Recipe: Four Cheese Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Glaze

By Nancy Caivano

Four Cheese Ravioli
with Roasted Tomato Glaze

Serves 6

Ingredients:

For pasta:
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup water
2 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

For filling:
6 oz ricotta
6 oz provolone, grated
6 oz mozzarella, grated
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese, (or parmesan)
3 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp basil, finely chopped
1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper

For sauce:
10 plum tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sage, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter

2 eggs beaten with 1 tbsp water for eggwash

For garnish:
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese (or parmesan)
3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Method:

Prepare pasta:
In a large bowl with wooden spoon, stir 2-1/4 cups flour with remaining ingredients to make a stiff dough. On a well-floured surface knead dough until smooth and not sticky. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.

Prepare filling:
Combine ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, romano, eggs, parsley, basil and chives in a large bowl. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Keep in refrigerator until ready to use.

Prepare sauce:
Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Place tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet sprayed well with cooking spray. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, pepper and sage. Roast in preheated 450 degree oven until well browned and softened. Place in a food processor and purée tomatoes. Strain through a coarse sieve. Place in saucepan and boil until sauce thickens and reduces by half. Strain once more through a fine sieve and reduce over medium heat until it reduces by half again, forming a glaze. Set aside and keep warm.

Stuff pasta:
Cut pasta dough in half. Roll out both halves of pasta dough very thinly (about 1/8") on a floured board. Cover one half with a damp towel to prevent drying. Drop filling by tablespoons, about 1" apart on one sheet pasta dough. Brush other sheet of pasta with egg wash. Gently place second sheet of pasta, egg side down on top of first sheet. Gently press around filling to seal. Using a ravioli cutter, biscuit cutter, large cookie cutter, or a sharp knife, cut ravioli. Let cut ravioli rest 10 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the ravioli and boil until the ravioli are al dente. Drain.

Return sauce to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Place ravioli on individual plates, drizzle with glaze and sprinkle with romano and parsley.

Note:
Many components of this dish can be made ahead of time. The ravioli can be made ahead and frozen. Place on a plastic or parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Cover well with both plastic and aluminum foil. When frozen, place them in zip-top plastic bags, and store until needed. You can place them frozen, right into the boiling water. The tomatoes can also be roasted ahead of time, and puréed, but I find reducing the tomatoes the day you will use the sauce gives the best flavor.