Learning Pasta Making the Italian Way

My American Italian family has been making Ravioli as a tradition for as long as I can remember. As I child my grandparents would come over one day in the winter or fall and we would make ravioli together. I have one particularly good memory of my Grandfather picking me up from High School on “Ravioli Making Day”. He arrived in the front of the school on his motorcycle with a side car. I happily strapped on the helmet and climbed inside the side car and then drove off. I’m quite sure this elevated my “cool” status to unprecedented levels, at least in my mind. I mean, who has a grandpa as cool as that?!?

As a family we would make the dough with Grandma carefully watching on. It was very important that the dough be kneaded to the perfect elasticity level, we used a Kitchenaid circa 1960, Grandma was cool that way too. The real skill came in on the rolling process. You had to evenly roll out the dough, no tearing the dough, don’t roll it in uneven shapes, no high spots and it should be rolled as thin as a sheet of paper. She would come and check and tell you “not yet, keep going”. Finally you were ready for the filling. We took the dough we had just rolled out into a perfectly thin circle and folded it in half making a crease in the middle. That way you knew where to stop spreading the filling, which was spread out on half of the dough like peanut butter on a sandwich. Then you folded the other half of the dough over like a quesadilla, smoothing it out with your hands. Then we used the Ravioli Rolling Pin that made the perfect little ravioli squares. This was followed up with the zigzag cutter. We always counted the raviolis out and placed them in freezer containers for enjoyment during the year.

But this recipe is not about my family recipe. Fast forward 30 years from the “side car” incident and now I am living in Italy. I have a friend that is Italian “through and through” and she has offered to teach me how to make Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli the “true”, current generation, Italian Style. First we meet for lunch and she cooks us Veal Scallopini alla Limone with a Salad. What better way to start a cooking lesson then with a cooking lesson? That recipe will follow in a future blog.

During lunch I ask how we will make the Ravioli, would it be with a Ravioli Rolling Pin? This caused quite the commotion because a difficult conversation ensued in which we first had to define what a Rolling Pin was, then what a “Ravioli” Rolling Pin was. So, after much deliberation, we came to the conclusion this is an American invention and is not in use in Italy. The men at lunch thought it was a brilliant idea and marveled at the pictures I showed them. I assured them that it did indeed work, much to their amazement that they had not thought of this before. They asked me to bring them back this crazy invention when I return back from my upcoming trip to America. I also marveled at the conversation because all of this time I thought we (my Italian family in America) were making ravioli the traditional way with traditional tools!

The Canadian invention of a Ravioli Rolling Pin

I actually looked up the history of this Ravioli Rolling Pin and found out it was invented by a man named Iannuzzi who was a successful business man and entrepreneur of Italian decent living in Canada. After retirement he loved eating ravioli but didn’t like that it took most of the day to make enough ravioli for a family of 6. So he invented the Ravioli Roller. Later his son reinvented it and put it on the market in 1997. So there you go. It’s a Canadian invention and not that long ago. Well, I guess it figures if your Italian Grandfather rides a motorcycle with a side car and your grandma used a Kitchaid in the 60’s then they are on the cutting edge of innovation and would have snatched up a Ravioli Rolling Pin when they saw one!

But I digress once again, this story is Italy, 2018 and we are learning THEIR way of making Ravioli. So, I will learn how to make Ravioli senza American Innovation.

We start by carefully measuring out the semolina and farina (flour). In case you haven’t noticed, I struggle on this blog with my American measurements and the Italian way of measuring with a scale using grams. For the last year and a half I have continued in my way of converting back and forth. Sometimes I include grams in my recipes and sometimes I do not. Well, this in one place that you really need to use a scale because Semolina and Tipica Farina “00” (a fine ground flour) weigh differently and measuring with cups doesn’t really cut it. I make a mental note to buy a scale and a pasta machine after this experience. Why fight millions of Italians, it’s easier to join them. So it is 100 grams of flour and one egg per person you are making the pasta for.

After weighing out the flour you heap it into a volcano and crack the eggs into its crater. Using a fork you whisk in the flour until it forms into a ball. Don’t try to rush this or your volcano will explode all over the table. Embarrassing.

Knead the dough with the ball of your hand punching down and across and try not to think of how much easier the Kitchaid would be.

Keep kneading until the ball is Elastic and springs back to your touch. Cut the dough into slices and feed into the pasta machine on the thickest level, putting it through several times and lowering the setting on the machine until you get the thickness you desire.

Feed through machine on thickest setting and lowering settings until the desired thickness

The making of Pasta — Look at all of that pasta!

When you have a long narrow strip you are ready to plop down your filling like cookie dough and seal it over using your finger as the mold that forms the ravioli.

Place the drops of filling into the pasta strips

Fold the pasta over and make the indentation with your finger

Alternatively, you can use the dough to make Fettuccine, Pappardelle, Cannoli or Tortellini. To make these you do not need a machine just fold the pasta up and slice. Or you can use the machine to cut the Pasta into spaghetti.

Filled pastas need to be frozen if not used right away but cut pasta can be dried for use later.

Homemade Pasta (serves four)

Ingredients:

The rule of thumb is 100 grams of flour (approx 1 cup) to 1 egg per person. The ratio of the flour is 50% semolina and 50% Farina “00” (finely ground flour). But you can use all purpose flour instead.

4 cups flour or 400 g (you can use half semolina and half “all purpose” or all “all purpose”)

4 eggs

pinch of salt

Instructions:

Heap the flour in a shallow volcano shape, crack the eggs in the crater and start to whisk with a fork incorporating the sides of the flour until it is mostly incorporated. Start to knead in a ball. Decide in half to make it easier to work with. Knead by pushing down with the heat of your hand. Continue kneading dough is elastic and springs back when you poke it with your finger.

You can also use your Kitchenaid, first mix flour and eggs until a dough forms. Then use the dough hook attachment, and mix a few times. Finish by hand so you can test the elasticity.

If you roll the dough out by hand you can use the Ravioli Rolling Pin that has squares built in so you can make many ravioli at one time. If you roll the dough out with a machine you will make the ravioli in a strip.

If you are rolling it by hand, start rolling it with a rolling pin until it is very thin, almost like a sheet of paper. If you are using a pasta machine, Take a slice of dough and put it through the machine on the thickest setting three times and then switch to the next level down and put it through a few times, then on the last setting and put in through once or until it has reached the thickness you desire