Heart-Shaped 3-Cheese Ravioli | Romantic Dinner at Home for Valentine's Day

If you want to save money on a date night or on Valentine's Day, make a romantic dinner at home! Heart-shaped 3-cheese raviolis are a labor of love, but they're well worth the effort. A homemade tomato sauce comes together in a snap and can be made in advance. For the full effect, serve with the stuffed portabella mushrooms. For best results, finish off with a heart-shaped tiramisu! (As shown in part 3 of this Cheap Valentine's Date Night trilogy.)

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*Notes: A lot of these steps can be done in advance.
I made the entire meal (sauce, ravioli, stuffed portabellas) all at once and it took about 2 and a half hours of active cooking time and I was exhausted afterwards. So if you want to cook this as a romantic supper, I highly recommend doing as many steps in advance as possible.

The stuffed portabella recipe: https://youtu.be/vOQEOEkx0iQ

The tomato sauce: (makes about 6-8 servings)

Add to a large skillet:
-1 tsp oil
-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Sautee briefly on medium heat until the garlic is fragrant, but not brown (about one minute.)

Add:
-1 28-32oz can diced tomatoes
-1 tsp Italian seasoning
-1/4-1 tsp red pepper flakes
-salt and sugar to taste (I leave these out)

Stir briefly and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer lightly, stirring occasionally, until no standing water remains in the pan - about 15-30 minutes. Pulse in a food processor (I personally love my Kitchen Aid: https://amzn.to/2Gb2jhr) until it's smooth. Set aside in a container for later use. It can store in the fridge up to a week and in the freezer for a few months. Reheat in the microwave when ready to use.

The Ravioli: (makes about 6 servings as a side, 3-4 servings as a main course)

First, make the pasta dough:

Add in a medium bowl:
-1 cup semolina flour https://amzn.to/2ULEAaF
-1 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 tsp salt

Stir together to combine, then make a well in the center of the bowl and add:
-3 large eggs

Mix with a spoon, then with your hands until the dough comes together. If it feels too stiff and dry, add a little water or milk. If it feels too wet, add a little all-purpose flour.

Turn out onto a board and knead for at least 5 minutes to hydrate the dough. You should wind up with a smooth, not sticky ball of dough that's a little more supple than when you started. Let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes or for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Make the 3-cheese filling:

Add into a small food processor (I love my Kitchen Aid mini chopper: https://amzn.to/2RERBVB):
-3/4 cup chopped mozzarella cheese
-1/4 cup chopped parmesan cheese

Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Then add:
-1 cup ricotta cheese

Pulse until smooth. Use the mixture right away, or store in a container in the fridge up to a week.

Form the ravioli:

Separate the pasta dough into fourths (doesn't need to be exact). One fourth of the dough at a time, roll into very thin sheets. If you're only making 1-2 servings, start with just one sheet, then roll out more sheets as needed. This takes a long time and requires a lot of muscle and patience.

Once you have a very thin sheet of dough, cut out a bunch of hearts with a small heart-shaped cookie cutter. Try to use a cutter that has straight edges - they'll be easier to line up. Make 8 ravioli per person if this is a side dish - 16 ravioli per person if it's a main course. Or, you know, make however many you think each person will eat. Just remember that 2 hearts = 1 ravioli, so take that into account.

Once you've cut out all the hearts you're going to need, get a cup of water ready. Wet the edges of one heart piece, then scoop a very small spoonful of the 3-cheese mixture onto the heart, leaving about 1/4 inch pasta exposed on the edges. Press a second heart to the cheese-covered heart, carefully pinching the edges together until the entire ravioli is sealed tightly. It's a good idea to press the edges extra-firmly together, even stretching the pasta dough out slightly, to ensure the seal will hold during cooking. Once you've formed all your ravioli, you can either cook them immediately, or store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours before use. If you're storing them for later, separate them in a single layer on a cookie sheet or if they must be layered, stick sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap between them, otherwise they'll stick together in one big mass and all your hard work will have been for nothing.

Cook the ravioli:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a gentle simmer. Gently add the ravioli and cook, stirring occasionally, until they float. Once they've started floating, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to ensure doneness.

Видео Heart-Shaped 3-Cheese Ravioli | Romantic Dinner at Home for Valentine's Day канала Sarah Loves Food