This is a simple, pure version of cheese ravioli, without the eggs that are usually added to firm up the filling. Use fresh whole-milk ricotta with large curds and drain it thoroughly to get the best consistency. With creamy fillings such as this one, I feel that a slightly thicker dough provides more texture and is preferable to a very thin dough. If you roll your dough strips to get eighteen or twenty ravioli—following the guidelines below—that’s better than trying to stretch them to get twenty-four. All you need is enough sauce to coat the ravioli lightly. So those small portions of sauces you have saved in the freezer might be just enough to dress a batch.

　　

Ingredients

for filling about 20 ravioli

　　12 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) fresh whole-milk ricotta, well drained

　　2 tablespoons or so extra-virgin olive oil

　　3 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut in 1/4-inch cubes (about 1/3 cup)

　　1/2 teaspoon or more coarse-grained sea salt (see page 350)

　　1/2 teaspoon or so coarsely ground fresh white pepper

　　

For Finishing

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

　　

Filling the Ravioli

Step 1

Following the master method, page 189, roll dough strips for filling.

　　

Step 2

For each raviolo, scoop a scant tablespoon of ricotta, shape it round, and drop in place. Press a shallow well in the soft top of the round and fill with drops of olive oil—barely 1/4 teaspoon on each portion.

　　

Step 3

Press two or three cubes of mozzarella into the ricotta round, covering the oil. Sprinkle a good pinch of sea salt on and around the ricotta; do the same with a pinch of white pepper. Cover and cut ravioli as detailed in the master method below.

　　

Finishing the Ravioli

Step 4

Cook and sauce ravioli as on page 192. Remove pan from heat, sprinkle over them the freshly grated cheese, and serve.

　　

Variation: Ricotta and Goat Cheese Ravioli

Step 5

Use the formula and procedure for Simple Ricotta Ravioli, but replace half the ricotta (about 6 ounces) with an equal amount of fresh, creamy goat cheese.

　　

Step 6

I recommend the same tomato sauces or “cacio e pepe” sauce (see facing page).

　　

Good Sauces for This...

Step 7

Tomato sauces, the fresher the better: Slow-Cooked Summer Tomato Sauce (page 256), Marinara Sauce with Fresh Basil (page 130), or the Two-Minute Fresh Tomato and Basil Sauce (page 183), even frozen Simple Tomato Sauce (page 132), with shredded fresh basil.

　　From Lidia's Family table by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright (c) 2004 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Published by Knopf.Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York. Jay Jacob's journalism has appeared in many national magazines.From the Trade Paperback edition.