As part of our 'Bison around the World' fun, we decided to make bison ravioli! Ravioli started in Italy in the 14th century and mixed cheese, herbs, and eggs together to create a beautifully stuffed piece of pasta. For this recipe, we did not use a pasta roller, however, we wish we did! The recipe came out amazing despite not having a pasta roller. Ideally, you want the pasta to be paper-thin so you don't have to take a super thick bite of pasta. If you don't have a pasta roller, make sure you have a regular kitchen dough roller and just keep flipping the pasta and rolling it over. For the filling itself, we used a food processor, but you can also use a knife. We used marinara sauce for the ravioli, but of course, you can mix it up however you feel is best! This recipe will make just enough for 2 family members.
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 egg
1 tablespoon parsley
8 oz ground bison (you can add more if you like a thicker filling - we recommend adding more meat after everything is mixed to see the full texture)
8 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup spinach
Pasta:
14 oz. all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
1 teaspoon salt
A bowl of water (for adding to the pasta, and to seal the filling)
Directions:
For the filling:
In a pan, cook the meat until done (160 degrees)
If you are not using a food processor, finely chop the spinach and parsley now, and chop the meat into fine pieces, then add it to a bowl and mix everything together. If you are using the food processor, add everything to a food processor and pulse until well combined.
Put the filling in the fridge to cool.
For the Pasta [you will need 30 mins for resting]
Sift in the flour into a bowl (to avoid chunks of flour) and the salt into a bowl
Add the eggs 1 by 1 into the flour and stir, and then add the oil. The mixture will become slightly lumpy.
Knead the mixture together with your hands, and if the mixture is crumbling, add a teaspoon of water, knead, and repeat until it forms a ball.
Knead the mixture outside of a bowl for 2 minutes.
Cover the dough with a bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
After resting, if using a pasta maker, run half of the dough through the pasta maker until the dough is paper-thin. Reserve the other half so it won't dry out. If using a roller, reserve half of the dough and roll out the other half. You will have to flip the dough over and roll multiple times until paper-thin.
Combining Everything:
With the dough thin on a floured surface, add about a tablespoon of filling about 1 inch apart from another (see photo for reference).
Roll out the dough (with a pasta maker or otherwise) and drape it over the dough you just rolled out with the filling.
Using your finger, lightly press down in-between fillings so you know where to cut with a knife.
Using a knife, cut down in between fillings to make each square of the ravioli.
Once the squares are separated, take some water from the bowl and dip your fingers in.
Run your finger around the edge of the pasta on the inside and press down so the pasta is almost sealed.
Using a fork, push down on the edges to create a texture to the pasta. This makes sure the filling doesn't seep out during the cooking process. If the filling is coming out during this time, remove some of the fillings and retry!
Cooking The Pasta:
In a large pot, add water and salt and bring to a boil. The water should be super salty!
Add about 5-10 raviolis at a time to avoid overcrowding. Once they are added, bring the water to a simmer and cook for about 4 minutes. The ravioli may flip around repeatedly, and that's fine! The goal is to make the pasta not crunchy.
Remove the pasta with a slotted spoon and serve with any type of sauce.
Enjoy!