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We have been getting tons of peas in our CSA share over the past two weeks. Some are sugar snap peas – I eat these right away, just straight out of the bag. They sure do live up to their name… both snappy and sweet. We also have a whole bunch of snow peas. These are perfect in stirfries or as a quick side dish sautéed with some of your favorite ingredients. But, I was most excited about the bag of fresh shelling peas.
While Mr. Big Flavors and I shelled away, we discussed the numerous possibilities for these beauties. We wanted a dish that would highlight the peas and their bright, fresh flavor. In the end, it came down to a risotto or ravioli - and the ravioli won (this time). I love homemade ravioli and making them is a great bonding experience (as in, if you don’t want this to take all day, you’ll definitely want to have a friend help out). So schedule a date with your husband, best friend, son or daughter and round up the ingredients. Oh! And don’t forget the bottle(s) of wine. I don’t make any type of homemade pasta without it. It really gets me into that Italian spirit.
The filling is a deliciously flavorful combination of ricotta, pecorino romano, fresh mint, and sweet peas. Four simple ingredients that create a creamy, fresh and sweet filling for these ravioli. And, its no question that homemade pasta is far superior to it’s boxed counterpart. The dough is the base recipe we use for all of our homemade pastas, so it’s basic and very simple to make. We tried different sauces for this dish and liked the butter sauce with pancetta and peas best. It’s very simple, and most importantly allows the pasta filling flavor to stand out. Plus, the salty pancetta nicely balances the sweet peas.
As with our linguine post, I know the steps seem long, but that’s just because I want you to be successful the first time you give this method a try. While no special equipment is required (you could really do this all by hand), I’d recommend using at least a pasta machine to save some time. Also, you can buy ravioli molds pretty cheap, so you should consider adding this to your kitchen collection.
Sweet Pea & Mint Filled Homemade Raviolis with Pancetta Butter Sauce
Print recipe
| Serves | 70 |
| Prep time | 2 hours |
| Cook time | 10 minutes |
| Total time | 2 hours, 10 minutes |
| Meal type | Main Dish, Side Dish |
Ingredients
Ravioli Dough
- 2 cups farina flour
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons water
Sweet Pea - Mint Filling
- 1.5 cups fresh shelling peas (shelled)
- 1/4 cup large mint leaves, fresh
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/3 cup water
Pancetta - Butter Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup pancetta (small dice)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- juice form 1/4 lemon
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 - 2 tablespoon fresh peas
- 1/4 cup parsley
- 2 tablespoons tarragon
Directions
| Ravioli | ||
| 1. |
In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine semolina flour, farina flour, salt and eggs. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms (there will be some loose flour in the bowl). |  |
| 2. |
Turn out onto work surface, and press down in the middle to create an indentation. Add olive oil and water, and hand knead until a large dough ball forms (you may need to add more water or flour if the dough seems too dry or wet). Cover with a damp kitchen towel for 30 minutes to rest. |  |
| 3. |
Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Take one of the portions and place on a floured work surface. Cover remaining dough balls with damp towel until ready to use. Flour dough well, then use a rolling pin to roll dough out to about 1/4" thickness. |  |
| 4. |
Affix the pasta roller attachment to your stand mixer and rotate knob to setting #1. Then, turn mixer on to slowest speed. Use your left hand to gently guide your dough through the roller (you shouldn't need to apply any force). Use your right hand to catch the dough as it falls through the roller (if you end up with tears or holes in your dough, re-roll the dough with your rolling pin.) Then, fold dough into thirds, giving the dough a press to flatten slightly. |  |
| 5. | Repeat step 4 another three times on setting #1. Dough should be smooth when finished. If not, keep repeating this process until it is. (You may find that you need to add more flour to the dough and attachment to help pass the dough through the roller.) | |
| 6. | On the last pass through, do not fold dough into thirds. Instead keep it flat and change dial to setting #2. Pass through the roller at this setting one time. Repeat this with setting #3, #4, and #5. (Dough sheet will start to get very long, but don't cut it yet because you will need to measure the dough sheet to your ravioli mold to ensure even dough lengths). Once finished, lay dough flat on a very well-floured surface. You will repeat Steps 4 - 6 when you are ready to continue with the three remaining dough balls. | |
| 7. |
Line up the ravioli mold next to dough sheet and use a pizza cutter to cut two lengths to size. Gently press the sheet into the dough mold to create impressions for the filling. Fill each impression just to the top with the filling. Place the second length of dough on top of the mold. Use fingers to gently seal the dough lengths together, along the edges of the mold. |  |
| 8. |
Flip the mold over and press down hard. Gently remove mold. Use a pizza cutter to cut the ravioli shapes out. (If you are not using a mold, you will want to place about 1 TBSP of filling per ravioli on one dough sheet, then place another dough sheet on top of this. Cut with a pizza cutter and use a fork to pinch down the sides. Ensure that there are no holes on the edges where filling could get out. The raviolis will be more free form in size and shape than if using a mold.) You will repeat step 7 and 8 with all remaining dough lengths, working in sets of two lengths at a time. Cook raviolis in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, drain immediately. |  |
| Sweet Pea - Mint Filling | ||
| 9. |
While dough is resting, blanch peas for 3 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Drain and let cool. |  |
| 10. |
In a food processor, combine mint, thyme, tarragon, fresh peas, olive oil, and water. Pulse until a puree forms. |  |
| 11. | In a bowl, combine pea-mint mixture, ricotta cheese, and pecorino romano cheese. Season with salt and pepper. | |
| Pancetta - Butter Sauce | ||
| 12. | In a skillet over medium low heat, add oil and pancetta. Let pancetta cook for about five minutes. Turn heat to high, and deglaze pan with white wine and fresh lemon juice. Let cook for two minutes. | |
| 13. |
Add butter, peas, and herbs. Remove from heat, and stir to combine. Season with pepper. Serve on top of raviolis. |  |
| 14. | To cook raviolis, bring a pot of water to a boil. Season with salt, and drop in ravioli. Let cook for 5 minutes. Drain immediately | |
Extra Information:
* We used a combination of farina flour (because it is superfine) and semolina flour (for texture). However, you could always make this with All Purpose flour if it’s what you have on hand.
* If you would like more help on making homemade pasta dough, we encourage you to read through our linguine tutorial, because rolling out this ravioli dough is the exact same process you will see there. If you give this recipe/method a shot and have any questions along the way… please do not hesitate to leave your question in a comment. I will get back to you right away!
Shared with Full Plate Thursday, It’s a Keeper Thursday, Strut Your Stuff Saturday, Seasonal Sundays, Recipe Round Up
7 Responses to CSA Chronicles: Sweet Pea & Mint Filled Homemade Raviolis in Pancetta-Butter Sauce
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wow, that sounds fantastic! i definitely need to get out the pasta maker soon and make this!
I hope you do! It is a great summer meal and you can use fresh vegetables and herbs.
this is great. I found it via the It’s Keeper link up. I have linked in a beef dish. Have a super day.
WOW…..those raviolis look incredible. I have a pasta maker and still have yet to make raviolis, I think you have just motivated me with this recipe!!!!
Oh these look SO good! Thanks for linking up to “Strut Your Stuff Saturday!” Hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow at 8pm MDT for this week’s party!
-The Sisters
This obviously wasn’t your first time making ravioli! They are beautiful as is the whole dish! Maybe one day I’ll tackle it, but right now I’m enjoying looking at yours! I know what you mean about sugar snaps – I eat way too many of them while shelling. Very nice post!
Thank you! You should give it a shot someday. If you had a few people helping out it won’t take too long, and it’s really quite fun!