My ravioli mold proved once again that 26 bucks I spent on it was not a waste of money. After I posted my first recipe for ravioli in a red, tomato-based sauce, I got obsessed with the thought of making the ravioli in a different type of sauce, this time – white, creamy, and cheese-based. And, I didn’t want ravioli to be filled just with cheese as most store-bought ravioli seem to be: instead I wanted a veggie and creamy ravioli filling, and goat cheese and spinach proved to be a perfect match for each other. I am very happy to present you with this simple recipe for ravioli with goat cheese and spinach filling in a light Parmesan cream sauce with mushrooms.
The accompanying sauce is pretty basic but it’s made completely from scratch: cheese and cream with sauteed mushrooms and garlic plus seasonings. The sauce lightly coats ravioli creating the perfect creaminess to complement the pasta. The ravioli filling, made with goat cheese, chopped spinach, and nutmeg plays a leading role in this recipe, with each ingredient contributing something different to the overall flavor: goat cheese provides richness and creaminess, spinach – savory side, and nutmeg contributes sweetness with a savory accent.
Ravioli mold did a great job this time, just like before. 100% of my ravioli came out free of air pockets, and upon boiling 24 ravioli (double the recipe here), only 2 of them got little cracks in pasta and even that because I overfilled some of them with the filling and the pasta dough got really thin in some places and burst. None of ravioli got open along the seams. The texture of pasta dough was perfect, too: so soft and thin and yet just of the right consistency to keep ravioli together.
I absolutely recommend this recipe: it’s easy, it’s creamy, it’s vegetarian. You could serve it as is, or with chicken or fish. Definitely a crowd-pleaser.
Ravioli with goat cheese and spinach filling in parmesan cream sauce
Prep time: 1 hour
Makes 3 servings – 12-18 ravioli, 1.5 of the mold
Ingredients for ravioli dough from scratch (makes 12-18 ravioli using mold):
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Ingredients for ravioli filling (makes 12-18 ravioli, using mold):
- 1/3 cup cooked spinach (or 1/2 bunch raw spinach – to be cooked)
- 2 oz goat cheese
- 1/3 cup Parmesan, grated
- nutmeg
- salt and pepper
Ingredients for mushroom and parmesan cream sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons white wine
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese, grated
- chopped chives, leeks, for garnish
To make ravioli dough:
1) Mix flour with salt.
2) Stir water with egg until well mixed.
3) In a bowl, combine flour and egg-water mixture together and mix until well incorporated. Knead the dough until well-textured and firm. The dough should not be too wet or too sticky. It should only stick to itself, but not to your hands. It should not be too dry, either. Make the dough into a ball or disk, wrap with plastic wrap. Let the dough stand for 1 hour at room temperature before using. This allows gluten to work.
4) This amount of dough enough to make dough for 12 raviolis, using the mold (ravioli mold makes 12 ravioli). If you need to make 24 ravioli, make a second batch of this dough.
To make ravioli filling:
1) Cook spinach until wilted and all liquid is gone. All liquid should be evaporated – it’s important. Chop spinach.
2) Soften goat cheese by heating it up in microwave oven for about 5-10 minutes. Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl: chopped spinach, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese. Add a little bit of nutmeg to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. Your filling should not be runny, it should be pretty firm, which is why it’s important to make sure spinach has no liquid from step 1. If your filling is a bit runny from softened cheese, put the bowl with ravioli filling in the refrigerator to firm up.
To assemble ravioli:
1) Unwrap ravioli dough from plastic, divide in 2 equal parts. Flour working area. Roll out each part of pasta dough very thinly, on a floured surface, using a roller. Make sure to flour the upper portion of pasta dough and the roller to avoid sticking. Lift the rolled dough several times during rolling to make sure it doesn’t stick to the counter, and flour working surface with more flour, if necessary.
2) Flour the ravioli mold. After you have rolled the 2 portions of dough very thinly, place first layer of dough on the ravioli mold, so that it covers all 12 holes.
3) Place a small portion of ravioli filling into each indentation, making sure not to overfill. The filling should be at the same level or lower as the flat part of the mold. Place second layer of pasta dough on top of filled ravioli.
4) Using a roller pin, roll across the mold and along the edges to separate ravioli. As you roll the pin, it also removes all air from ravioli, which is very important for ravioli success. By now you should have extra dough hanging off the outside 4 edges of ravioli mold – carefully separate it. Continue rolling the pin along the inside edges of 12 raviolis to separate them from one another: you could also use your fingers to press across the edges to separate ravioli.
5) Flip ravioli mold to release ravioli. Bring a large pot of water to boil Boil ravioli for 5 minutes, drain and set aside – to be used with sauce below.
6) Or, alternatively, if you’re not using ravioli right away, place them on a plate or baking sheet in the freezer to freeze. After they are frozen, place them in a plastic bag and keep frozen until needed.
To make mushroom and parmesan cream sauce:
1) Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, a bit of nutmeg and cook for about 7 minutes until mushrooms soften and garlic is fragrant.
2) Add half-and-half, bring to boil. Remove from heat, add grated parmesan cheese, mix until cheese is melted and mixture thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3) After you have boiled ravioli for 5 minutes, drain them and add ravioli to the sauce to coat. To serve, place ravioli and sauce on plates. Garnish with with chopped chives or leeks.
Wrap pasta dough in a plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for 1 hour for gluten to do its work
Cooking spinach – for ravioli filling
Cooked spinach – for ravioli filling
Goat cheese and parmesan cheese – for ravioli filling
Goat cheese and parmesan cheese – for ravioli filling
Mixing everything together for ravioli filling: spinach, goat cheese, parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper
Rolling dough into 2 equal parts
Flour ravioli mold, especially the bottom of indentations
Place one layer of ravioli dough on top of floured ravioli mold
Place small amount of goat cheese and spinach filling into the mold indentations, making sure not to overfill (filling should be at the same level as the flat area of the ravioli mold)
Cover with the second layer of pasta dough
Ravioli mold covered with the two layers of dough with the filling in between
Using roller pin, roll along the surface of the ravioli mold to remove air pockets and seal ravioli
Remove outer portion of the pasta dough
Using roller pin, roll along the edges of individual ravioli to separate them from one another
Flip the ravioli mold to release ravioli
Saute mushrooms and garlic in olive oil
Deglaze with a little bit of wine
Add half-and-half, bring to boil, remove from heat, then add parmesan cheese
Mix until parmesan cheese is melted. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
Add cooked ravioli to the sauce
More ravioli recipes:
- Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans
- Ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese filling, in tomato cream sauce
More pasta recipes:
- Quick pasta with portobello mushrooms and green bell peppers
- Asian fish and peanut sauce noodles
- Healthy fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower sauce and sweet peas
- Macaroni and cheese with bacon and caramelized onions
- Easy Fettuccine Alfredo
- Easy homemade macaroni and cheese
- Asian salmon and noodles
- Easy pasta carbonara – perfect weeknight dish
- Spicy Asian noodles and mushrooms, with snow peas
- Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans
- Garlic spicy shrimp and asparagus pasta
- Stuffed manicotti pasta shells recipe with ricotta cheese and spinach filling
- Spicy curry shrimp pasta: curried tomato sauce, snap peas and orzo
- Creamy mushroom pasta with caramelized onions and spinach
- Beet and goat cheese fettuccine pasta
- Lamb vegetable noodle stew, Lagman
- Ravioli with spinach and ricotta cheese filling, in tomato cream sauce
- Lobster pasta with porcini and tarragon cream sauce
I have been thinking about making ravioli from scratch lately. Love ravioli but always a little hesitant about buying those in the refrigerate or frozen section at the supermarket because you never know what really goes into the filling. I am really excited when I saw this post. And especially glad to see that you use the old fashion method of rolling out the dough using the rolling pin instead of the expensive pasta making/rolling machine. I wasn’t sure about the result using rolling pin, but now I have seen you done that and the ravioli came out great, I’m going to give that a go.
I don’t think I will be buying the expensive pasta making machine anytime soon.
That’s a whole new learning curve.
This is an absolutely stunning dish! I love the sound of all those delicious creamy flavours together, especially with the spinach and mushroom. Your ravioli press is soo cute as well – they look so perfect
Thanks, the ravioli press is such a helper: speeds up things so much. I hardly spent any time making this dish.
It looks amazing, Julia! You did a great job on the homemade dough.
Thank you, Denise. The dough came out really well (not to be bragging
). Just the right amount of flour and liquid ingredients – rolled out to the perfect level of thinness. Thin enough to be handled by the ravioli press and yet thick enough to hold the filling inside.
It’s 9.30 AM and you make me want to get up and make ravioli..I only have the individual stamps..This looks much better and quicker..not that I like to rush those sweet days when I make pasta..but yours are perfect.
Julia I dislike store bought raviolis unless the are made en place at the Italian grocer/ etc..They always taste like they have fake things in it..
These..with your sauce..as appetizing as your tomato one..You must be so proud when it’s all done.A+
Thank you, Monique, you’re so sweet. It’s really so hard to find the store-bought ravioli that I actually like, so I have to make these myself.
Store-bought ravioli often taste quite bland.
I’ll take a double portion, this looks AMAZING!!!
Thanks!
OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS! This is so sophisticated and stunning and I just KNOW tastes PHENOMENAL! I need a ravioli maker thing sooo badly. Pinning this!
I have yet to make homemade pasta… but I so want to! These ravioli sound amazing… love the goat cheese and spinach filling… and the mushroom sauce! Yummm
These sound incredible! And I am so jealous of your ravioli mold. Yours came out looking so much better than the ones I make!
Everything about this looks fantastic! If I made this, I’d probably have to skip the mushrooms in the sauce because my hubby doesn’t like them (crazy, I know). And that filling almost looks like a chip dip!
Ummm, I am obsessed, and I need one of those ravioli molds ASAP.
Thanks now I defiantly need a ravioli mold
! These look amazing!
OK, you convinced me, off to get a ravioli maker. How could I have lived without one so far?
delicious scrumptious ravioli…
Its looks great Julia! I am a amateur cook and I have tried to make ravioli dough once before but when i rolled them out they were very elastic, it would kinda shrink back as I roll out. Could you suggest what would prevent that please. I would love to give this a try!
Could it be because you started rolling the dough right after you made it, without letting it sit for an hour? Allow the dough sit for at least an hour (wrapped in plastic wrap) at room temperature before rolling it. Let the gluten relax before shaping the dough. And make sure your room temperature is room temperature, not colder. I didn’t have problem rolling the dough at all, nothing shrank back, on the contrary, it was very stretchy.
Deliciousness! And I truly appreciate the step-by-step photos and instructions. Would help me calm my nerves if I ever attempt at making ravioli
oh my gosh this is such a gorgeous and delicious pasta dish! i never even knew a ravioli mold existed, i totally would love to have one!
Now that you know, you could use the ravioli mold. I think it’s the easiest, least time consuming method of making ravioli. I don’t even know how I would deal with air pockets otherwise.
Your ravioli looks and sounds decadent and delicious. I think I need to invest in a ravioli mold soon. I love how perfect your little pillow-y pockets of goodness came out.
So pretty and lovely. Boy, the goat cheese and spinach sounds comforting and the mushroom cream sauce is divine.
What a gorgeous plate of food! I’ve wanted to make my own ravioli for quite some time now, and after seeing this post, I must make it happen! I need to track down one of those molds ASAP. Thank you for sharing!
Julia, the homemade dough looks delicious, great work here !
That looks like my perfect pasta dish Julia, with all my favourites. Mushrooms, spinach, cheese, mmmmm! Who could resist? I’m sure I have one of those moulds at the back of a cupboard somewhere. I think it’s time to look it out. Oh and thanks for the step-by-step photos.
What a gorgeous looking dish. I bet it is very delicious as you have goat cheese in it. I love that. The creamy sauce is great, too!
thank you for the visit and wow what a great blog (and ravioli!). this is what I call portion control… non way one batch would have been enough for both me and my husband
I’m going to LOVE making this, Jacqueline. Red sauces are not my favorite thing and anytime I make (or order out) pasta, it has to have a white sauce. This looks wonderful and I adore your ravioli mold!
Ohh, Julia, that’s such a pretty plate of ravioli! I might just have to get one of those $26 ravioli molds – doing them the old-fashioned mold-free way is the only way I’ve done it, and it’s a bit of a bother. I think they turn out so much prettier in the mold, too. Gorgeous!