Spinach Ricotta Ravioli (Italian Sunday Lunch Staple)

Spinach and ricotta ravioli in sage butter sauce on a plate.

4.75 from 8 votes

Spinach Ricotta Ravioli (Italian Sunday Lunch Staple)

Try this delicious spinach and ricotta ravioli just like Italian nonna would make them! They're a must on the Italian Sunday and holiday menu.

Prep Time2

Cook Time5

Total Time2 5

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 607kcal

Author: Svi

Ingredients

For ravioli dough:

4 eggs , see Note 1.
400 grams flour , the amount is approximate! See Note 2.

For the filling:

15 oz fresh ricotta cheese , (450-500 grams)
15 oz fresh spinach , this will turn into about 11-12 oz (320grams) cooked and drained spinach
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese , about 100 grams
1 egg
Salt , pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic clove (optional)
Pinch of peperoncino flakes (hot pepper flakes) also optional

For sage butter sauce (4 servings)

3-4 oz butter
A handful of sage leaves

Instructions

Prepare the egg dough

Weight the eggs and note their total weight without the eggshell.
Calculate how much flour you need: egg weight in grams x 1.75
Sift the flour on work surface (preferably wooden).
See my Perfect Egg Pasta Dough guide for details.
Scoop a well in the center and add in the eggs.
Start beating the eggs with a fork, little by little incorporating flour from the sides.
Once the mixture becomes thick, use a dough scraper to fold the flour from the sides onto the center, repeating this process until the dough comes together.
Now start kneading the dough with your hands. Roll the dough on itself kind of forming a log, than rotate 90 degrees and repeat. Use a little bit of flour you’ve previously set aside if the dough is too sticky, add another sprinkle if needed. You can even add a little more flour if the dough requires it.
At the end result you should have a smooth, SOFT but NON sticky dough. Dust it with flour and wrap it in the plastic wrap.
Let rest for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the ravioli filling

In a large pan add a drizzle of olive oil (just to slightly grease the pan), garlic clove crushed with a flat knife and hot pepper flakes.
Turn the heat on medium, add spinach and cover with a lid. Add more spinach to the pan once there’s enough room. Make sure to stir frequently in order not to burn the spinach. Once all spinach is wilted, simmer for another minutes, turn the heat off and remove the garlic pieces if you used them.
Transfer cooked spinach to a colander or a large strainer. Squeeze out the excess liquid and let cool completely.
Once spinach is cold enough to handle, chop it roughly with a knife.
In a large bowl, add ricotta cheese (well drained), chopped spinach, grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. You can even taste the filling and adjust seasoning if needed.
Next, add an egg and mix thoroughly. You can do this with a mixer if you prefer.

Make ravioli with pasta machine and a ravioli maker

Once the dough has rested, visually divide in into 6 parts.
Cut off one part, flatten it out slightly with your hands, trying to give a square or rectangular shape.
Lightly dust with flour and pass is through the rolls of the pasta machine on its widest setting.
If the dough has an odd shape, fold it in half and pass through the same setting again.
Adjust to the next-narrower setting, and pass the dough through it. Repeat the process until you reach thickness of approx 1.2 mm or position 5 on Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine.
Pass the pasta sheet on this setting for the second time.
As an end result you should have a rectangular an inch wider than your ravioli mold and a sightly more than twice longer.
Generously dust the ravioli mold with flour so as one side of the dough sheet.
Place the dough sheet floured side down on the ravioli mold, leaving the free end to seal ravioli after stuffing.
Using your knuckle gently press into the dough following the cavities of your ravioli stamp.
Fill each cavity with a good dollop of spinach ricotta filling.
TOP TIP: Transfer the filling in the pastry bag or a firm plastic bag with the end cut off to fill ravioli easily, quicker and more uniformly. Alternatively you can use a teaspoon to distribute the filling.
Cover the ravioli with the free end of pasta making sure to overlap all edges and trying to squeeze out the air tapped in between.
Roll the rolling pin on top to seal ravioli.
TOP TIP: press with the end of the rolling pin or your fingers on the crimped edges to make sure they’re perfectly sealed.
Remove the dough scraps and set them aside sealed with a plastic wrap or plastic bag. Later, you can use all the scraps put together to make more ravioli.
Flip the ravioli mold over and gently extract the ravioli.
Arranging them on the floured board or on a pasta drying rack.
Repeat the same process with rest of the dough.

Cook Ravioli

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt well and add splash of oil to prevent ravioli from sticking together.
Drop ravioli a few at a time. Once ravioli come afloat, cook for 2-3 minutes then drain.

Coat In Sage Butter Sauce

While ravioli are boiling, in a large pan add butter and sage leaves. Let it melt on low heat, then simmer until sage becomes fragrant.
Lower the heat again. Once ravioli are drained, toss them in the pan with sage butter sauce and serve.

Notes

See the Step By Step Pictures for a visual walk-through of the recipe.

Note 1: Use a kitchen scale to measure both eggs and flour.

Note 2: Italian '00' flour is the best but you can also use all-purpose. The amount of flour may vary depending on the size of the eggs. That's why it's super important to weight both eggs AND flour. Here's how to do it.

Crack and weight all the eggs first.
Take a note of amount in grams, then multiply it by 1.75- this will be the amount of flour you'll need to use to make the dough.
You'll also need a little more for dusting the work-surface.

See my detailed Perfect Egg Pasta Dough guide for details.

Nutrition