portions)

200 g plain flour (or "00")
2 Lion-marked medium eggs
1 pinch fine salt
2 tbsp fine semolina (or extra flour), for dusting
1 small egg or a little water, for sealing
200 g frozen peas
100 g ricotta, drained
20 g parmesan, grated
1 tbsp chopped mint
½ lemon, zest only
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, to serve

Make the dough: mix the flour, salt and eggs, knead for 8 to 10 minutes and rest for 30 minutes (chapter 1). Meanwhile, make the filling (below).
Cut the dough in half and keep one half wrapped. Roll the other into a long sheet about 1 to 1.5 mm thick and about 12 cm wide, trimming the edges straight.
Filling: boil the peas for 3 minutes, drain very well and let them steam dry. Crush them coarsely with a fork, then mix in the ricotta, parmesan, mint, lemon zest and seasoning. The mixture should hold its shape on a spoon.
Fill, seal, cut and cook as in the spinach recipe for 3 to 4 minutes.
Serve with the olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and more mint.

Level 2 · Sauce

Lemon butter (for any filled pasta)

5 minutes2 portionsthe easiest finish

Fresh filled pasta doesn't need a heavy sauce. Butter and lemon make a light, glossy coating that lets the filling shine.

Ingredients (2 portions)

40 g butter
½ lemon, zest and 1 tsp juice
3 tbsp cooking water from the ravioli
1 pinch black pepper

Melt the butter in a wide pan over a low heat and add the lemon zest.
Add the cooking water and simmer for 20 seconds to make a creamy emulsion.
Add the cooked ravioli and roll them gently in the sauce. Add the lemon juice and pepper. Serve at once.

A lighter version

Use 20 g of butter and 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, and a little more cooking water. Or skip the butter and use only olive oil, lemon and parmesan.

Experiments

Experiment

How much filling

Find the limit.

Make ravioli with 1 level teaspoon, 2 teaspoons and 1 tablespoon of filling each.
Cook them together and note which burst, and how they taste.

Look for: The small ones are mostly pasta, the large ones are likely to burst or leak at the seam. Between 1 and 2 teaspoons is the sweet spot.

Experiment

Water or egg wash

What do you seal with?

Seal three ravioli with a brush of water and three with beaten egg. Press them identically.
Cook them gently and check which ones open.

Look for: Both work for fresh dough. Egg is stickier, and better for dough that has dried slightly. If your dough is fresh and damp, water is fine.

Experiment

Thick or thin sheet

How thin should it be?

Roll one lot of dough to 1 mm and another to 2 mm. Make and cook ravioli from each for the same time.
Compare the eating.

Look for: The 2 mm ravioli are chewy and doughy at the seams, the 1 mm ones are delicate. Too thin and they tear, too thick and the filling is lost.

Experiment

Cutter or knife

Does the shape matter?

Cut some ravioli with a round cutter and some into squares with a knife or fluted wheel.
Cook and compare how many scraps are left, and how well the edges seal.

Look for: A round cutter gives neat shapes but wastes dough, squares waste none. Reroll the scraps once to make a few more.

Tasting notes

What I tried	Method or amount	What I saw	What I thought	Will I do it again?
Spinach and ricotta ravioli
Squash ravioli
Pea and mint ravioli
Lemon butter
Filling amount
Water vs egg seal
1 mm vs 2 mm
Cutter vs knife

Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	What to do
Ravioli burst while cooking	Trapped air, overfilled, or boiled hard	Press out the air, use less filling, simmer gently
Ravioli open at the seams	Dough too dry, or not pressed	Brush with water or egg and press firmly
Soggy bottoms	Wet filling, or left on a damp board	Dry the filling; dust the tray with semolina and cook soon
Doughy seams	Dough too thick at the edge	Roll thinner and press the dough flat round the filling
Ravioli stuck to the tray	Left too long or not dusted	Dust with semolina; freeze on the tray
Filling bland	Not seasoned	Season the filling; taste a cooked spoonful of it only if it contains no raw egg

Food safety: ravioli

The dough contains raw egg and raw flour. The Food Standards Agency advises against eating or tasting uncooked flour or dough, because raw flour is not treated to kill bacteria such as E. coli. Don't taste the dough or any filling that contains raw egg, wash your hands, the board and your tools after handling raw dough, and use Lion-marked eggs. Cook fresh pasta thoroughly. Pregnant women, children under 5, people aged 65 and over, and anyone with a weakened immune system should be especially careful.

The fillings here are all cooked or ready to eat (the ricotta is pasteurised, the squash and peas are cooked, the spinach is cooked), and the ravioli simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Don't put raw meat or raw egg in a filling. If you fill with anything else, make sure it is cooked.

Uncooked fresh pasta, which contains raw egg, should be kept in the fridge (0 to 5°C) and cooked within 24 hours, or frozen straight away. (There is no pasta-specific official guidance, so this is a cautious rule based on the Food Standards Agency's general advice on chilling and freezing homemade food.) Freeze it in a single layer on a tray, then bag it, and cook from frozen. Cook frozen ravioli straight from the freezer for 5 to 6 minutes, never thawed, which makes them stick and burst.

Cooked pasta is a starchy food, and like rice it can grow bacteria if it is left warm. There is no pasta-specific official guidance, so this course uses the cautious rule: cool it quickly (within about an hour), put it in the fridge, and eat it within 24 hours; freeze it if you won't. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through.

Checkpoint: can you do this now?

I can make a filling that is dry enough.
I can roll a sheet thin enough, and fill and seal ravioli.
I know why air must be pressed out.
I can simmer ravioli without bursting them.
I can freeze ravioli and cook them from frozen.

Next chapter

Cooking Skills: Pasta 2, chapter 5 is Tortellini and Other Filled Shapes: folding tortelloni, tortellini in broth, agnolotti and cannelloni.