Grandpa Joe's
Cheese Ravioli

One of my many aunts perfected this one!

About this recipe

Of the myriad of pasta dishes available to choose from, cheese ravioli is far and away my favorite.  It always has been.  For as long as I can remember, my standard "test" for all Italian restaurants that I visit for the first time is their cheese ravioli.  Woe be to them if it's not even on the menu!

As a child, cheese ravioli was always served with our family's Italian Tomato Sauce.  In my own kitchen I learned that they are almost as delicious served in a browned butter and fresh sage sauce.  Just sprinkle some pecorino Romano cheese, or better yet, crushed almond cookies, over the top.  Magnifico!

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ricotta cheese
  • 2 large eggs
  • 4 tablespoons freshly-grated pecorino Romano cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Pasta Dough

Directions

  1. Prepare the pasta dough.
  2. Combine the cheese, eggs, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl.  
  3. Preferably using a pasta machine with its rollers adjusted to their second or third thinnest setting, roll out the pasta dough into 4 by 12 inch rectangular sheets.
  4. If you are using a ravioli mold, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
  5. If a ravioli mold is not available, place 1 teaspoon of this mixture on one of the dough sheets at 2-inch intervals.  Place a second sheet over the first and press with fingers around each ricotta mound to remove any trapped air as gently as possible.  Cut into 2-inch squares, making sure that all edges are completely sealed.
  6. Cook in boiling salted water for 4 minutes.  Serve with your favorite sauce.

Notes

  • I recommend working in batches of four ounces of pasta dough, which is sufficient dough for two 4 by 12-inch rectangles.  Make the ravioli with these two sheets and then repeat the process with another 4-ounce piece of dough.
  • The ravioli can be frozen for at least a month.  I suggest placing them on wax paper-lined trays to freeze them, and then once frozen (usually an hour or less), placing them in tightly-sealed plastic bags.
  • Cottage cheese is not an acceptable substitute for the ricotta cheese!
Half way there!
Ready for the freezer, or boiling, salted water.
Ready for the dinner table with Italian Tomato Sauce!
Plated with browned butter with fresh sage and crushed Almond Biscotti.
Posted: February 2014; pictures added: December 2014 and July 2016.