ravioli-oli-oli

so, i made homemade ravioli. like an italian grandma. seriously. it's very easy, tasty, and you can fill up the ravioli with whatever you want! (ours had ricotta, of course, and spinach.)

ravioli-oli-oli
1. mix 2 cups flour with 2 eggs and enough water to make it stick together. (i was following a recipe from an italian cookbook from 1967 but it didn't call for enough water to make it stick together.) i would start with a couple of tablespoons and keep adding until it sticks. also, i used my hands to mix it because my pastry blender was getting so messy.
2. roll out the dough REALLY thin. mine was a bit too thick, so some of the ravioli were too doughy.
3. put a teaspoon of your ricotta mixture (one cup ricotta, 1 egg, 1/3 bunch grated spinach, dab of salt, pepper, garlic powder) onto the dough.
4. cut enough dough around the mixture with enough dough available to be able to seal the mixture inside. i used my hands to seal it but it would be nice to have a pastry crimper.
5. boil for 20 minutes in salted water. at first, they stick to the bottom of the pot so you have stir them a bit. eventually, they will float.
6. top with sauce of your choice. (ours was a tomato sauce with fresh green bell peppers, onion, and garlic.)

really, food is so much better when you make it yourself. there are weird ingredients and preservatives in packaged food. ours was the real deal. yum.