My Guy’s Ravioli
From a young age, my love for food and music were heavily influenced by my father. As an Italian-American from the south side of Chicago, the flavors of sausage and Giardineria remind me so much of him. Homemade pasta with a side of FRESH BREAD, as he notoriously would yell, is the perfect combo to bring me back home again.
As for music; the guy took any opportunity to sing with the band, do Karaoke, and yell the lyrics along with his friends. Dean Martins classic That’s Amore! Pairs perfectly with My Guy’s Ravioli and was one of his favorite tunes.
Oddly enough the second song picked for this recipe is The Backstreet Boys I want It That Way. That was my dads favorite song to scream on the top of his lungs and hug all the ones he loved!
Ingredients
1 lb hot bulk Italian sausage
1 8 oz jar mild Giardiniera
1 lrg egg
15 oz Ricotta
1 cup grated Parmagiano-Reggiano
3 Sage leaves.
For Ravioli dough
4 eggs
4 egg yolks
4 cups of flour
1 Tbs warm water
I use a Ravioli stamp which I purchased from this company
Take out eggs ahead of time to allow them to reach room temperature. Clean counter top or work space and dry. A smooth surface is preferred. Pour out 4 cups of flour onto the counter. Make a well in the center of the flour and add 4 full eggs and 4 egg yolks. Using a fork gently mix in eggs slowly drawing in the flour. Use your hands to knead the mixture until dough starts to form, around 10 minutes.
If dough is still dry and crumbling add 1 Tbs of warm water and continue to knead. Sprinkle with extra flour if sticking to your hands/counter.
After dough is well kneaded, form into a ball and cover tightly in a clean towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough sit for 45 minutes or longer to rest. Resting the dough is an important step as it allows it to roll out easily in the next step.
After the resting period follow this video. If no pasta machine use a rolling pin.
To use a Ravioli stamp
If no Ravioli stamp no worries!
While pasta is resting prepare your filling. In a frying pan cook bulk Italian sausage. Once browned drain out all grease and allow cooling.
In a large mixing bowl add Ricotta, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Add a Tbs of Giardineria oil. Fine chop Giardineria using1/2 of the jar and add to mix. Go lighter or add more as you prefer, but make sure to chop this as fine as possible. Fine chop the sage leaves and add to cheese mixture.
Once the sausage has cooled place on a cutting board and chop fine. You want to prevent chunks so chop the meat a few times over. Add to the cheese mixture and stir until combined evenly. Place the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Watch the video above for using the Ravioli stamp. If no stamp no worries! There is a video above for that as well.
After Raviolis are complete, lay parchment paper on a cooking sheet and freeze one layer at a time. After around 10 minutes they will be ready to place in a freezer safe container and you can stack them. These are great to freeze and store for future cooking or if you plan to cook that night see below.
To cook add the desired amount of Raviolis to boiling water for around 5 minutes. The Raviolis will float to the top and once desired texture remove from water. Top with Marinara, Or a little olive oil and cheese!
CLICK HERE FOR MARINARA RECIPE!
For my father no meal was complete without some FRESH BREAD!
