Heart Shaped Ravioli In a Garlic Butter Sauce

Every year for Valentine’s Day, Mike and I make heart-shaped ravioli together. Realistically, I do like 90% of the work, and he cuts out a few of the heart shaped pieces. It has become a tradition for us, and Valentine’s Day 2021 was no exception. 

If making fresh pasta is too much work for you, Costco sold heart-shaped ravioli last year, and honestly, any ravioli (homemade or store-bought) will taste heavenly in this sauce!

A quick note about the fresh pasta recipe: this is my great-grandmother’s recipe. She was born in 1903 in Italy and  immigrated to the USA by herself when she was 18. Some of my most treasured memories are with my Nana making fresh pasta. None of her recipes were ever exact, and only a few were ever written down. I tried to be as exact as possible, but I find every time I make a pasta dough it is slightly different. Sometimes I need a little more flour, sometimes I need a little more water.

RAVIOLI

If you bought pre-made ravioli, skip down to the sauce section.

For the Pasta: 

• 1 cup of semolina flour
• 2 cups of white flour
• 3 eggs
• sprinkle of table salt
• drizzle of olive oil
• ~2 tsp of water (you may need a little more)
• Heart shaped cookie cutters 

1. Place your semolina and white flour on your workspace countertop and roughly mix the two together. 
2. Make a “well” i.e., a hole in the middle of the flour mix. Your well should have sturdy, high sides, and some flour still covering the middle portion.
3. Add the salt, 2 eggs, and the drizzle of olive oil to the middle of your well.
4. Take a fork and start to beat the eggs like you would scrambled eggs. Slowly start to brush against the walls of your well to incorporate the flour.
5. Eventually, you’ll likely need to add your additional egg (and possibly a little bit of water. 
6. Knead the dough – it should be sort of shaggy when you start and smooth and golden when you finish.
7. The dough is done kneading when you 
8. Wrap in plastic and let it rest for 30 minutes.
9. After resting, unwrap and roll out. You can use a rolling pin, an electric pasta roller, a manual pasta roller, kitchenmaid attachment…. The dough should be thin and smooth.
10. Use the cookie cutters to cut out an even number of heart shaped pieces of pasta dough.
11. Use a fork to spread the filling on the top of one piece of pasta and place another piece of pasta on top.
12. Use the same fork to carefully score the edges of the pasta and seal the ravioli shut.

For the Filling: (I usually make this while the pasta is resting)

• 1 cup of fresh ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp fresh pepper
• 2 tsp of kosher salt
• 2 tsp of fresh lemon juice

1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Cover and place in the fridge for up to 2 days. 

SAUCE

For the Sauce:

• 8 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• drizzle of olive oil
• 4 tsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• pinch of kosher salt
• pinch of white pepper
• pinch of garlic powder

1. Boil pasta in a separate pan in salted water.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and the 4 tsp of butter. Let the butter melt fully.
3. Add in the cloves of garlic, kosher salt, white pepper, and garlic powder. Let it saute until fragrant, ~1 minute.
4. Add the cup of chicken broth and let it simmer. Chicken broth adds flavor and allows the garlic to continue to cook without burning in the oil.
5. When your ravioli are done cooking, take them out of the pasta water and place them directly in the simmering garlic sauce. No need to subject the pasta to draining in a colander – ravioli are delicate. 
6. Let the ravioli simmer in the saucepan for a minute or so, turning over once so both sides can absorb some sauce.
7. Plate and top with grated pecorino romano cheese (or parmesan or parmigianno regianno).