This easy 'how to make ravioli' guide makes fresh, filled pasta simple thanks to expert advice from celebrity chef Theo Randall.
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00:00 Hello my name is Theo Randall from Theo Randall at the Intercontinental. Today I'm going to show you how to make ravioli.
00:06 So first of all we're going to start with the filling. So the filling we have some spinach.
00:14 Now you can do anything you want. You could use broccoli, you could use the classic chimo de rapé which is the turnip tops, you could use Swiss chard.
00:22 Anything kind of green and slightly robust that you can cook, blanch and then finely chop and mix in some ricotta and some parmesan cheese.
00:30 So we've just got spinach here. So I've left the stalks on the spinach so it's got a nice texture to it.
00:34 Then I'm just going to finely chop the blanched spinach which I've squeezed out.
00:38 Now it's important that you take out a lot of the water because if it's too wet the mixture will be too wet which will make the pasta soggy.
00:45 So it's really important to make sure that you've squeezed it out.
00:50 Now I find if you blanch the spinach and you then put it into a colander and let it cool down to room temperature it's much better flavour than by putting it into ice cold water.
01:00 Because when you put it in ice cold water it dilutes the flavour. So it takes a little bit longer but you get a much nicer result.
01:06 So finely chop the spinach so it's really fine. You can leave a little bit of texture in there but it's quite nice if it's nicely finely chopped.
01:13 And then we're going to add some ricotta cheese and we're going to add some parmesan and some salt and pepper.
01:19 It's a very, very simple filling.
01:21 So we put the chopped spinach into a bowl.
01:24 Then we're going to add our ricotta cheese.
01:28 So just lovely fresh ricotta.
01:31 Mix that in together with the spinach.
01:35 And then we're going to add some parmesan.
01:38 A nice amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
01:42 Some salt and pepper.
01:44 Freshly ground black pepper and sea salt.
01:47 Make sure it's quite well seasoned because it's going to be blanched in the pasta so the filling has to be really quite strong.
01:53 Just mix the spinach and the ricotta and the parmesan.
01:57 Using a teaspoon we're going to put the filling.
02:00 Now the temptation is to make really large balls of filling.
02:04 Make them very, very smallish because if they're too big when you push the pasta together it's all going to come out the sides.
02:09 It's very important. One there's a gap and two it's very, very clean in between each ravioli.
02:14 Otherwise what will happen is the filling will get stuck in between the two sheets of pasta.
02:18 So when it cooks it will open up.
02:20 Now if you're doing this on a larger scale or professional level you can use a piping bag but I'm just using a teaspoon because we are cooking at home.
02:27 Portions of filling with a decent gap in between. At least two fingers in between each gap.
02:33 Then what we're going to do is we're just going to get some water and we're going to run some cold water over each part of the pasta dough.
02:40 So basically it acts like a sealant, almost like a glue.
02:44 So just some water, just cold water, pastry brush, then rub that in between.
02:48 Not too much, don't make it too wet but just enough so it gives a bit of moisture.
02:52 And then along the bottom of each bit of pasta and then we just fold the pasta over.
02:57 Just fold this over the top.
02:59 Pasta's just nice and slightly moist because I put that tea towel on top which kept it nice and juicy.
03:04 If you don't do that what will happen is when you fold it over the pasta will break and crack and that is a disaster.
03:10 So fold this over, push down, sort of pushing it almost towards you but making sure that that bit of dough is not sticking to the other piece of dough yet.
03:19 And then using your two little fingers just push down and what we're trying to do now is get rid of all of the air.
03:25 There's no air in between the little pasta parcel because if there's air and you pop it into the water what will happen is the air expands.
03:33 It'll explode. You'll end up with some horrible ravioli.
03:37 That's all sealed and then using the cup of your hand, over the ravioli and push down and that will release all of the air.
03:44 So push down and then just keep pushing down so all that air comes out and you end up with lovely sealed raviolis.
03:51 Getting this as well and then we're going to get our cutter and cut the ravioli.
03:55 If you've got one the zigzag one even better but I've just got a straight sided one here.
03:59 And then just cut along, make sure that you've got those bits of pasta sealed nicely.
04:04 This side as well, getting rid of the little trimmings of pasta and then just cut the pasta and take off the surface.
04:11 And then once you've done that just go through the ravioli and make sure that all the edges are sealed.
04:17 By literally picking up each one and then just press so it's all sealed.
04:20 It's definitely worth doing this because if you don't then you might get a little hole in there.
04:24 Put a little bit of semolina flour on the bottom just to make sure it doesn't stick.
04:27 And then we're actually going to put this onto a tray and pop it in the fridge.
04:30 Now the temptation with anything that goes in the fridge is to cover it with cling film.
04:35 If you cover it with cling film what will happen is the pasta will remain really soggy.
04:38 You want the pasta to almost dry out and the fridge is brilliant because it will evaporate the moisture.
04:43 Squeezing each edge and making sure that filling is nice and tight inside.
04:48 And then once you've done that put it straight in the fridge.
04:55 Okay so the pasta's been in the fridge for about 20 minutes so it's got a slight dryness to it.
04:59 So that when you cook it it'll have a lovely al dente bite.
05:02 Now if you have any leftover bits of pasta like here, the best thing to do is just scrunch them up and then put them through the pasta machine again and make some tagliatelle or tagliarini.
05:10 If they're a bit dry put them in the food processor with a little bit of water and then just give it a quick blitz and then wrap it in cling film and use it another time.
05:17 But a good kitchen is a frugal kitchen so use up every scrap of pasta you have left over.
05:22 I'm going to now cook the ravioli.
05:27 So just put the ravioli in one by one in simmering water, not fast boil, just simmering water for three to four minutes.
05:35 And then take the pasta out and put them into a pan with some butter and some sage and a ladle of the pasta water.
05:40 Move the pasta in the pan together so it emulsifies.
05:43 So the ravioli is really nice and emulsified, it's got the lovely kind of juice from the pasta water and the butter and the sage.
05:51 So we're just going to plate up, nice generous large ravioli.
05:55 So the sage is just soft, it's not fried it's just kind of soft and it has a nice lovely sort of flavour to it.
06:02 It's really made the buttery sauce that goes with it.
06:06 And then serve with some parmesan cheese and some black pepper.
06:08 Very simple, very delicious ravioli.
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