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Homemade Spinach Ravioli with Garlic Butter Al Forno Sauce

Katie

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Make your own ravioli in garlic butter—broiled with a crunchy Parmesan crust. There are no words for how delicious this pasta is!

We always called it tortellacci al forno, but I’m pretty sure it is a ravioli shape. That’s pretty typical for my Italian grandpa, he didn’t give a damn!

This recipe is from my mom’s dad—it’s the kind of food that people will fight over and horde. It’s the kind of dish that will get you a marriage proposal. No joke, it’s happened. It’s the kind of thing you will hide from your loved ones and straight up lie to their faces—just to make sure you get your due. The devil’s pasta.

The reason it’s such a big deal is number one the taste, but also, it takes a lot of effort to make. This isn’t the kind of thing you can just buy at the grocery store. Plan to have at least 2 days to make this. You can easily freeze the uncooked raviolis—which allows you to prep weeks ahead.

Dust off that old pasta machine to get the thin delicate dough. You don’t want to go too thin that it falls apart when cooked, but too thick and it’s not quite right. The dough should be slightly transparent.

I make these the same way I’ve always made them with my mom. Each of my family members have their favorite sauces for the ravioli, but the overall favorite is the al forno sauce. Which is a garlic butter sauce with a Parmesan crust. Other sauces that go well are marinara with cream or an Italian meat sauce. Below I’ve included the al forno sauce.

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Spinach Ravioli

Author Katie

Ingredients

PASTA

  • 4 cups flour
  • 5 eggs
  • 1-2 tbsp water
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • Olive oil for hands

FILLING

  • 4 10 oz boxes frozen spinach
  • 2 8 oz boxes cream cheese soft
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Pepper
  • ½ tsp Garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ cup shredded parmesan

Instructions

PASTA

  • On a work surface or large bowl, add flour and make a “volcano”.
  • Crack eggs in middle of flour volcano and add water.
  • Beat eggs and water—then mix into flour walls slowly. Finish with hands oiled with olive oil.
  • Cover dough with a damp towel until ready to fill. This helps it not dry out.

FILLING

  • Cook spinach according to box instructions. Drain well in a strainer over the sink, press with fork to squeeze out the water.
  • Place spinach over cream cheese. Let sit a minute to warm the cheese.
  • Add spices and parmesan. Mix well, taste and add more seasoning if needed.

RAVIOLI

  • Prepare a space in freezer to store raviolis. You will want to lay them out flat in layers separated by foil. I use a throwaway foil casserole/roast pan.
  • Flour work surface. Take a section of dough, should be able to have 4 to 5 sections total, recover unused dough.
  • With a rolling pin roll out dough so it is thin enough for pasta machine.
  • Place in pasta roller on lowest setting and work your way up about 6 or 7 levels on the pasta machine. Sheets should be almost transparent, but not too weak that they break easily.
  • Lay out pasta sheet on floured surface and cut in half if you need it to fit. Place 1 tbsp spoons of filling 1 inch apart along sheet.
  • Wet finger with water and run along one edge and in between fillings. This helps pasta adhere.
  • Fold sheet over filling and seal edges with a little force. Cut raviolis with a pizza cutter or knife. Using a floured fork, seal edges on the 3 edges.
  • Place raviolis on prepared foil tin layering with foil so they don’t stick together.
  • Start on the next sheet and repeat till dough or filling is gone.
  • MUST COOK FROZEN or they will break apart.
  • Bring water to a boil and turn to simmer. Gently add frozen raviolis. Cook 14 – 16 mins. Be gentle! You don’t want to break them.
  • Serve with your favorite pasta sauce. I recommend al forno or marinara cream sauce. A meat sauce is awesome too!
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Parmesan Butter Garlic Al Forno Sauce

Author Katie

Ingredients

  • 3 sticks butter softened
  • 4-6 cloves garlic
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded mix canned and fresh if on budget

Instructions

  • Make garlic butter one day ahead of time (important).
  • Using a garlic press—smash garlic into soft butter. Stir well.
  • Store in fridge overnight for maximum flavor.
  • Prepare your pasta (ravioli or tortellacci).
  • Melt garlic butter in 9 x 9 broiler safe casserole pan.
  • Turn on oven broiler on to 500 F.
  • Place cooked pasta in melted butter. Make sure butter is covering most of the pasta. Baste the pasta that is sticking out.
  • Add a layer of parmesan cheese, edge to edge. You want a pretty generous layer.
  • Place into broiler, keep an eye on it! Should only take 3-5 minutes. You want a golden cheese crust on top.
  • Serve!