Homemade Spinach Ricotta Ravioli

I've been making pasta with my family since I was a little girl. It's one of my absolute favorite things to create in the kitchen. It's a labor of love, and so incredibly worth it. This ravioli dough recipe is the base for literally any pasta, but the hot water in this recipe specifically relaxes the gluten and allows the dough to be easily worked with.

Now let's get to it. In a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. In a separate bowl combine the water and egg and whisk. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the flour and stir until fully incorporated and a ball has formed. Pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead until the ball is a smooth an no longer sticky, but not too dry. Place dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for an hour before rolling out. Once the hour is up, use a pasta roller or just a good ol' rolling pin. We want the dough very thing, so it mayyy be time to invest in a pasta roller if you plan to make these often.

For the fillings I did a spinach ricotta filling. First step is to get a big pot of water boiling to blanch the spinach. Generously salt the water. You're going to place the spinach in the water for only 30 seconds. Then scoop it out and place it on a cutting board to cool. Once cooled, roughly chop it and add it to a medium sized bowl.

Add ricotta, Parmesan, 1 egg, nutmeg, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.

Stir everything together and you're ready to get these raviolis filled! Also you can place this mixture in the fridge and it holds for a few days.

Place the pasta dough on a counter and dot the dough with the filling, ensuring you have enough to fold over the top.

Use an egg wash around the filling and fold the pasta over the top and press around the filling. This creates a seal on the pasta so no filling comes out of the sides of the ravioli.

You can use a a pasta roller that crimps the pasta, or simply use a knife and take a fork around the perimeter of the raviolis to crimp them together. When done, place raviolis in a pot of boiling water that's salted with water for about 5 minutes. They will float when ready. Remove from the water and drizzle with olive oil so they don't stick together and they're done!

Ingredients for the dough:

• 1 1/4 cups flour

• 1 large egg

• 1/4 cup hot water

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Mix flour with salt.

2. In a separate bowl whisk water and egg together.

3. Slowly pour egg mixture into the flour and stir until fully incorporated and a ball has formed. Pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead until the ball is a smooth an no longer sticky, but not too dry.

4. Place dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for an hour before rolling out.

5. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out thin or use a pasta roller.

Ingredients for filling:

• 10 oz spinach

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup ricotta cheese

• 1 cup Parmesan cheese

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)

Instructions for filling:

1. Boil a large pot of water and salt generously.

2. Place spinach in the pot and blanch for 30 seconds. Remove from the water and place spinach on a cutting board to cool. Once cooled, chop the spinach roughly and add to a medium sized bowl to combine with other ingredients.

3. Add egg, ricotta, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

4. Dot the dough with the filling, use an egg wash around the filling and fold the dough over the top, pressing around the filling with your fingers to gently seal.

5. Using a pasta cutter or a knife, cut out the raviolis. If using a knife, take a fork around the perimeter of the raviolis to seal them shut.

6. Boil ravioli for 5 minutes in a large pot of salted water. Remove from water and drizzle with olive oil so they don't stick together.