Pasta-Bilities!

Pasta is one of the tastiest dishes in the world. The Italians truly had a good idea on intrduing a variety of spices and condiments into the world, however, pasta dishes are something that they are incredibly famous for. Considering that we have various types of pasta around in the market with penne, lasagne, cannolini, spaghetti, macaroni, rigatoni, fusili, farfalle, and my personal favoirite, ravioli, there are so many dishes that you could make that would be delicious plate for dinner.

This was a recipe that my mother and I tossed into the pan a few days ago, and we have to agree that we were incredibly happy with the result.

Cottage Cheese and Spinach Ravioli

I would definitely recommend making the dish, although it has a lot milk products in it and is quite caloric. This is a great dish to have fun making together, however it is also quite heavy.

Preparation time - 2 hours

Ingredients

1. All purpose flour/ maida - 3 cups

2. Oil

3. Salt and pepper

4. Cottage Cheese - 200 to 250gms, grated

5. Spinach - 10 to 15 leaves, finely chopped and no stems

6. Cheese - 5 slices

7. Butter - 2 tablespoons

8. Garlic - 5 pods

9. Sweet corn - cup

10. Milk - 3 to 4 cups

11. Seasoning - Basil, Parsley, Oregano

12. Corn Flour - 1 cup

13. Broccoli - 2 cups

14. Mushroom - 1 cup

Preparing the Ravioli

• Unless you can buy premade refigerated ravioli, follow the steps below. I like my ravioli made from scratch so that it is fresh.

• Measure 3 cups of all purpose flour and pour it into a basin. Add the adequate amount of salt and a tablespoon of oil to it. Knead the dough firmly with water and set it aside for a half hour.

• While the dough sets, we can prepare the stuffing for the ravioli. In a wok, add two tablespoons of butter, grated cottage cheese, spinach, corn and diced mushroom to it. Add salt and saute it until the water content has evaporated. Set it aside to cool.

• Take the dough you had prepared earlier and roll it out into small circles. Cut it out into sized rectangles into which you place the ravioli stuffing inside and seal it with another piece.

• After you've placed the filling, use another piece to cover it and seal the ends by pressing the sheets together with a little bit of water.

• Now that you've prepared the pasta, boil the stuffed ravioli in a pot of water adding them one by one, to avoid sticking.

The ravioli itself can make for a separate snack if you don't want to include the sauce as well, however I have enclosed the recipe for that too below.

Preparing the Sauce

• In another pan, boil 3 cups of milk and cheese slices. Ensure that the cheese melts and mixes with the milk well.

• Put the cup of broccoli into the sauce. It isn't essential that you only add broccoli, you can add your choice of vegetables too.

• In another cup, mix a cup of corn flour and a tablespoon of all purpose flour with some more milk and add that mixture to the sauce.

• Add the required seasoning, salt and pepper to it, and let it simmer.

• Allow the sauce to thicken until it is a gooey paste after which you can take it off the stove.

Serving instructions

Place a few pieces of ravioli onto your plate and dribble the sauce over it. Cut up and enjoy!

Do you have any ideas for ravioli stuffings or other sauces that might go well? Share your views in the comments below!