Homemade Pasta
3 c flour
2 eggs
3 TB water
1 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
On the counter (clean of course) make a well with the flour. In a bowl whisk the rest of the ingredients until well blended. Slowly start adding the wet ingredients into the center of your well and work into the flour. Keep adding until all is mixed in. If too dry try adding some extra water, if too wet add extra flour. Once it's all Incorporated knead for about 10 minutes. Roll into a ball, flatten to disk, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Four Cheese and Spinach Tortellini
1/2 c ricotta
cheese
1/4 c grated 3 cheese blend (Parm, Romano, and Asiago)
1 egg
1/4 c chopped spinach
1/4 t black pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 egg mixed with 1/2 t water
Mix cheeses, egg, spinach, and seasonings together in a bowl. Set aside. Take out pasta from refrigerator and divide into 4 pieces. Roll out each piece into a long 'snake' about 1/2 inch wide. Cut into inch long pieces and roll into balls. Using a rolling pin on a well floured surface roll out a ball into a flat circle no thicker than a nickel. Whisk the extra egg and water in a separate bowl to make an egg wash. Put egg wash on one half of the circle. Fill the pasta with about 1/4-1/2 t of the cheese filling. Fold in half and seal the edges. Fold back around your finger and turn down the edge to form a tortellini. Continue this process with the dough. Too cook place in salted boiling water for about 3-5 minutes. They'll float when their done.
SO.. that's tortellini. I can't explain how to roll them into the shape I would youtube a video if your really want to figure it out. If not you can leave them in 1/2 circle shapes. We actually did a double batch and the first batch we did tortellini and the second we just kept as ravioli. Another tip on the spinach.. We used frozen chopped spinach. Just thaw it out by putting it in a strainer and run water over it. Then put the spinach in a towel and ring it dry. It must be very very dry. If your filling is too wet the pasta wont come out. I actually added a little bit of breadcrumbs to my filling just to make sure nothing happened!
Well I guess that's it. Yesterday was technically Thanksgiving but since my husband had to work we're going to have ours Saturday. Maybe I'll post some pictures and recipes.. we'll see!
