Throughout our 10-year marriage, my husband has mostly just gone with the flow when it comes to what I cook for dinner. If I cook it, he’ll eat it, thank goodness. On occasion though, he has a request for his favorite meal that I make, “those ravioli things” as he usually puts it.
It’s one of my favorites too, but can be time consuming. This week, I decided to surprise him with it (maybe I was feeling sentimental because our 10-year anniversary is coming up). The correct name is Ravioli Caprese, and it’s a recipe I saw on The Food Network years ago. Ravioli is stuffed with a creamy ricotta, Parmesan, basil and chicken mixture. And the sauce is comprised of lemon zest and olive oil (I typically add some lemon juice to the olive oil for some extra lemon flavor). The recipe calls for making the ravioli by hand, but I took a little shortcut this time and used wonton wrappers. It was still as delicious as ever! And the hubs was happy too.
Ravioli Caprese
Dough:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 cup very hot water
Filling:
- 3/4 cup ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup finely shredded chicken (you can use store-bought rotisserie or cook your own)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
For the dough:
In a large bowl combine the flour and the water. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine into a large ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.
For the filling:
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir to combine.
To form the ravioli, cut the dough into 4 evenly sized pieces. The dough should be slightly sticky. Add extra flour as necessary for rolling, but use only a little as necessary. Form each piece into a 2 by 6-inch rectangle. Recover the dough with the plastic wrap.
Lightly dust the work surface and a rolling pin. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a 4 by 19-inch rectangle. Place 9 rounded teaspoons of filling about 1-inch apart down the center of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling. Press down around the edges of each of the ravioli with your fingertips. Cut the ravioli into small squares and press down around the edges again with your fingertips to seal. Place the finished ravioli on a baking tray and continue forming the remaining ravioli.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add half the ravioli and cook until the ravioli float stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain into a large bowl and cook the remaining ravioli.
Pour the olive oil over the cooked ravioli. Add the basil, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Gently toss to coat and serve immediately.
