ITALIAN RAVIOLI WITH SPINACH, ARTICHOKES, CAPERS, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

      ITALIAN RAVIOLI WITH SPINACH, ARTICHOKES, CAPERS, 

                           SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

Italian Ravioli with Spinach, Artichokes, Capers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes. The vegetables are sautéed in olive oil.   Meatless, refreshing, Mediterranean style pasta recipe that doesn’t need any meat 

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS ITALIAN RAVIOLI RECIPE:

store-bought ravioli (cheese ravioli, or pesto ravioli)
olive oil
sun-dried tomatoes
artichoke hearts
capers
Italian seasoning
spinach, fresh
Parmesan cheese, shredded

HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN RAVIOLI:

1) Cook store-purchased ravioli until al dente. Drain.

2) Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped artichokes, capers, Italian seasoning and cook for 2 minutes. Add fresh spinach, and continue cooking and stirring until the spinach wilts.

3) To the skillet with sautéed vegetables, on medium-low heat, add cooked ravioli, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and stir. The dish should be salty enough from capers. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese when serving.

Ingredients

How to make ravioli dough from scratch:

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 20 oz spinach
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Tomato cream sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups grape tomatoes yellow and red
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Make ravioli dough from scratch:

1. Mix flour with salt.
2. Stir water with egg until well mixed.
3. In a bowl, combine flour and egg-water mixture together and mix until well incorporated. Knead the dough until well-textured and firm. The dough should not be too wet or too sticky. It should only stick to itself, but not to your hands. However, it should not be too dry, either. Make the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand for 1 hour at room temperature before using. This allows gluten to work. 

How to make ravioli cheese filling:

1. Heat olive oil on medium heat, add spinach and cook covered, stirring occasionally, until spinach wilted, about 15 minutes.
2. Cook for 5 or 10 more minutes uncovered until all liquid evaporates.
3. Chop cooked spinach finely and move to a bowl. Add Parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese, salt to taste and mix well. Add more salt if necessary.

How to assemble ravioli using ravioli mold:

1. After the ravioli dough has been resting at room temperature for 1 hour, divide the ravioli dough (instructions on how to make ravioli dough from scratch are above) into 2 equal halves and roll each half into a very thin sheet with a rolling pin. Make sure to have flour on hand and dust the working surface or rolling pan when necessary, because the dough will be sticky. It’s important that the ravioli dough be rolled very thinly (paper-thin), otherwise ravioli will be too solid when cooked, because dough expands during cooking. Also it will be really hard to use the ravioli mold if the dough is not thin enough.
2. Once you rolled sheets of dough, shape individual raviolis. To shape ravioli, I use a very handy device, ravioli mould/tray, which works great! Step-by-step photos are above the recipe box.
3. Here is how to use Ravioli mould:

   1) dust the working tray with flour

   2) lay a thin layer of pastry on the tray

   3) press in the holes

   4) fill the holes with the filling, without overfilling

   5) cover with another layer of ravioli dough, which should lay flat all the way across the mould

   6) using the rolling pins or your fingers, press, close and cut the ravioli

   7) overturn the tray to let the ravioli come out
4. When you are done shaping ravioli, bring a big pot of water to boil, add ravioli and cook for 5 minutes, then drain. Or, alternatively, freeze ravioli until you’re ready to cook them.

How to make tomato cream sauce:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Chop 2 tomatoes and garlic and add to the pan. Cook covered for about 10 minutes until tomatoes soften.
2. Add white wine and chopped thyme. Bring to boil and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes until half of liquid evaporates. Remove from heat, let it cool for a bit.
3. Then transfer to blender and puree the tomato mixture. Transfer the puree back to the pan, reheat to medium heat and add heavy cream. Stir until well incorporated.
4. Cut each grape tomato in half and add all of them to the pan with the tomato cream sauce. Salt to taste and and more chopped thyme if needed. Cook for 5 more minutes.
5. To serve, add cooked ravioli to the sauce at the last minute. Allow both ravioli and the sauce achieve same temperature. When serving on plates, garnish with thyme.

Recipe Notes

The recipe for ravioli dough makes enough to make dough for 12 raviolis, using the mold (ravioli mold makes 12 ravioli). 

Italian Ravioli with Spinach, Artichokes, Capers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

30 mins

Italian Ravioli with Spinach, Artichokes, Capers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes. The vegetables are sautéed in garlic and olive oil.   Meatless, refreshing, Mediterranean style pasta recipe that doesn't need any meat - this meal will keep you full!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 384 kcal

Author: Julia

Ingredients

• 8 oz ravioli (cheese ravioli, or pesto ravioli)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes , chopped
• 1 cup artichoke hearts , chopped
• 3 tablespoons capers , drained
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cups spinach , fresh
• 1 tablespoon olive oil , and more (if desired)
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded

Instructions

1. Cook ravioli until al dente.  Drain.  
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat.  Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped artichokes, capers, Italian seasoning and cook for 2 minutes. Add fresh spinach, and continue cooking and stirring until the spinach wilts.  
3. To the skillet with sautéed vegetables, on medium-low heat, add cooked ravioli, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and stir.  The dish should be salty enough from capers.   If it's not, add more salt (or capers), if needed.
4. When serving, top with shredded Parmesan cheese.  

Nutrition Facts

Italian Ravioli with Spinach, Artichokes, Capers, Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 384Calories from Fat 207

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 23g35%

Saturated Fat 5g25%

Cholesterol 34mg11%

Sodium 835mg35%

Potassium 319mg9%

Total Carbohydrates 30g10%

Dietary Fiber 4g16%

Sugars 4g

Protein 12g24%

Vitamin A40.3%

Vitamin C21.4%

Calcium12.2%

Iron42%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.