Herbed Ricotta Ravioli

Homemade pasta is still new to me, so I'm trying to experiment with a variety of things. A few weeks ago we made linguine and spaghetti, and tonight we made ravioli with an herbed ricotta filling. They were time consuming, but easy, and so so so delicious! The original recipe is from Cooking Light's March 2009 issue. I made a few changes that are noted below. I love that you can make a big batch of these and freeze them. Next time, I'll definitely double the recipe so I can put some away for another day!

The recipe looks a bit daunting because it's long and involved, but take your time, and follow the steps. It's pretty simple to make, and very straightforward.

Ingredients
Dough

• 5.6 ounces soft wheat flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 large egg

Directions

1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, salt, and eggs in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until mixture is crumbly (dough will not form a ball). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 4 minutes). Shape dough into a disc; wrap with plastic wrap. Let dough stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
2. Unwrap dough. Divide dough into 8 equal portions. Working with 1 portion at a time (keep remaining dough covered to prevent drying), pass dough through pasta rollers of a pasta machine on the widest setting. Fold dough in half crosswise; fold in half again. Pass dough through rollers again. Move width gauge to next setting; pass pasta through rollers. Continue moving width gauge to narrower settings; pass dough through rollers once at each setting to form 8 (15 x 3–inch) pasta strips. (I rolled some of my pasta to #2 on my pasta machine and some to #3. I'd definitely recommend stopping at #3, as the #2 ones were a bit too thin.) Lay strips flat on a lightly floured surface; cover. Repeat procedure with remaining dough portions.

Ravioli Filling
Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind (I omitted this)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large egg
• 5 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry (this was not part of the original recipe)

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions

1. To prepare ravioli, place ricotta in a cheesecloth-lined colander; drain 30 minutes. Combine ricotta, 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, and next 4 ingredients (through egg), stirring until well combined.
2. Place 1 (15 x 3–inch) Classic Pasta Dough sheet on a lightly floured surface. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons filling mixture 1 1/2 inches from left edge in the center of sheet. Spoon 1 1/2 teaspoons filling mixture at 3-inch intervals along the length of sheet. Moisten edges and in between each filling portion with water; place 1 (15 x 3–inch) pasta sheet on top, pressing to seal. Cut pasta sheet crosswise into 5 (3 x 3–inch) ravioli, trimming edges with a sharp knife or pastry wheel. Place ravioli on a lightly floured baking sheet (cover with a damp towel to prevent drying). Repeat procedure with remaining pasta sheets and filling mixture to form 20 ravioli.
3. 
4. 

5. Bring 6 quarts water and salt to a boil in an 8-quart pot. Add half of ravioli to pot; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until no longer translucent. Remove ravioli from water with a slotted spoon. Repeat procedure with remaining ravioli.

6. To prepare sauce, heat oil in a large skillet over low heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 6 minutes or until garlic is tender. Remove from heat. Place 5 ravioli in each of 4 shallow bowls; drizzle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic oil. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon basil and 1 tablespoon shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.