I bought a lovely selection of mushrooms the other day which got me thinking about this humble little fungus. Mushrooms are often added to a dish without much thought or consideration, but this versatile, nutrient packed veg is not only filled with it’s own flavour, but serves as an amazing vehicle for other flavours too.
They are sadly often overlooked, and also overcooked, especially here where we have been mostly exposed to basic white button mushrooms and on occasion large Portabello mushrooms which are usually drowned in butter or cheese. There are so many varieties though that I think a lot of us miss out on.
For me, there is nothing better than accenting them with some herbs and garlic to make them the star of any dish.
As you would probably know by now, I love homemade pasta. It’s quicker and simpler to prepare than most think and the flavour pay-off is just not comparable. So I’m celebrating this beautiful variety of exotic and everyday mushrooms in some yummy homemade herby mushroom ravioli.
Hope you’ll give it a try too.
Instructions included for those with and those without a pasta machine
Homemade Mushroom Ravioli
A variety of exotic and everyday mushrooms, accented by herbs and garlic to make a delicious homemade herby ravioli.
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Ingredients
Filling
- 300 grams Mushrooms, finely chopped I used a mix of exotic, portabellini and button mushrooms
- ½ Large onion, finely chopped
- 2 Cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tsp Dried Italian Herb Mix
- 3 Tbsp Fresh basil, finely chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Pasta
- 2 Cups 00 Farina or All-purpose Flour, and more for dusting
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Dried Italian Herb Mix
- 2 Large Eggs
Sauce (Optional)
- 100 grams Mushrooms I used a mix of exotic, portabellini and button mushrooms
- 100 ml Fresh cream or a non-dairy substitute
- 1 Clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp Dried Italian Herb Mix
- Mushroom pan juices
- ¼ Cup Finely grated Parmesan Optional or non-dairy substitute
- 1 tsp Corn Starch/Flour Optional
- 2 Tbsp Fresh basil, finely chopped
Instructions
Filling
- Prepare and cook the filling before making the pasta as it needs time to cool
- Finely chop the onion and mushrooms and crush the garlic. Add the olive oil to a pan and place on medium heat. Then add the onion, mushrooms and garlic, followed by the herbs and cook until soft (approx. 5 minutes). Season with salt and black pepper to taste, then add the finely chopped fresh basil and stir to combine
- Remove from the heat and place the mixture into a strainer over a bowl to let it cool and remove any liquid (reserve the juices for use in the sauce later). The mixture cannot be hot or too wet when added to the pasta as it will make it soggy
Pasta
- In a large bowl or on a clean and flat surface of your counter top, pile the flour and create a well in the middle of the flour. Add the salt, herbs and the eggs into the well you created in the middle of the flour. Very gently start whisking the wet ingredients into the flour with a fork and bring the edges of the flour over the top of the eggs
- Once the mixture starts to come together start folding the dough over onto itself. If the mixture is too tacky at this point sprinkle additional flour over the top and incorporate. If it very dry for some reason, add a teaspoon of water and work it in, then check again. Knead the dough for a few minutes. You want a smooth, firm ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and rest for 15 – 20 minutes
- Cut your pasta dough into 4 even pieces. Working with one quarter of the dough, wrap the rest with plastic wrap to prevent it drying out. Sprinkle your pasta machine and pasta dough with a dusting of flour
- Flatten dough with your palm and roll out pasta starting at the widest setting on your pasta machine, mine is 1. Rolling the dough is a process, you need to make several passes, throughout each thickness setting for the best results. I start with the biggest setting, run it through once or twice there, then gradually adjust the settings to be thinner and thinner until I have the perfect sheet. Work your way up on the settings slowly, careful not to tear the dough. Between each pass, I fold the strip into thirds. This helps square up the edges and keeps things even. Work your way up to a thinner setting, I like mine at a 7 or 8 for. It's your preference on how thin or thick you want your dough
- If you do not have a pasta machine, just ignore the above step and roll the dough to your desired thickness on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. You want the dough to be nice and thin, but not so thin that it tears. Still work in pieces to make it easier to cut into strips
- Place a strips of pasta in front of you, then using a small spoon, add a small dollop (around 1 teaspoon amount) of filling to in a row along the strip of pasta. Space these around 3cm apart. Then dampen the edges of each circle slightly with a wet finger and fold it over to form a half moon (Mezzeluna). Making sure to squeeze out any air around the filling when you seal the edges to prevent them popping or opening up in the water
- Keep a cup of water handy. With a wet finger, dampen the pasta around each of the little mounds of mushrooms. Then gentle start laying another sheet of pasta over the top, but lay it down one mound at a time to seal. Use your fingers, cupped, to seal around each mound as you go, trying to squeeze out any air around the filling before sealing and moving on to the next mound. Air sealed around the filling will cause the ravioli to pop while cooking
- Once sealed, use a 4 – 5cm round or fluted cookie cutter (or ravioli cutter if you have one), to cut around each mound of filling (I got 24 ravioli with this amount of filling, plus leftover pasta dough which I stored for future use)
- Squeeze the edges of each to ensure they are well sealed and place the ravioli on a floured surface to prevent sticking
- Place a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. If making the sauce, prepare it while the water comes to a boil and before cooking the pasta
Sauce
- Add the olive oil, garlic, mushrooms (I left these whole) and herbs to a pan and bring to medium heat. Cook gentle until soft and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside
- Add any reserved pan juices from earlier as well as the cream to the pan and heat through (do not boil if using cream as it will split). Season the cream if needed and add the finely grated Parmesan. Stir through to help it melt as this will help thicken the sauce slightly
- This does not make a lot of sauce, just enough to coat the pasta. If you would like a slightly thicker sauce, mix a spoon of milk and a teaspoon of corn starch/flour in a small container, then add the mixture to the sauce and mix through
- Add half the finely chopped fresh basil and reserve the rest for garnish
Cooking the pasta
- When the water has come to a boil, add the ravioli gently into the water and boil for around 3 – 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pasta. If they're all popping to the surface immediately, you might have some air trapped so gently push them down to help them cook evenly. Do not stir or be too vigorous as you don't want them to burst or tear
- When cooked, use a large slotted spoon and remove them a few at a time from the water, shaking off any excess and placing them directly into the sauce. Very gently stir or give the pan a shake to ensure they are all covered, then add the mushrooms back to heat through
- If not using this sauce, just toss drain the ravioli and toss through some olive oil
- Serve with the reserved fresh basil and a generous grating of Parmesan (optional)
Notes
This dough freezes really well. You can make the dough ahead of time and leave it in the fridge (wrapped in plastic wrap) for two to three days or freeze for around a month. You can also refrigerate or freeze the cut pasta. Just make sure you flour it well to prevent sticking, place in an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze. You don’t even have to defrost the frozen pasta before use. Just drop into the boiling salted water and cook for an additional minute or two.
Tried this recipe?Post your pics and tag us at @my_homemade_kitchen_za or #myhomemadekitchen!
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