Raviolo all’uovo
It’s hard to find a more iconic pasta dish, particuarly with the never-tiring runny egg yolk. Make your own ricotta (instructions below) and pasta dough for a great first-course dish. Make sure to scroll to the bottom of the page for step-by-step photos.
GATHER for pasta (8 servings)
00 flour (500g)
Egg yolks (454g, about 25 yolks)
GATHER for ricotta (optional)
Whole milk (4 cups)
Heavy cream (1/2 cup)
Distilled white vinegar (2 tablespoons)
Salt (1 teaspoon)
Cheesecloth (2 pieces)
GATHER for final assembly
Basil (about one handfull)
1 medium shallot
2 cloves of garlic
Parmigiano reggiano (about 1/2 cup)
Plastic piping bag
Egg yolks (one per serving)
ASSEMBLE the ricotta
Place a mesh strainer over a pot, and place two pieces of cheesecloth over the strainer. Set aside.
In a cold saucepan, combine 4 cups of whole milk, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon. Gradually bring the heat up to 195F or about 91C by using an instant-read thermometer.
As soon as the milk mixture reads 195F or 91C, turn off the heat and immediately add 2 tablespoons of the distilled white vinegar. Stir for five seconds, and then let sit untouched for 6 minutes.
After six minutes have passed, ladle your mixture into the cheesecloth-covered mesh strainer. Let this sit for 45 minutes to strain.
After 45 minutes, grab the cheesecloth and place the ricotta in a bowl. Refrigerate overnight.
ASSEMBLE the dish
I recommend this order, sequentially. You will jump back and forth between pasta making and preparing the ricotta mixture.
Initial assembly
Dice 1 shallot, and mince two cloves of garlic.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the shallot and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the two cloves of garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
Add the basil, and turn the heat to low. Stir, and cover. Let this mixture cook for about 4 minutes.
Turn off the heat, and let the mixture cool.
Pasta making
In a large bowl, place 500g of 00 flour and create a well for the egg yolks.
In another bowl, begin placing egg yolks in the bowl over a scale until you have 454g of egg yolks.
With a fork, gently mix the egg yolks.
Dump half of the egg yolks into the flower well. Begin to gradually combine.
Dump the remainder of the yolks into the bowl, and continue to combine.
Place the mixture on a clean surface, and begin kneading for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, the ball of dough should be smooth and bounce back when poked. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
Ricotta preparation
Add about 1.5 cups of ricotta cheese to a food processor, and then add the basil-shallot-garlic mixture.
Pulse lightly until all items are incorporated. Place the mixture in a piping bag.
Back to dough
Once rested, unwrap the dough and cut into quarters (see photo below) and take one quarter and flatten with your hands.
Using the widest setting (0) on your pasta machine, pass the dough through the pasta machine. (If the dough feels sticky, add a little bit of flower.)
Laminate the dough by folding in thirds (see photo below) and pass through perpendicular to the pasta machine on its widest setting. Do this lamination process three more times, and fold to ensure the pasta is as wide as the pasta machine. (You want this to be as wide as possible.)
Decrease the thickness by turning the knob to setting 1, and pass the sheet of pasta through twice. Continue this process, moving up to setting 6.
Fold the sheet in half like you are closing a book, and then unfold it and identify the crease.
With a small pastry cutter (about 1.5” in diameter) lightly press into the dough on the right hand side of the crease to form an outline for a circle. Repeat this two or three times, depending on the amount of room available on your pasta sheet.
Pipe the ricotta mixture and trace the circles on the sheet. Try to pipe 4 or 5 layers tall.
Place 1 egg yolk inside each ricotta tower. With a spray bottle or using your fingers with water, gently moisten the area around the ricotta tower to help the pasta seal together.
With the left-hand side of the pasta sheet, fold over to gently cover the ricotta/egg yolks. Gently press out any air bubbles.
After sealed, and with a pasta cutter, shape the ravioli to your preferred size. Continue all of these steps until you have the desired amount of ravioli.
Final assembly
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a gentle boil.
In a saucepan, combine 4-5 tablespoons of butter, 3-4 sage leaves, and some water and begin to melt the mixture.
Once the water is gently boiling, carefully place the ravioli in the pot and boil for 90 seconds.
Transfer immediately to the saucepan with the butter and sage, and turn the heat up to high to finish. Toss to finish, for about 1 minute. Once the butter starts to brown, turn off the heat and transfer to a plate.
Garnish with parmigiano reggiano, if desired.
