Alfred's Pork Ravioli

Step 1

Grill up pork chops for dinner. Make three extra for the ravioli filling. Move frozen, chopped spinach to fridge to defrost.

Step 2

Debone and grind the pork chops. Next, mix pork with spinach, eggs, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, nutmeg, pepper, milk, and olive oil. Adjust consistency with more milk if needed. It should be thick but easily spreadable.

Step 3

Next, roll out your homemade pasta dough nice and thinly. Here’s Alfred’s. And the back of my head. Hello three year-old head! (I look so blond).

Step 4

Continually dust with flour as you roll the dough out. Before you spread with filing, add a healthy amount of flour beneath the dough so the ravioli do not stick. The sheet of dough should easily slide around on the table, even as big as I rolled it.Proceed to spread with filling…

Step 5

Cover half of the sheet with the filling – in a very thin layer. If you add too much the ravioli won’t seal.

Step 6

Fold the plain side over the filled side. Press all over with the palm of your hands to remove air bubbles, starting in the middle of the folded side, working up down and out until the whole thing is patted. Air pockets will make the ravioli burst when cooked.

Step 7

Next, line up the ravioli rolling pin in order to get the most ravioli out of the piece of dough you’re working with. Slowly roll and press firmly to crimp the ravioli well.

Step 8

Next, take a ravioli wheel and cut along the center of the crimp marks.

Step 9

Transfer to a flour or cornmeal coated cookie sheet.

Step 10

Now you have three choices:Cook immediately in gently boiling (almost simmering) salted water for about 5 minutes (depending on how thick you rolled the dough).Freeze on the cookie sheet. Transfer to zip lock baggies and return to freezer.Let them dry overnight, turning once. Then freeze in zip lock baggies.Frozen ravioli take a little longer to cook. Ravioli dried overnight take even longer. Taste test to be sure they’re done.The most wonderful thing about Alfred is that he dressed up for the occasion. Everyone should wear a tie when making ravioli.