Queer Eye Cuisine

[BC Don]

Swiped and sharing!

SPINACH AND RICOTTA RAVIOLI
Ingredients for pasta:
1 lb. bread flour (3 ½ to 4 cups)
5 fresh, large eggs (preferably organic)
semolina flour for dusting

Ingredients for filling:
1 ½ cups Sheep's Milk Ricotta cheese
½ cup Cacio de Roma cheese
3 to 4 tablespoons of Pecorino Romano cheese
Cooked Spinach (not too much)

Start with your flour in a small pile. Make a well in the center of the
pile. Add the eggs, breaking them up slightly as you bring flour in from
the sides. Keep doing this until it becomes dough-like, at which point
you can use your hands. Work the dough until it's smooth and elastic.

Wrap in plastic and put it in the refrigerator to rest for 60 minutes.
While the dough is resting, you can make your filling: simply mix the
cheeses together.
When you remove the dough, divide it into two sections. Roll each
section into a ball.
Re-cover one of the balls. With the palm of your hand, flatten the other
one slightly. Then begin to roll it out with a rolling pin. Repeat this
process, making sure to keep your dough well dusted with flour until you
have a thin layer of pasta. NOTE: A pasta machine may also be used for
this part.

Divide your pasta into two separate layers and lay them out on a floured
surface.

Place heaping teaspoons of the mixed cheese and spinach filling all
along the middle of one layer, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Brush
the pasta with water lightly with a pastry brush. Then take the second
layer and lay it over the first. Press the layer down against the first
layer, gently covering the mounds filling, making sure to fit it snugly
around the filling without tearing the pasta. Once you have completed
this process along the entire length of the pasta, you can cut it into
individual raviolis.

The raviolis will be ready to cook immediately in boiling water for
about 3 minutes but remember that these are really delicate. Stir the
water when cooking but be careful not to touch the ravioli itself.

MARINARA SAUCE (THE BEST TOMATO SAUCE FOR RAVIOLI)
Ingredients for tomato sauce:
2 small Spanish onion, minced
6 tablespoons butter
3 cans of Italian San Marzano tomatoes, peeled, cored and seeded
1 handful of basil leaves, kept whole or hand-torn into smaller pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Heavy cream (optional)

In a thick-bottomed pan or 3 quart saucepan, warm and melt the butter
over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally,
until it is soft and translucent.

Crush the tomatoes with a fork or by hand and add them to the pan. Cook
until the tomatoes break down and become sauce-like, roughly 15-20 minutes.

For a creamier sauce, add some room temperature heavy cream - quarter
cup, more or less.

Season with salt and pepper and add the basil. Serve over the ravioli.