# Homemade Ravioli Woes



## inchrisin (Aug 15, 2018)

Hey all,

Short version:  I'm new to ravioli and I tried to make mushroom stuffed ravioli.  It was way too wet and my ravioli didn't seal.  Any tips?

Long version:  So, I tried ravioli for the first time today.  I spent about 3 hours working my butt off on 2 different fillings.  I have a pasta machine and a dough recipe that was pretty solid.  I let my dough rest for about 2 hours before working it and I used semolina flour for dusting in between settings.  The dough rolled well.  The dough was not tacky and worked easily.  I used a whole whipped egg for an egg wash to seal the raviolis.  

My concerns were in the moisture of the filling.  I tried a mushroom filling that was mostly food-processed button mushrooms, some red wine, and bread crumbs to soak up the moisture when I realized what I had created.  I pressed out as much moisture as I could with a colander.  Still soppy wet.  

Is it fair to say that the stuffing of a ravioli is allowed to be pretty dry if you're going to boil it and cover it in sauce?  Maybe the stuffing should be more like turkey stuffing?  Moist, but better dry than wet.  It's just an excuse for more gravy. :P

I also tried a ricotta stuffing with lemon juice, parsley, and some thyme.  Delicious.  I think I just packed the stuffing too close together.  When I folded the ravioli over, I used the (staggered ravioli cutting wheel??) and it didn't hold the edges together.  I'm thinking next time that I'll go over the seams with the back of a fork.  What does this say about that dough?

Any advice is most welcome.  I threw an audible and made fried ravioli/pierogies with Bolognese.  The sauce was perfect, at least.

The dough was 1 egg, 2 egg yolks, and 5 oz ap flour.  I used semolina flour to dust, but this wasn't needed until after kneeding the dough for 10 min and chilling in the fridge, (air tight), for 2 hours.


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## medtran49 (Aug 16, 2018)

Filling should be moist, not wet.  I always double check seal by pressing edges with fingers.  Why are you using semolina to dust since you aren't using in dough?  Seems a waste of money to me.


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## inchrisin (Aug 16, 2018)

medtran49 said:


> Filling should be moist, not wet.  I always double check seal by pressing edges with fingers.  Why are you using semolina to dust since you aren't using in dough?  Seems a waste of money to me.



It's my first time.  

So, do you have a percentage of semolina you have in mind for the dough?  I'd guess dusting didn't get me past 10%.


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## dragnlaw (Aug 16, 2018)

I just use my regular pasta dough for making ravioli.  I also just use water to wet the edges and press them together.  

my pasta dough is a simple 2 cups ap flour, 3 whole eggs, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt.  

Water if needed - 1 to 2 Tbsp warm water - processed in FP


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## Addie (Aug 16, 2018)

Sounds like you go some pretty solid advice from your previous posters. If your filling is still too wet, try to wring out the moisture in a clean dish towel instead of pressing it through the colander. And if you still feel it is still too wet, put hubby to work and let him wring out the towel after you have done your best. Then let the filling rest for a few hours so even more of it is even dryer. 

Having made raviolis in the past, if my eggs are really fresh, I may follow the recipe. But I know that the older the eggs, the more they can affect your final product. Also, don'[t just use the semolina for dusting, but as *part* of the dough for the final product. The next time you go shopping, look at a box of ready made pasta. Note that they will tell you "made with semolina". That doesn't mean it was made with semolina only, but it was probably the main ingredient. 

Next, the mushrooms. Did you use canned mushrooms or fresh? Canned one have been sitting in the moisture of the water in the can. They have absorbed a lot of the moisture in that can.  Without crushing and destroying the mushroom, wring them out also. Remember, that moisture has contributed to the problem with your wet filling also. 

Lastly, take a small amount in the palm of your hand. Squeeze it gently. If it feels mushy, then it is probably to wet. 

And lastly, I had an elderly Italian woman tell me to never make pasta on a rainy day. "Your pasta dough will never come out right." Now if that is an old wives tale or not, I have no idea. But I have been faithful to her advice. And I have not had a pasta failure to date.  

I hope some of this information is helpful to you. Good luck and don't give up. Try again. And again until you have a great success. Good luck!!


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## Andy M. (Aug 16, 2018)

Another thought. Make sure you don't leave any air bubbles in the rav. Press out the air bubbles before sealing the edges. If you leave air bubbles, the heat expands the air and causes a blowout.


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## medtran49 (Aug 16, 2018)

I nearly always use just AP flour for pasta and ravioli dough.  You don't have to use semolina unless you just want to.  



I realize it was your first time Inchrisin, I was just stating that filling should be moist, not wet.  That's probably one of the reasons they didn't seal well.  Did you cook your mushrooms at all before making the filling?  I personally wouldn't use raw mushrooms as they are going to exude liquid, besides the fact that they will still be mostly raw as fresh made ravioli only need to cook in salted, gently boiling water for 2-3 minutes at most.  Dry saute or very, very minimal oil/butter and let the moisture that cooks out of the mushrooms nearly cook out.  I'd make a filling by chopping some onions very finely, as well as garlic, cooking them until almost done, then adding mushrooms and some thyme, then cooking until filling is nearly dry.  Of course, you let it cool to room temperature before filling the ravioli.


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## di reston (Aug 16, 2018)

1 kg strong flour, 10-10 medium eggs.

Make up the dough to achieve a smooth but elastic dough.

work the dough until you get a smooth, elastic dough.

Roll the dough out until you get a stretchy, thin dough that doesn't break up - if it does, you've got the dough wrong. You need to work the dough until it's pliable.

When you've got the required result, roll the dough out until it's thin and still elastic. Roll the dough into thin wide ribbons, and then start putting blobs of filling all the way along, leaving enough room to fill and cut the tortellini, ravioli, or what ever filling you've made, using a teaspoon. You are looking for blobs of  filling along one side of the ribbon of pasta. Having done that, fold the rest of the pasta, all the way along, to cover the filling. Next, with your little finger, press indentations that will keep the the filled pasta secure. Lastly, using your little finger, make indentations North to South that will enable you to define the cutting point. Having done that, 'flour' the filled pasta with semolina flour, separate the filled pasta so that they are now indivual little pieces of filled pasta. Leave to dry on your linen towel until the pasta dries somewhat. Now they are ready to cook.

Recipes for fillings on request!

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast     Oscar Wilde


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## CharlieD (Aug 16, 2018)

In my opinion the good dough should close without any additional closing agents.


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## di reston (Aug 16, 2018)

Will send some recipes for fillings.

My recipes work. They were given to me by people who are very competent cooks. By the way, if you're going to make mushroom fillings, make sure that the mushrooms are dried and soaked and dried again. Fresh mushrooms hold lots of water. I am fully aware that you will all tell me that this is nonsense, but I can assure you it isn't. It's not rocket science either.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscar Wilde


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## taxlady (Aug 16, 2018)

The large amount of liquid that comes out of mushrooms when fried in butter or oil really surprised me.


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## Addie (Aug 16, 2018)

Any time I am sautéing mushroom, I do so until all the liquid has left the mushrooms dry, and finish cooking them in the liquid until all the liquid has cooked off and the pan is dry. My family has always loved a heaping helping of sautéed onions, peppers, garlic and mushrooms. I have always been very happy to make that for them. They were getting four veggies (yes I classify the mushroom as a veggie for this dish.) and they never gave it a second thought. I would never hear "I hate veggies. Don't put any on my plate. 

One time I went over to the North End for the Farmer's Market toward the end of the selling day. I couldn't resist buying in bulk, all four of these veggies and made up a mess of raviolis for the freezer. And I still had some left over for supper. I think we were eating those little pillows of goodness for at least six months. At the time I bought them I had no idea what I was going to do with all of it.


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## inchrisin (Aug 17, 2018)

di reston said:


> 1 kg strong flour, 10-10 medium eggs.
> 
> Make up the dough to achieve a smooth but elastic dough.
> 
> ...



Thanks.  I think a big problem was trying to cut the ravioli too close to the filling.  Let it hang out a little more next time and just make MORE dough.  Maybe not 3 pounds, but I may as well go all out if I'm going to put in the efforts.


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## di reston (Aug 17, 2018)

The filling has to be stiff, and not loose. I'll post a recipe for that tomorrow, today we have guests coming for dinner, but I can guarantee the recipe is excellent. 


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscar Wilde


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## di reston (Aug 17, 2018)

Giuseppe's recipe for filling ravioli

100g parma ham, 100 g mortadella. 100g minced pork or veal, chopped finely
1 egg yolk.

Mix the above and add 50g butter and a spoonful of liquid. 
Add 50g butter and a ladle full of water, in a saucepan together with the minced meats, adding chopped white onion, carrot and bring it to the for about about an hour, adding a little water if it dries too much. 
This should take about an 1 hour, so the temperature should be low. Take care to see that the ingredients don't brown.


After about an hour, the filling should be right to take of the heat, and then you can start putting together the other ingredients:Nutmeg, and Parmesan cheese grated on the fine grater. By now, the filling should be stiff but maleable, so that you should be able to work it into small balls. Now you can start  putting the filling in tiny balls, along the pasta ribbons. 

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast    Oscare Wilde


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## Mad Cook (Aug 18, 2018)

Addie said:


> Sounds like you go some pretty solid advice from your previous posters. If your filling is still too wet, try to wring out the moisture in a clean dish towel instead of pressing it through the colander. And if you still feel it is still too wet, put hubby to work and let him wring out the towel after you have done your best. Then let the filling rest for a few hours so even more of it is even dryer.
> 
> Having made raviolis in the past, if my eggs are really fresh, I may follow the recipe. But I know that the older the eggs, the more they can affect your final product. Also, don'[t just use the semolina for dusting, but as *part* of the dough for the final product. The next time you go shopping, look at a box of ready made pasta. Note that they will tell you "made with semolina". That doesn't mean it was made with semolina only, but it was probably the main ingredient.
> 
> ...


Regarding the affect of the weather on pasta - I hadn't heard that before but I have found that the weather can affect the way my bread mix behaves so Addie's old lady could very well be right.


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## Mad Cook (Aug 18, 2018)

taxlady said:


> The large amount of liquid that comes out of mushrooms when fried in butter or oil really surprised me.


I find it's better to fry them quickly on a high-ish light rather than gently and slowly. They seem to give off less liquid if cooked on a higher light or possibly the higher heat disperses the liquid better than the gentle cooking does. Of course it depends on what you want.


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## inchrisin (Aug 20, 2018)

di reston said:


> Giuseppe's recipe for filling ravioli
> 
> 100g parma ham, 100 g mortadella. 100g minced pork or veal, chopped finely
> 1 egg yolk.
> ...



I don't get to use parma ham enough.  This is going to happen next time I try ravioli.  I like that you can be making the dough while you cook some parts of the filling down.  Thank you so much!


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