The filling was the easy part. I simply put all the ingredients in the food processor and mixed it thoroughly. I used frozen spinach (thaw, then squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible), eggs, Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, chicken, ricotta cheese and garlic. Really. It was that simple.
The pasta gets a bit trickier. Flour, eggs, salt, olive oil and water are standard. Any pasta recipe should work fine. The important thing is to let it rest for an hour after it has been thoroughly mixed and kneaded. Something to do with the gluten. I can't explain the science of it. I saw it on TV and sometimes that's good enough. Just sometimes.
I divided the pasta dough into four equal sections. Just to make it easier to work with. I attached the pasta machine to the counter and began to pass a ball of dough through at the widest setting. Fold the sheet in half and run it through again. Repeat that a few times until the sheet looks solid. Then, rest the pasta machine to one size thinner. Pass the sheet through a few times, folding in half as on the first setting. When I got to setting number five, I had the thickness I was looking for.
I cut the sheet in half and laid one half on my work surface. I then used a small (one inch) ice cream scoop and placed dollops of the filling on the sheet, allowing adequate space between them. With my fingers, I gently patted the balls of filling, flattening them slightly. The second sheet of pasta is then laid over the top. Carefully, I pressed down around the developing raviolis to expel excess air. Then, using a semi-decorative cutter, I cut out the individual raviolis.
Place them on a cookie sheet and then freeze them before packaging them. Unless you want to eat them right away. I froze four packages, and had a few extra to eat right away.
I just topped them with a little tomato sauce, and boy were they delicious. I am planning a surprise dinner for Susie on Wednesday and will use some chopped kalamata olives, reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes and olive oil. For starters.Bon appétit!
