Spinach Ricotta Ravioli

          Today's post is going to be a long one, it's Spinach Ricotta Ravioli. My last post was homemade Ricotta Cheese, and I had mentioned there, that I had made Spinach Ricotta Ravioli and some cookies using the cheese. Making Raviolis takes a little extra time, we can divide the whole process into two parts, making the ravioli, then the creamy tomato sauce and then finally serving them together. It might sound a bit lengthy, but with a little bit of planning, it can be done easily, plan it for a weekend lunch or dinner. The raviolis turned out great, the sauce was delicious, only thing, might be the next time I'll increase the filling a little bit..

Need To Have
For the Pasta Dough

• All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup
• Fine Semolina/Chiroti Rava - 1 cup
• Olive Oil - 11/2 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

For The Ravioli Filling

• Spinach - 1 bunch
• Ricotta Cheese - 3/4 cup
• Parmesan Cheese Powder - 2 tablespoons
• Olive Oil

For The Tomato Sauce

• Tomatoes - 3
• Garlic - 6 cloves, chopped finely
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Fresh Cream - 4 tablespoons
• Dried Basil - 1/4 teaspoon
• Olive Oil

Method

          Take the all purpose flour, semolina, add the olive oil and mix it, then adding warm water, a little at a time ( about 3/4 cup ), make a dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, cover and leave it to rest for an hour.

          In the meantime, make the filling. Clean and wash the spinach and saute it in a little olive oil, till it wilts and looses all the moisture.

          Cool and chop the spinach finely, add the ricotta cheese, parmesan powder, a little salt ( if needed) and a tablespoon of olive oil, mix it and keep.

          Now take the dough, take a handful of dough, dusting some flour and roll it out as thin as possible. Using a cookie cutter, cut out small round shapes. Take one small disc, place a little filling in the center.

          Apply some maida paste ( all purpose flour mixed with a little water ) around the edges, place another disc on top and press it well. Make some markings on the edges with a fork. Do the same with the rest of the dough.

          Boil more than 5 cups of water, add the raviolis, 5 or 6 at a time, cook for about 5 minutes and remove. Apply some olive oil and keep, so that they don't stick with each other.

          Coming to the sauce, boil the tomatoes in water, till the outer skin splits, remove and cool. Peel the skin, blend it and keep.

          Heat some olive oil, add the chopped garlic and saute till it turns golden, then add the ground tomatoes. Add the chilly powder and salt and cook for about 5 minutes till it becomes thick.

          Add the fresh cream and the dried basil, mix and remove immediately. Pour some tomato sauce on a plate, place the ravioli, top with more sauce, garnish with some fresh basil, drizzle a little olive oil and serve.

Note
With the amount of dough I made, we can make about 30 to 35 raviolis, I ran out of filling, it came for about 25 raviolis.
I had made the sauce twice, I was not satisfied with the sauce the first time, so I made it again, a little differently. The sauce made with 3 tomatoes will be enough for about 10 to 12 raviolis.
Don't serve too much sauce, then you won't be able to taste the spinach filling.
This was my first attempt at making raviolis, so I kept only a little filling ( about 2 teaspoons ) per ravioli, I was scared that it might open up while boiling, next time I'll use a little more.