Everyone is happier with a bag of frozen ravioli they can pull out some cold January night and share with those closest to them. Easy to make ahead and freeze, these magical little pouches can be stuffed with any tasty filling and finished with a simple red sauce, a splash of olive oil or brown butter and a little shredded Parmesan.
Laura Schenone, author of The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken, spent several years searching for the story behind her disjointed family and the food that united them. The beguiling Genoese ravioli served at Christmas kept her searching for her family’s “true” recipe. In the end, she realized that all ravioli recipes and the time spent with others in the kitchen preparing pastas, gnocchi and sauces created a sense of community that defined her family and brought them joy.
I am not Italian, and I have not mastered the art of hand-rolled pasta or ravioli shaping, but I remember with great clarity the toasted ravioli I shared with visiting aunts and uncles when they came to town to celebrate. Indeed, one of my favorite Christmas packages I shipped to my cousins in New Jersey was a Styrofoam box of frozen T-ravs.
This pasta dough can be made by hand or using a stand mixer and pasta rolling attachment. Both work equally well, but for simplicity’s sake, I’ve given instructions for the stand mixer in this recipe. If you want to learn how to make the ravioli by hand, I recommend Schenone’s book, as well as Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking for detailed descriptions, photos and helpful tips on how to hand-roll pasta dough.
The Shopping List*
1½ lbs. assorted mushrooms, such as cremini, oyster or shiitake
1 small red onion
1 tsp. dried thyme
4 Tbsp. sherry
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 medium butternut squash
1¼ cups mascarpone
1½ cups shredded Parmesan
1 cup ricotta
? tsp. grated nutmeg, plus more to taste
5 cups all-purpose flour
8 eggs
4 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. finely chopped pistachios
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Special equipment: Pasta roller attachment for stand mixer
* This list assumes you have canola or vegetable oil, olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper at hand in your kitchen. If not, you’ll need to purchase these items, too.
The Game Plan
Day 1: Make the butternut squash filling. Make the roasted mushroom filling. Make the pasta dough.
Day 2: Roll and fill the pasta dough. Freeze or cook the ravioli.
Roasted Mushroom Filling
2 cups
6 to 8 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil, divided
1½ lbs. assorted mushrooms, such as cremini, oyster or shiitake, stemmed and thinly sliced
1 small red onion or shallot, thinly sliced, divided
1 tsp. dried thyme, divided
4 Tbsp. sherry, divided
? cup mascarpone
½ cup shredded Parmesan
½ cup ricotta
¼ cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Day 1: Warm a large wide-bottomed skilled over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil to coat the bottom of the pan and wait until it begins to smoke.
• Add enough mushrooms to fill the pan in even layer, one-quarter of the red onion and ¼ teaspoon thyme. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and pan roast 4 to 5 minutes, until the mushrooms release their liquid and are browned. Stir the mushrooms occasionally, adding 1 tablespoon sherry and more oil as needed to prevent burning.
• Place the cooked mushrooms on a baking sheet to cool and repeat the process, cooking the mushrooms in batches. Let cool completely.
• In the bowl a food processor, add the cooked mushrooms, mascarpone, Parmesan, ricotta, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste and pulse until combined. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.
Butternut Squash Filling
2 cups
1 medium butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. kosher salt, divided
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
¾ cup mascarpone
½ cup shredded Parmesan
½ cup ricotta
? tsp. grated nutmeg
• Day 1: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• Place each squash half skin-side down on the baking sheet. Liberally coat each half with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt and pepper.
• Roast 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is golden and the flesh is tender. Let cool completely, then remove ½ cup roasted squash and place into a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth. Squeeze the cloth over the sink to remove as much water as possible. Reserve the remaining squash for another use.
• In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the squash, mascarpone, Parmesan and ricotta. Stir to combine, and season with the remaining 2 teaspoons salt, the nutmeg and pepper. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use.
Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce
4 dozen
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more to flour countertop
8 eggs
1 batch Butternut Squash Filling (recipe above)
1 batch Roasted Mushroom Filling (recipe above)
½ cup water
4 Tbsp. butter
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp. finely chopped pistachios
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Grated nutmeg to taste
Special equipment: Pasta roller attachment for stand mixer
• Day 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix 2 cups flour and 4 eggs on medium speed until evenly combined, then knead 7 to 8 minutes. The dough will be smooth and not sticky. Add flour 1 teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
• Wrap the dough tightly in plastic. Repeat with the remaining 2 cups flour and 4 eggs.
• Refrigerate the dough at least 20 minutes or overnight.
• Day 2: Dust a large section of clean countertop with flour. Dust 1 baking sheet with flour.
• Cut the pasta dough into 4 equal portions. Using a stand mixer fitted with the pasta roller attachment on the thickest setting, gently feed 1 portion of dough through the roller on low speed. Repeat, then adjust the roller to the next thinnest setting and gently feed the dough through twice more. Repeat, passing the dough through twice on each progressively thinner setting until it has passed through the thinnest setting.
• Place the long sheet of pasta dough on the floured countertop. Dollop about 1 tablespoon butternut squash or mushroom filling on the bottom half of the sheet about 1½ inches apart.
• Dip a brush or finger into the water and wet the dough around each dollop of filling. Fold the top half of the dough over the filling and line it up with the bottom edge, but do not seal.
• Working from the top to bottom, gently press the dough together around each filling dollop, pressing out as much air as possible and gently sealing the dough.
• Use a ravioli cutter or a sharp knife to cut the ravioli into individual pieces and place them on the baking sheet.*
• Repeat the rolling and sealing processes with the remaining batches of dough and filling.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees.
• Meanwhile, add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl gently until the solids take on a caramel color, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Working in batches, boil the fresh ravioli 2 minutes, until the pasta is cooked and evenly colored.
• Remove with a spider or slotted spoon and place them in the brown butter. Swirl to coat, then remove to a large serving dish and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining ravioli.
• Garnish the butternut squash ravioli with Parmesan, toasted pistachios and grated nutmeg. Garnish the mushroom ravioli with chopped parsley and pepper.
*To freeze for later use, place the baking sheets of ravioli in the freezer 1 to 2 hours, then store in zip-top freezer bags up to 6 months. Cook from frozen in a large pot of salted boiling water 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente. Strain and serve in brown butter sauce.
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This article appears in December 2015.