Carrot ravioli with broccoli-ricotta filling

Experimenting with homemade pasta

I’m getting a bit more in the swing of things with my pasta maker these days, though I am still far from fast at ravioli – I clearly need to practice a bit more and these ones certainly make me want to try again soon.

The pasta here is made with roast carrots in the dough which gives them both a nice flavor and a beautiful color. I probably didn’t puree the carrots as well as I should have so the pasta is more flecked than smooth. This does mean you have to take care when rolling that you don’t get holes in the pasta, but it still looks pretty and tastes great.

making carrot ravioli with broccoli-ricotta filling

The filling is simply roast broccoli, ricotta and a little garlic pureed together and is wonderfully creamy and tasty. It’s a subtle flavor, but works really well with the pasta and is also easy to make as well.

To make the overall dish easier, the vegetables can be roasted ahead of time and then you can make up the filling and the pasta dough shortly before you are going to have them. I would definitely recommend roasting the vegetables rather than cooking any other way, as you want to get the moisture out of the carrots to save making the dough too wet, and the flavor for the broccoli is much more distinct and works really well too.

The bit that takes the time is rolling the pasta and forming the ravioli, but I think some of it is just practice. The actual cooking after you have made the carrot ravioli is very quick, they just take a few minutes in boiling water. They are ready when they boil up to the top, in much the same way as gnocchi.

Carrot ravioli with broccoli-ricotta filling

How to serve these carrot ravioli

How you serve these is a bit up to your own taste, but I would recommend you keep it something relatively simple and not too strong so that you can appreciate the delicate flavors in the pasta itself. A simple oil and parmesan, browned butter or roast tomato sauce would all be good.

These might take a little bit more work than your average dish, but they are incredibly tasty – homemade pasta is so much better than bought and the additional flavors in here work so well too. Not to mention the fact that you get in a good amount of vegetables without even noticing! We all gobbled them down and enjoyed every last bite and, despite the fact they took a bit of time, I will certainly be making them again.

Want to try some other ravioli? Try these!

Tools to make ravioli:

I used this Pasta Machine and Ravioli Maker which both worked really well.

See more of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline’s Cooking Amazon store.

Print Recipe

Carrot ravioli with broccoli-ricotta filling

Colorful and flavorful, these carrot ravioli are a delicious meal.

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time40 mins

Total Time1 hr 40 mins

Race: Hand Race

Kitchen: Fusion, Italian

Ingredients

9 oz carrots 250g, gives 4oz cooked weight
4 oz broccoli 115g, gives 3oz cooked weight
1 tablespoon olive oil for roasting, approx
2 eggs
1 eggyolk
2 cups all purpose flour 280g plain flour
1 cup ricotta 240g
1 clove garlic small

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F/220C.
Peel and chop carrots into chunks, put in a roasting dish and toss in a little olive oil. Chop the broccoli into florets and any chunks of stem (some is fine) and put in another roasting dish, toss with a little oil (for both you want them gently coated, not swimming in oil).
Roast broccoli until gently brown, around 10min, and carrots until tender, around 35min.
Remove both from oven when done and allow to cool. Up to this stage can be done a day ahead.
To make the pasta, puree the carrot in a food processor (or blend, if it won’t make it particularly smooth and you prefer a smooth texture) then add the eggs, egg yolk and salt and pulse until well chopped and mixed, scraping down as needed.
Add the flour about ½ cup at a time and pulse three or four times after each addition. Once all added, pulse until the dough comes together, away from the sides into a ball.
Remove the dough to a floured surface and knead with floured hands for about 5 minutes. It should be soft but not sticky – if it is, add a little more all-purpose/plain flour as you knead.
Wrap in plastic/cling film and allow to rest at room temperature for around 30min. At this stage, you can keep the dough in the fridge for a day or two until ready to use.
While the pasty is chilling, make the filling – blend together the broccoli, ricotta and garlic until well mixed then set aside (or chill if more than a few mins) until ready to make up the ravioli.
When ready, divide the dough into 4-6 sections and cover the pieces you aren’t working with with a damp cloth to save them drying out. Prepare some trays by dusting them with flour.
As you work with each piece, flatten it out slightly, dust with flour then put it through your pasta roller on the widest settings a few times (3-5 about right) until smooth, dusting with flour in between if at all sticky. Then move up the settings rolling once or twice at each settings until you get to the thickness you would like – I usually go to around 4 on my pasta roller.
If using a ravioli mould, lay the sheet of pasta over a ravioli mold then press down the frame to make indents. Fill each to the top with a teaspoon of filling.
Lightly dampen around the edges of each ravioli then roll another pasta layer to place on top, trying to avoid any air getting in each one. Press down with a rolling pin to seal then trim the excess pasta from around the side of the mold and add to a piece to use later. Carefully remove each ravioli from the mold and lay them on the floured trays.
If not using a mould, you can make them by laying the first piece of pasta out, dotting teaspoons of filling out evenly in lines with gaps between, dampening between then laying another layer on top. Then gently press in the areas between the filling to seal and cut.
Once all the pasta has been used and you are ready to cook, place a few ravioli at a time in a shallow pan of boiling water for around 2-3 minutes until they rise up to the top, then remove with a slotted spoon and cook the rest in batches.

Nutrition

More farmstand food ideas:

Appetizers, Sides and Salads

Starters

Desserts

Remember to pin for later!

These carrot ravioli and filled with a tasty mix of roast broccoli and ricotta, all coming together to make a delicious, colorful pasta meal.