Ravioli with goat cheese and spinach filling in parmesan cream sauce

My ravioli mold proved once again that 26 bucks I spent on it was not a waste of money. After I posted my first recipe for ravioli in a red, tomato-based sauce, I got obsessed with the thought of making the ravioli in a different type of sauce, this time – white, creamy, and cheese-based. And, I didn’t want ravioli to be filled just with cheese as most store-bought ravioli seem to be: instead I wanted a veggie and creamy ravioli filling, and goat cheese and spinach proved to be a perfect match for each other. I am very happy to present you with this simple recipe for ravioli with goat cheese and spinach filling in a light Parmesan cream sauce with mushrooms.

The accompanying sauce is pretty basic but it’s made completely from scratch: cheese and cream with sauteed mushrooms and garlic plus seasonings. The sauce lightly coats ravioli creating the perfect creaminess to complement the pasta. The ravioli filling, made with goat cheese, chopped spinach, and nutmeg plays a leading role in this recipe, with each ingredient contributing something different to the overall flavor: goat cheese provides richness and creaminess, spinach – savory side, and nutmeg contributes sweetness with a savory accent.

Ravioli mold did a great job this time, just like before. 100% of my ravioli came out free of air pockets, and upon boiling 24 ravioli (double the recipe here), only 2 of them got little cracks in pasta and even that because I overfilled some of them with the filling and the pasta dough got really thin in some places and burst. None of ravioli got open along the seams. The texture of pasta dough was perfect, too: so soft and thin and yet just of the right consistency to keep ravioli together.

I absolutely recommend this recipe: it’s easy, it’s creamy, it’s vegetarian. You could serve it as is, or with chicken or fish. Definitely a crowd-pleaser.

To make ravioli dough:

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. It should not be too dry, either. Make the dough into a ball or disk, wrap with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand for 1 hour at room temperature before using. This allows gluten to work.

4) This amount of dough enough to make dough for 12 raviolis, using the mold (ravioli mold makes 12 ravioli). If you need to make 24 ravioli, make a second batch of this dough.

To make ravioli filling:

1) Cook spinach until wilted and all liquid is gone. All liquid should be evaporated – it’s important. Chop spinach.

2) Soften goat cheese by heating it up in microwave oven for about 5-10 minutes. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl: chopped spinach, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese. Add a little bit of nutmeg to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Your filling should not be runny, it should be pretty firm, which is why it’s important to make sure spinach has no liquid from step 1. If your filling is a bit runny from softened cheese, put the bowl with ravioli filling in the refrigerator to firm up.

To assemble ravioli:

1) Unwrap ravioli dough from plastic, divide in 2 equal parts. Flour working area. Roll out each part of pasta dough very thinly, on a floured surface, using a roller. Make sure to flour the upper portion of pasta dough and the roller to avoid sticking. Lift the rolled dough several times during rolling to make sure it doesn’t stick to the counter, and flour working surface with more flour, if necessary.

2) Flour the ravioli mold. After you have rolled the 2 portions of dough very thinly, place first layer of dough on the ravioli mold, so that it covers all 12 holes.

3) Place a small portion of ravioli filling into each indentation, making sure not to overfill. The filling should be at the same level or lower as the flat part of the mold. Place second layer of pasta dough on top of filled ravioli.

4) Using a roller pin, roll across the mold and along the edges to separate ravioli. As you roll the pin, it also removes all air from ravioli, which is very important for ravioli success. By now you should have extra dough hanging off the outside 4 edges of ravioli mold – carefully separate it. Continue rolling the pin along the inside edges of 12 raviolis to separate them from one another: you could also use your fingers to press across the edges to separate ravioli.

5) Flip ravioli mold to release ravioli. Bring a large pot of water to boil Boil ravioli for 5 minutes, drain and set aside – to be used with sauce below.

6) Or, alternatively, if you’re not using ravioli right away, place them on a plate or baking sheet in the freezer to freeze. After they are frozen, place them in a plastic bag and keep frozen until needed.

To make mushroom and parmesan cream sauce:

1) Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, a bit of nutmeg and cook for about 7 minutes until mushrooms soften and garlic is fragrant.

2) Add half-and-half, bring to boil. Remove from heat, add grated parmesan cheese, mix until cheese is melted and mixture thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3) After you have boiled ravioli for 5 minutes, drain them and add ravioli to the sauce to coat. To serve, place ravioli and sauce on plates. Garnish with with chopped chives or leeks.

Wrap pasta dough in a plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for 1 hour for gluten to do its work

Cooking spinach – for ravioli filling

Cooked spinach – for ravioli filling

Goat cheese and parmesan cheese – for ravioli filling

Goat cheese and parmesan cheese – for ravioli filling

Mixing everything together for ravioli filling: spinach, goat cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper

Rolling dough into 2 equal parts

Flour ravioli mold, especially the bottom of indentations

Place one layer of ravioli dough on top of floured ravioli mold

Place small amount of goat cheese and spinach filling into the mold indentations, making sure not to overfill (filling should be at the same level as the flat area of the ravioli mold)

Cover with the second layer of pasta dough

Ravioli mold covered with the two layers of dough with the filling in between

Using roller pin, roll along the surface of the ravioli mold to remove air pockets and seal ravioli

Remove outer portion of the pasta dough

Using roller pin, roll along the edges of individual ravioli to separate them from one another

Flip the ravioli mold to release ravioli

Saute mushrooms and garlic in olive oil

Deglaze with a little bit of wine

Add half-and-half, bring to boil, remove from heat, then add parmesan cheese

Mix until parmesan cheese is melted. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste

Add cooked ravioli to the sauce

More ravioli recipes:

• Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans
• Ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese filling, in tomato cream sauce

More pasta recipes:

• Spicy Asian noodles and mushrooms, with snow peas
• Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans
• Garlic spicy shrimp and asparagus pasta
• Stuffed manicotti pasta shells recipe with ricotta cheese and spinach filling
• Spicy curry shrimp pasta: curried tomato sauce, snap peas and orzo
• Creamy mushroom pasta with caramelized onions and spinach
• Beet and goat cheese fettuccine pasta
• Lamb vegetable noodle stew, Lagman
• Ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese filling, in tomato cream sauce
• Lobster pasta with porcini and tarragon cream sauce