Salmon & Ricotta Ravioli Recipe

Last night I made what Simon concluded was 'the best pasta I've made yet'.  I wasn't sure how well this one was going to work out - while I was scouring the web for similar recipes, I was surprised to find that pretty much all the salmon ravioli recipes called for smoked salmon and not fresh salmon.  But in my head it seemed to me be do-able, so I went with it and I'm really pleased with the result - and I'm very glad I have leftovers for lunch today!

Note: the photo is of the leftovers that I cooked up today and unfortunately I hadn't dried them sufficiently before storing them, so they're not quite as plump and attractive as last nights, but still a reasonable depiction.

Ingredients

Pasta Dough
Refer to this post for details of my dough, make for 2 people (note I now make it in the food processor rather than all that upper-arm toning kneading - it's just so much quicker).

Filling
300g skin-on, tail end salmon fillet (or about 270g if you buy it skinned)
275g fresh ricotta (I used a handmade ricotta from the grocers at the fish market rather than the much denser supermarket mass-production style)
about 2 tsp fresh dill
1 fresh lemon
salt & pepper

Sauce
Good quality EVOO (extra virgin Olive oil)
1 clove garlic, crushed & finely chopped
part of the lemon from the filling

Instructions

• First make your dough as per the instructions referenced.  Leave to sit for about 30 minutes while you make the filling.
• Skin the salmon then slice and then re-slice into small pieces - I ended up with mostly 10mm by 10mm by 5mm pieces or perhaps a smidgen smaller.  Place in a mixing bowl.
• Add the gently drained ricotta - I just poured off the liquid trying not to lose any of the actual chesse
• finely chop the dill and add to the bowl
• finely grate about 2/3s of the lemon rind and add
• mix gently and then add salt & pepper to taste
• Get a pot of water on the element so that it is boiling by the time your raviolis are filled
• And place the sauce ingredients (including the remaining finely grated rind of the lemon) into a pan ready to gently heat and infuse prior to serving.
• Now roll your pasta through the pasta machine doing the usual process of going through number 1 and folding and back through number 1 and folding several times until the dough is smooth, then eventually rolling it through to number 5.  I did this in several batches - such that I filled a tray of ravioli before rolling the next lot dough.
• Place the dough over your ravioli tray (after my 1 exasperating attempt at making ravioli by hand I refuse to do it without my raviolamp tray ever again). I'm using a tray that does 12 good sized ravioli.
• (probably a good time to begin heating the oil over low heat now)
• Place a spoon of the filling in each depression then cover with another layer of pasta and use the rolling pin (and your fingers) to seal the edges then remove the ravioli from the tray.  Repeat until all your filling has been used.
• Place about 12 ravioli in the pan of boiling water at a time and cook for 4 minutes with a dollop of oil to prevent them sticking.
• While the ravioli are cooking, agitate the oil a couple of times - you're not aiming to bring to a high temperature here, just to warm it and release some of the flavour from the lemon & garlic.
• Drain the ravioli then serve in pasta bowls, dressed with the infused oil.

We enjoyed this with a beautiful oaky Clearview Estate Chardonnay.