Bacon and Egg Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

Here's a different  look at that fabulous Ravioli dish I fell in love with from Osteria Mozza.  I picked up a few helpful tips from the cookbook a friend gave me, and we are off and running.  A visit to a farmer's market this past weekend yielded some raw milk ricotta and raw milk butter, both from Sea Breeze Farm.  The ricotta is the best ricotta I have tasted.  It is full of flavor and sweet, unlike so many other ricottas I've had.  The raw milk butter was a impulse purchase after hearing another customer rave about it.


For the pasta, you can buy prepared fresh pasta sheets, or make you own.  I used just a slightly different recipe today.

2 1/4 cups baking flour

4 eggs

1 egg yolk

I used a standing mixer and a hook attachment to knead the dough for about 10 minutes.  Then put the dough out onto a floured wood block and continued to knead with my hands for another few minutes.  I then wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and let rest at room temp for a couple of hours before using my Kitchenaid attachment to roll out the pasta.  I rolled it to the #6 setting this time.  I find laying the dough out on flour sack towels makes it easiest to handle.

For the filling (this made enough for 6 ravioli and I did this particular amount only because that's the amount of ricotta I had)

10 oz Raw Milk Ricotta
5 oz thinly sliced, then roughly chopped Pancetta
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2-3 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Fry the pancetta until very crispy.  Drain on paper towels and let cool.
Mix together all of the filling ingredients.  Use enough cream to attain the consistency of soft serve ice cream.  The filling can be made several hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.

To make the ravioli, cut the pasta sheets into approximately 6" x 6" pieces.  You will need 12 in total.   With the extra pasta, I cut it and dried it for another use.  Roll the filling into 6 equal balls.  Place each one onto the center of one pasta piece.  Press it down a little to form a disk.  Then using the back of a tablespoon, press a little well in the center of the disk.  
Here, you will need 6 eggs.  Break open the egg, separate the yolk from the white and reserve the white.  Place the yolk into the middle of the ricotta mixture.  Repeat for each of the ravioli, but you don't need to reserve any more egg whites. 

Brush the edge of the pasta sheet with the egg white, place another pasta sheet on top.  Seal the edges and surround the filling with the top past sheet by cupping your hands around it.  

You can either use a shaped cutter, or a rolling pasta cutter to cut the ravioli into either a square or round.  Repeat for each ravioli.
The ravioli can also be made several hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to use.  I placed them on a baking sheet with a towel under the ravioli and covered them with a towel.


When ready to cook, heat a large pot of salted walter to boil.  Depending on the size of your pot, use one or two pots or cook the ravioli in turn, knowing the first batch will cool as you cook the second batch.  Not optimal, but works.  
Boil the ravioli for 3-4 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the ravioli and blot on a towel to remove excess water before placing onto your serving dish.


As the water is coming to boil and the ravioli are cooking, brown the butter.  
You will need 2/3 to 3/4 cup of butter and 8-10 sage leaves.
Place the butter and sage in a shallow pan over medium high heat, swirling it until it is evenly browned, about 3-5 minutes.  

To serve, ladle the brown butter over the ravioli and place one or two sage leaves on top of each ravioli.  Grate a mound of Parmigiano Reggiano on top.  Rich and divine!