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Now before you discount this recipe as something you won't make (because homemade pasta is required), let me stop you right there. Making homemade pasta is not something I do often, but it's really not any harder than other recipes you make from dough (think pizza, biscuits, tortillas, breads). I simply put two ingredients in my food processor and let it do the work for me. Then I crank it through our pasta machine that I've owned for 15 years (still going strong!). This process takes me less than 30 minutes, not counting the "let the dough sit for 20 minutes" part.
Plus, not only is making homemade pasta a really fun kitchen project (for both me and my daughters!), but the outcome TASTES REALLY GOOD (like really, really good). Homemade ravioli is one of my most favorite dishes of all time, and there's just no way to make it at home if you don't make the dough. Now you'll see that the sweet potato ravioli in my picture isn't perfectly square or straight, and that's because my daughters pretty much made these by themselves (see pics below)!
I didn't have to ask them twice to help - they love making pasta!
They've of course helped me make pasta many times before, but once you get the hang of it, it's seriously easy enough for a child to do. All I did was give them each a ball of dough and the filling (both which I made) along with a little ravioli making tool, and in the end, they were both pretty darn proud of themselves (and I was too). :)
Now this is not meant to be a quick weeknight meal by any means. This is usually a Sunday dinner type of thing, and no matter how much I try to talk you into making ravioli, I just cannot lie about the mess. It does make a big mess. So just keep in mind this is the type of dinner you make just before you plan to sweep/mop the floor—not the day after! Enjoy!
Homemade Whole-Wheat Sweet Potato Ravioli
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (freshly ground not recommended for this recipe)
- 3 eggs
- 1 sweet potato (large, or 2 small (1 ⅔ pounds total))
- 2 teaspoons butter (+ 5 tablespoons, divided)
- salt (to taste)
- pepper (to taste)
- ½ cup sage (fresh (just the leaves))
- parmesan cheese (for garnish (optional))
Instructions
- To prepare the filling, roast the potato by piercing it with a fork in a few places, placing it on a small baking sheet, and baking it in a 400° F oven for 45 to 60 minutes (until it's tender when pierced with a fork). Alternatively, if you are short on time, you could peel and dice the potato and boil it to make mashed sweet potatoes (don't forget to drain the water). Either way, you either discard the peel or use it for another dish (although I am not sure what, LOL). Mix the mashed sweet potato filling with 2 teaspoons of butter and salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
- In a food processor fitted with a dough blade, combine the flour and eggs. Turn on the machine and run until the dough turns into a ball chasing itself around the bowl (should only take a couple minutes to come together). If the dough is too dry (i.e. falling apart), add water a teaspoon at a time until it comes together. If the dough is too sticky (i.e. sticking to the sides), add a teaspoon of flour until it comes together without sticking to your hands.
- Wrap the dough ball along with a little pat of flour on the top and bottom in a piece of plastic wrap and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. I like to skip steps in recipes when it's not necessary, but as I've learned from experience, the sitting of the dough is necessary in this recipe!
- Set up your pasta maker and divide the dough into 2 or 3 pieces. Start cranking the first piece through the machine on the thickness setting (keep the other pieces wrapped in the plastic wrap so they don't dry out). Fold the dough over and keep running it through the first setting until it looks like a nice big rectangle (or so). If the dough is sticking to the counter or your hands, pat both sides with a little flour. If it's crumbling, add just a touch of water. Keep running the piece through the machine as you gradually decrease the thickness setting. I usually give it a little pat of flour on both sides each time I change the setting. I don't run ravioli dough all the way through the thinnest setting. I stop at the second to last setting so it doesn't break too easily once the filling is added.
- Once the dough has been thinned out enough, lay it flat on a lightly floured counter (don't forget the flour here or you'll be sorry!). Cut it in half and add little dollops of filling across one of the two pasta sheets. Dip your finger in a little bowl of water and trace a square around each spot with filling. Carefully lay the other sheet of pasta over top and gently push it down with your (dry) fingers around the filling. Use a handheld ravioli wheel (and a table knife to help if necessary) to cut and seal each piece. We own this ravioli wheel, which works fine but doesn't always do the best cutting job, hence the need for a knife. This one looks like a better choice (minus the sharp blade for kids), but I have not tried it personally. Place on a floured plate and divide layers with plastic wrap. Alternatively, you can make half moon raviolis with little handheld dough presses. That's fun to do too!
- To cook the ravioli, boil in water for approximately 4 minutes (fresh pasta doesn't take as long as the packaged stuff)!
- To make the sauce, cut the fresh sage leaves into little strips and then melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter melts, add the sage leaves. This part doesn't take long, so don't walk away! Stir the sage leaves in the butter until it begins to brown, about a minute or so. As soon as the butter browns and the leaves are crispy, take it off the heat, pour it over the ravioli, garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired, and serve. Yum!
Carrie says
This sounds so good! I am gluten free. Any tips for making these with a gluten free flour?
Margaret Anne @ Natural Chow says
Wow, I will have to try this recipe! I usually use this one if I'm going for a quick dinner: http://bit.ly/1w1dV71
But I will definitely try this on a Sunday!
Kristin says
Also, will WHITE whole wheat flour work?
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Yes! :)
Kristin says
Could I substitute butternut squash for the sweet potato and if so how much should I use?
You make pasta making sound so easy. i received a hand crank machine 11 years ago as wedding gift. The trouble is, I've never had a kitchen counter with the right thickness of counter to be able to clamp it on to. I made ravioli 1 time, and had to crank the machine with 1 hand while holding the machine down with the other hand. It was a lot of work and I haven't tried it since. Luckily we have fresh ravioli available at our farmer's market. You've inspired me to give it another try.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi there Kristin. Lisa has a butternut ravioli recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2010/09/01/recipe-butternut-squash-ravioli/. ~Amy
Traci says
I made this today! So delicious. It was my first time making homemade pasta. Definitely worth the extra work. Thank you!!!
Helen in the UK says
I've made pasta before and if you have the time it's fun. I did wonder if it was possible to make it with w/wheat flour, so now I've seen that you've had success, I'll give it a go! Thanks for the nudge :)
Aly Schilling says
Alright - you've convinced me to buy a Pasta Maker! I've been debating it and the extra time has been my hold up... But ironically, just today I was at the health food store and totally miffed that they added sugar to their frozen butternut squash raviolis (they even fit the 5 ingredient rule and used whole grains!) Big bummer. So now it's becoming a "need" to make our own. When you froze these, did you cook from frozen or let them thaw first? I made our own gnocchis before and doubled the batch - the fresh ones cooked great and then the frozen ones I boiled from frozen and they fell apart inside the pan and were unusable... Don't want to goof these babies up :) :)
Lisa says
I just throw them in the boiling water frozen and they come out great! Just be sure to cook them a little longer. Good luck :)
Lucinda Bomberger says
This looks good! I have bought your book and I am enjoying it! I was following the blood type diet which eliminates processed food. I started working full time and got away from following it due to not having time, which became my excuse . I started cutting out processed foot again . Not long after my sister in law told me about your blog and your book that was coming out! I have tried some of your recipes and tips, especially pop corn in a paper lunch bag, clever!! My daughter loved it and is okay if I make it that way from now on!
Something that I am craving right now is chocolate cake with peanut butter icing! I know I can make the cake okay, it's the icing that is questionable! Do you have a good real food recipe for peanut butter icing?
Thank you for sharing your real food journey!
Raquel @ Good Bad Food says
I don't have a full recipe for healthy peanut butter icing, but if you have good blender you might be able to make your own powdered sugar from a raw or turbinado style sugar and then just use it any normal frosting recipe. It can be hard to get the raw sugar fine enough for frosting use though...
Personally, I'd probably add peanut butter to a cream cheese and honey style frosting and see how it turned out.
Rachael VanDyke says
Also I have a cheese question while I'm here. What do I look for as far as the label goes. All the cheese I look at seems like it has other things in it.
Rachael VanDyke says
Can you make this without a pasta maker? Sadly I don't have one.
Amy Taylor (comment moderator) says
Hi there. You can follow Lisa's recipe with this as a how-to guide without the pasta roller: http://www.goodfoodstories.com/2012/10/11/homemade-ravioli/. :)
Emily says
Seems like a really inexpensive meal- except for the part about needing a food processor, a pasta machine, and a ravioli wheel, which I doubt a very large percentage of readers have. Oh well.
Carolyn says
I think, that you do not really need either a food processor or a ravioli-wheel, since I have seen a lot of recipes, where neither is used (though they probably help a lot and buying them could be considered, if one often makes this recipe).
Instead of using a food processor one could use the normal kitchen-mixer and I have even seen recipes, where the dough is made by hand and the ravioli-wheel can be substituted by a fork.
If one has a rolling-pin, one could even try to use it instead of a pasta-maker.
Like I said, having this appliances probably saves some work, but it should be possible to make this recipe without it.
Kelly says
Do you need a pasta maker or could you just roll it out? I don't have a pasta maker but I would like to try these and make a large batch to freeze. Any advice?
Raquel @ Good Bad Food says
I don't have experience with this specific recipe, but based on my general experience with making pasta I'd guess it would work, you just won't get it as thin rolling it out by hand (which might also mean longer cooking time and slightly chewier ravioli). I'd like to get a pasta maker soon, but in the mean time I'm also very interested in trying a hand rolled version of this recipe.
Diana Schmied says
ok, that makes sense (with regard to fresh ground). I have found that I usually have to add between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup more flour than a recipe calls for if I use fresh ground flour for baking. Probably depends on the type of wheat, too, I imagine. Thanks.
Jessica says
Have you tried freezing these? It would be nice to make a large batch and just pull out what you need.
Lisa says
Yes, you can totally freeze these! I do it between sheets of wax paper. But freeze them raw, of course. I would not recommend refrigerating them though (for longer than a couple hours) because they can get soggy, which will obviously completely mess up the dough.
Diana Schmied says
Why is fresh ground wheat not recommended?
Lisa says
You can use it (I have before) I just think it makes the dough a little harder to handle whereas the store bought stuff is always a sure thing.
Sally says
I just came over here to see if I could a meatless Monday meal idea for my husband who hates cheese (... I know...)& soup.
Lisa says
This would still be fine w/o the cheese. Just sprinkle a little salt on top instead :)
Lisa says
sounds yummy. I wonder if you can make pasta dough in a mixer or the vitamix
Lisa says
You can of course make it by hand as well :)
LeAnn @ Real Fit, Real Food Mom says
I've yet to make my own pasta...but you sure do make it sound easy!! I'm thinking a pasta maker may have to go on my Christmas wish list! :)
Lisa says
You won't regret it!