Ravioli Sunday

Ravioli Sunday…one of my favorites days in the year. It is a family tradition that began about 8 years ago…in the morning my mom, sisters and I begin making ravioli completely from scratch. This year we made two fillings: lobster and spinach. It was our first time trying the lobster filling…it was absolutely delicious! In past years we have done a pumpkin ravioli…also delicious but I have a feeling everyone will be requesting lobster again next year ๐Ÿ™‚

Once the dough has been prepared and ready, we begin rolling it through a pasta maker. From there it is laid over a ravioli tray and then each pocket is filled. Another layer of dough goes over the top and then they are pressed into sections.

The ravioli then must be laid out to dry. Once they have dried they are cut into individual pieces. This year we made 24 dozen ravioli.

A large pot of boiling water should be prepared when you’re ready to start cooking the ravioli. Add salt to the water…salty enough that it tastes like a mouthful of ocean. The ravioli only takes about 5 minutes to cook then they are layered in a pan with red sauce…or as my mother and sister started saying “we must marry the ravioli with the sauce.

Italian sausage and meatballs add to this delicious meal making Ravioli Sunday like a second Thanksgiving.

All the leftover dough is made into pasta noodles. This process is quite entertaining…the first phase is the same as when making ravioli but then the “large noodle” (as I call it) is strung through a different roller to make linguine. It comes out in long strings which are hard to catch. It takes 4 hands and some noodles still get lost in the process. The last phase is drying the noodles…and nothing works better than a clothes drying rack ๐Ÿ™‚

Wait a minute! Don’t think I forgot about yall gluten-free eaters (yes I said yall, I lived in the south, I can do that :)). My dad does not eat gluten or dairy so most meals are altered to accomodate him. Gluten-free ravioli was made the night before and turned out just as delicious. Honestly, there are a lot of gluten-free dishes that I enjoy more…my mom’s gluten free cornbread tastes like a piece of heaven (check back soon, willย post on that later).

Guten Appetit!

Comments

  1. Blog looks great, Lilly! And love your post on Ravioli Sunday! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Catherine says:

    That sounds ridiculously fun and delicious!!!

  3. Amazing!! Yum … the lobster filling sounds incredible! What a fun day with the family!

  4. wow, being Italian I am impressed by yours and your family’s skills at making ravioli. Just one suggestion, we rarely have ravioli with a tomato sauce because the sauce is too strong for such a delicate filling as that you are using. have you tried just melting some butter in a saucepan with sage leaves, the leaves get kind of crispy, you then sprinkle the ravioli (in a bowl) with lots of grated parmesan and pour the butter over them, it sizzle and creates a wonderful aroma. This is a very good site I always visit:
    http://www.giallozafferano.it/ricerca-ricette/sughi+per+ravioli/

    • Wow, that sounds delicious!! I agree the filling is usually too delicate for the tomato sauce…we have mainly used the tomato sauce if there is a sausage filling but with a pumpkin or other light filling we have used a lighter oil, think one time mushroom sauce. Your suggestion is just in time, Ravioli Sunday is in a few weeks!! With every year we keep changing and approving the recipes ๐Ÿ™‚ This year I am suggesting this rosemary sauce over a butternut squash filling that I saw on Pasta Princess. Check her blog out too! http://pastaprincessandmore.wordpress.com/

      Thanks for commenting!

  5. Mmmmmmm, nothing beats ravioli!!!