A few nights ago I dreamed of these wonderful Christmas tree ravioli! They were perfect, a shimmering green with fantastic decorations, golden and red spheres symbolizing the festivities that are about to end. Upon waking, I knew that on New Year’s Day I wanted to turn the dream into reality. So, I bought everything needed to make them, but something went wrong! Have you ever experienced total forgetfulness for everything? Well, to start, while preparing the dough, I forgot to divide it to give it the colors I had dreamed of. No big deal, I told myself, I’ll make them simple, and they’ll still be beautiful! Only to find out that, on the shopping day, I had also forgotten the ricotta I had bought to fill them in the car! Of course, only two days later, when opening the fridge, I couldn’t find it anywhere! Total panic! Even retrieving it, I knew that despite the low temperatures these days, the ricotta would definitely be rancid! I was not wrong! All plans were about to fall apart. I was almost ready to turn the dough into simple lasagna, which, to be fair, no one would object to, but I wouldn’t have been fully satisfied! Then an apparition, a nice piece of pumpkin at the back of the fridge still to be used. The step back to the initial project was short! I wouldn’t have filled and dressed them as I hoped, but the ravioli were saved! And here is my last-minute proposal, which will be fine for Epiphany or at most for the next Christmas holidays. They are a truly original and scenic way to bring a beautiful themed first course to the table, pleasantly surprising your guests. However, if turned into classic ravioli, you can prepare them for any occasion you deem special, because special is their texture! I don’t want to reveal more because you absolutely must taste them.
Other ideas for preparing homemade pasta:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 4 Hours
- Portions: 50 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
⚠ THIS RECIPE CONTAINS ONE OR MORE AFFILIATE LINKS. The products I recommend are the same ones I use in my recipes; purchasing them through my blog helps support me and my work, while costing you nothing extra!
- 3/4 cup type 1 flour
- 3/4 cup re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 100 g spinach (fresh already cleaned or frozen)
- 2 eggs
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 7 oz pumpkin (already cleaned)
- 2 tablespoons stracchino (or robiola, squacquerone, etc.)
- 2 slices cooked ham
- 1 oz Sicilian pecorino (grated)
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Pan
- 1 Lid
- 1 Chopper
- 1 Plastic wrap
- 1 Pasta machine
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Tea towel
- 1 Cutter tree-shaped
- 1 Knife
- 1 Baking tray
- 1 Parchment paper
Preparation
After thoroughly washing the spinach leaves, blanch them for 5′ in a pan with a clove of garlic and two tablespoons of oil, and cover with a lid (fig. 1).
Squeeze the spinach very well with your hands or let them drain in a sieve, pressing with a spoon. They must be very dry, so place them inside a mixer or chopper until you get a puree (fig. 2).
Let it cool and set it aside. In the meantime, in a large bowl, mix the two flours (fig. 3).
Create a well and break the eggs in the center, adding a pinch of salt (fig. 4).
Beat the eggs with a wooden spoon and gradually incorporate the flour (fig. 5).
Once the eggs are combined, add the spinach puree (fig. 6).
Start kneading with your hands (fig. 7).
Transfer the dough to a work surface floured with semolina and continue kneading (fig. 8).
You should obtain a smooth and homogeneous dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature (fig. 9).
With the help of a rolling pin, initially roll out half of the dough, leaving the remaining covered with plastic wrap. Once rolled, proceed to roll it with the pasta machine, starting with the thickest setting (fig. 10).
Lightly flour and fold the sheet in two, then roll it again at the thickest setting (fig. 11).
Continue to repeat the operation, gradually passing the sheet through the lower settings, until obtaining a very thin layer, 1-2 mm at most. Perform the same operation for the rest of the dough (fig. 12).
Keep the sheets well-floured under a tea towel to prevent them from drying out too much. In the meantime, prepare the filling by cutting the pumpkin into slices and placing it in a baking tray lined with parchment paper (fig. 13).
Place in a preheated static oven at 392°F for 35′. Then transfer the cooked pumpkin to a mixer, slightly salt and add 2 tablespoons of grated pecorino, 2 of stracchino, and the ham coarsely chopped (fig. 14).
Blend in pulses until obtaining a smooth and homogeneous cream (fig. 15).
Transfer the pumpkin cream into a piping bag and start distributing small portions for each ravioli on a base sheet (fig. 16).
Then cover with a second sheet and start cutting out your trees with the help of a cutter (fig. 17).
Extract your ravioli and place them well-floured under a clean tea towel until ready to cook them (fig. 18).
And voilà… the Christmas tree ravioli are ready to be cooked as you wish!
Detail and size of mine.
Bon Appetit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 You can prepare the Christmas tree ravioli the day before and keep them in the fridge, dusted with semolina and covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying.
Tips, notes, variations and suggestions
🟣Naturally for the filling you can unleash your creativity, the combination of ricotta and spinach will do or, if you want to amaze, you could opt for a filling based on fresh sea fish (mullet, sea bass, grouper, snapper, croaker etc,).
