So, you have been studying for hours and you keep getting the same question wrong. You have a group project due tomorrow and your teammates refuse to do their share. You are hungover and you have no idea who or what gave you that huge bruise. You have texted your crush for the umpteenth time and still have no response. You are still not done midterms and finals are only a couple weeks away! Experiencing the mid-November blues? Well then it’s time to find inner peace.
Traditionally, one would take a yoga class, but speaking from experience, I find making spinach ricotta ravioli from scratch a lot more therapeutic than tangling my body in upside down positions. This dish is very time consuming but will keep your hands busy with dainty details and your mind preoccupied with luscious longing. It’s my way of relaxing and keeping calm.
Spinach Ricotta Ravioli (Serves four)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tsp olive oil
2 eggs beaten
1 1 / 2 tbsp water
300 g ricotta
2 cups baby spinach
1 / 4 cup parsley
1 pinch cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 / 2 jar of pasta sauce
1. Mix the olive oil, eggs, and water in a bowl. Keep two teaspoons of the mixture aside to use later as an egg wash to seal the ravioli.
2. Soak the baby spinach in lukewarm water for about 5 min. Pat dry and cut into slices.
3. For the stuffing, combine the ricotta, spinach, parsley, cayenne pepper and a teaspoon of the oil, egg and water mix. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
4. For the pasta, add small amounts of the oil, egg, and water mix to the flour and keep kneading the dough until it is smooth.
5. Using a rolling pin and square cookie cutters, shape the dough into very thin squares.
6. Take one dough square and place a teaspoon of the stuffing into the centre and sandwich the top with another dough square. Seal the ravioli by using the oil, egg, water mixture set aside from before. Smear it onto the edges of the square and press together.
7. Once you have made all of your raviolis, place them into salted boiling water. They will float to the top when ready.
8. When serving you can use any type of pasta sauce, including meat sauce, tomato sauce, alfredo or a rose. Garnish with parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
