Ravioli with Ricotta and Spinach

Filling:

400 g/14 oz fresh spinach

175 g/ ¾ cup ricotta cheese (I add more)

Pinch of salt and pepper

1 egg

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pasta sheets:

3 eggs

2 cups flour

Pinch of salt

Wash fresh spinach well in several changes of water. Place in a saucepan with only the water that is clinging to the leaves. Cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. When the spinach is cool, squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Chop finely.

Combine the chopped spinach with the ricotta, egg, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cover the bowl and set aside.

Place the flour in the center of a clean smooth work surface. Make a well in the middle. Break the eggs into the well. Add a pinch of salt. Start beating the eggs with a fork, gradually drawing the flour from the inside walls of the well. As the paste thickens, continue mixing with your hands. Incorporate as much flour as possible until the mixture forms a mass. It will still be lumpy. If it sticks to your hands, add a little more flour. Set the dough aside and scrape the work surface clean.

Now, you could either continue by using the pasta machine or by hand.

With pasta machine: Set the machine rollers at their widest setting. Pull off a piece of dough the size of a small orange. Feed the dough through the rollers. Fold it in half, end to end, and feed it through 7 to 8 times. If the dough sticks to the machine, dust with some flour. Keep on resetting the machine to the next setting and pass the dough through until desired thickness. If strips are too long, cut them in half to facilitate handling.

By hand: Lightly flour the work surface. Knead the dough and fold it over. Repeat this action over and over. Work for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Divide the dough in half. Flour the rolling pin, and begin rolling out the dough in a flat circle, rotating it one quarter turn after each roll to keep its shape round. Stretch the dough as you are rolling it. Roll the dough until it is paper thin. Cut long rectangular pieces.

Place small teaspoons of filling along the pasta in rows, 1 or 2 inches apart. Either cover with another sheet or fold the sheet over. Press down around the covered mixture to avoid forming air pockets.

Use a fluted pastry wheel to cut between the rows to form small squares. If the edges do not stick well, moisten with milk or water, and press together with a fork. Place the ravioli on a lightly floured surface, and allow to dry for at least 30 minutes. Turn occasionally so they dry on both sides.

Bring a large pan of salted water to boil and add in the ravioli until cooked.

Cavatelli With Arugula and Cherry Tomatoes

Cavatelli

2 cups flour

1 cup semolina

2 cups boiling salted water

Cherry Tomato Sauce

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lb. cherry tomatoes, diced

Fresh basil

2 bunches arugula

Coarse salt, and freshly cracked black pepper

 Cavatelli

1) Combine flour and semolina and pour it on a table.

2) Make a hole in the middle of mixture.

3) Pour boiling water into hole.

4) Mix water and flour mixture together with a fork.

5) Knead dough until moderately smooth.

6) Cover dough with plastic and let rest for 2 minutes.

7) Cut dough into small pieces and roll into “snake-like” pieces.

8) Cut “snake-like” pieces into finger tip size pieces.

9) Using three fingers, roll fingertip size pieces into cavatelli shape (short, narrow, ripple-edged shells).

10) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Cherry Tomato Sauce

1) While you wait for the large pot of water to come to a boil, heat olive oil in a large saucepan on medium-low heat.

2) Add garlic and cook until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes.

3) Add cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste.

4) Cook approximately 5 minutes.

Assembly

1) Add cavatelli and arugula to the large pot of boiling water.

2) Cook until cavatelli rises to the surface, about 1 to 2 minutes.

3) Drain pasta and arugula.

4) Add cavatelli and arugula to cherry tomato mixture.

5) Toss pasta and serve.

Martha Stewart's Fudgy Double-Chocolate Brownies

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, sifted



1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment, leaving a slight overhang on all sides. Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and whisk in sugar. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt. Fold in flour until combined.

2) Pour batter into pan. Bake until set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, about 15 minutes. Lift brownies from pan using parchment. Remove parchment, and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool completely. Cut into 9 squares. Brownies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.