recipe: ravioli stuffed with prosciutto, spinach, mushroom, ricotta in brown butter shallot sauce

i was house-bound for a day, which was the perfect opp to finally make ravioli. since i don't make pasta often (*ever), i don't have a pasta maker or any fancy equipment, so i was going at it old school. while i was a little intimidated by that part, the fillings part was exciting... prosciutto, spinach, mushrooms, homemade ricotta...basically ever type of ravioli i love, all rolled into one. YUM. 

the ravioli dough was easy enough to make, but impossibly difficult to get a thin as i'd like it. most sites recommended about 1/16 of an inch, mine was... a little thicker than that. the flavor was fantastic, although in the end i would have preferred a more delicate/thinner ravioli casing. it was more like a hearty gnocchi married a ravioli than a thin little pasta pocket. damn tasty though, so i wasn't a total fail... just something that def needs a bit of work.

the recipes online are nearly identical, so i didn't use anything specific, although next time i may futz around a bit to make a softer dough that's easier to roll thinner (mine was super-elasticy and tough).

ingredients list - pasta:  

- 4 cups all-purpose flour

- 4 large eggs, beaten

- 1 tsp olive oil

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1-2 tbsp water, if needed

to make - pasta: in a medium sized bowl, combine flour and salt. make a well in the flour, and add the beaten eggs and olive oil into the center. mix well until the dough forms stiff ball. if mixture is too dry/flaky (it will seem impossibly dry in the beginning), add 1-2 tbsp water. wrap up in cling wrap, and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

after dough has rested, on a lightly floured surface, kneed dough for about 3-4 minutes. with a pasta machine or by hand using a rolling pin, roll out dough to desired thinness (should be about 1/16 of an inch, roughly. work in small batches if needed, to keep excess dough from drying out. i believe i did mine in 3-batches). roll dough into a rectangular shape so it's easiest to parse out for the little raviolis. 

the above recipe will make about 6-serving sizes, or about 28 raviolis (using my jumbo-thick ravioli as the measurement)  

ingredients list - filling mixture:

- 5-6 slices of thinly-sliced prosciutto (a little less than 1/4 lb)

- 2 cups ricotta 

- 2 cups spinach, finely diced

- 1 cup mushrooms, finely diced (i used a blend of crimini/shiitake/oyster) 

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

no instructions needed for the filling, other than to mix it all up in a bowl. boom!

to assemble ravioli: after dough is prepared and rolled, as above, cut pasta sheet into two even pieces. brush edges of 1 sheet slightly with water (to help seal the sheets together when complete).

place 1 tbsp of filling about every 2 inches across the sheet (spaced out enough to match the size ravioli stamp you'll be using, or just however large you'd like to cut the final raviolis). place second pasta sheet on top, and gently press around each mound of filling to push out any air bubbles. slice into pieces, or use ravioli stamp to carve them out. cover with cling wrap or a damp towel until ready to cook. 

to cook: bring a large pot of boiling water to a boil; add ravioli until al dente, should be when the ravioli float to the top of the pot. drain, cover with desired sauce (i used brown butter, below), eat!

ingredient list - brown butter sauce: 

- 1/4 cup salted butter

- 1/2 shallot, finely diced

- 2 cloves smashed garlic

to make - sauce: 

melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. cook, stirring until brown bits begin to form and butter starts to foam, 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. add in shallot and garlic and allow to cook 1-2 minutes before removing from heat. remove cloves of garlic. serve over raviolis!