We didn't mean to make Spinach Ricotta Beef Ravioli Filling, but we thawed a 2-pound container of ricotta cheese, and now we had to use it. We were leaving in a week, so we didn't have much time to come up with lots of recipes. A promising recipe popped up, but we ended up with this spinach ricotta beef ravioli filling recipe instead.
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Finding the right spinach ricotta beef filling
You see, the first recipe {Plan A} used only one-half cup of the 2 cups of ricotta. That wouldn't do. We needed to use it all up. You can't refreeze ricotta cheese, the quality of the cheese decreases.
So, here we were making Plan B, a cheesy spinach ricotta beef ravioli filling.
Plan B suited us just fine! Who doesn't like having dozens of ravioli in the freezer, just waiting to make into a delicious dishes?
Start with the ravioli dough
We began by making our usual pasta dough recipe. The pasta roller was on the Kitchen Aid mixer, waiting to start cranking out our long sheets of pasta.
Our little assembly line was going just great.
- Honey was feeding the pasta into the pasta roller unit
- I was using our ravioli form to fill and seal the delicious spinach ricotta beef filling between the two sheets of dough.
All of a sudden, as Honey was feeding in the long sheet of dough, the dough started to catch on the rollers. It was folding itself into a sad looking accordion.
Problem pops up
Honey stopped the mixer, cleaned off the rollers and started again to feed the dough sheet into the pasta machine.
It happened again! Production came to a standstill.
The mechanical person in the family (certainly not me) took a closer look at what could be causing the problem.
Would you believe the plastic scrapers on either side of the roller were cracked?
Cracked!
The entire unit is of heavy-duty polished metal. Surely it was made to last a lifetime?
We called the manufacturer -- nope -- nothing they can do.
I admit we do make a LOT of pasta and that pasta machine has cranked out countless sheets of pasta, but the unit itself looks like new. *sigh* There would be no replacement part.
Why didn't the manufacturer foresee plastic wearing out before metal?
Dozens of spinach ricotta beef ravioli
Luckily, we got to make five dozen ravioli before the pasta unit broke.
Now, we're in the market for another pasta roller, and unfortunately, most of the rollers come with a set of spaghetti and fettuccini cutters.
We don't need the whole set -- we already have them and ours are in perfect condition. We just need the pasta roller .
Luckily, after a Google search, we found just the pasta roller. It wasn't cheap, but we had so many pasta recipes waiting, the expense was going to be worth it.
A versatile pasta filling
The Spinach Ricotta Beef Ravioli Filling isn't just for ravioli; it's so versatile .
You can use it for other pasta dishes
- manicotti
- large shells
- lasagna
If you make a large of a batch like we did, you may want to use it for several other Italian dishes. The filling is super easy to whip up and spiced just right.
We hope you mix up some of this delicious filling soon, and if you do, let us know how you used it.
Watch how we make the ravioli
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
YOU MAY NEED...
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Our pasta rollers for our Kitchen Aid are attachments we use constantly. Forget about trying to roll your pasta thin. This tool gets it right where it should be. Perhaps that's why we wore it out. The nice part about these attachments is that they fit every heavy duty mixer we've owned.
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Rustic Italian Spinach Ricotta Filling
This filling is fantastic, and you can use it with any pasta. Make a special Valentine's Day dinner by making ravioli, manicotti, and even lasagna roll-ups with this special spinach ricotta beef filling. Another cheese and spinach-filled pasta dish I know you and your family will love is our No-Fuss Three Cheese Spinach Cannelloni recipe made with lasagna noodles.
📖 Recipe
Spinach Ricotta Beef Ravioli Filling
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 Tablespoon of Olive oil
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 package 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 2 pounds ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Garlic powder to your taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg lightly beaten with 1 Tablespoon water to egg wash.
Instructions
- Place the thawed spinach between paper towels and squeeze out all of the water.
- In a large fry pan, cook the ground beef in the olive oil and butter until done. Add the spinach and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Don't be shy with the seasonings. If there is a lot of moisture in the meat mixture put it in a strainer and make sure to get the juice out.
- Place the meat mixture in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until the meat is the same consistency.
- In a large bowl add the ricotta and mix it with the eggs, parsley and Parmesan cheese until smooth.
- Add the spinach/meat mixture and mix well. Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. This makes it easier to handle.
- Assemble your ravioli as you normally would or as we did in our Italian ravioli recipe --https://allourway.com/2014/08/24/homemade-italian-ravioli-meat-cheese-filling/ This time we added another step. We painted a little of the egg wash along the edges of the ravioli before adding the top sheet. Sometimes, although it is very rare, I have the tendency to overfill and a part of the ravioli edge doesn't seal properly. The egg wash helps make a firmer seal. You may eliminate this step if you wish.
- Prepare ravioli as you normally would or freeze on cookie sheet lined with wax paper and when they are frozen package them in an air-tight freezer container.
Video
Nutrition
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