The True Tragedy of Homemade Pasta

It’s like reading Shakespeare.  I love reading Shakespeare,  especially his comedies, but golly, there’s something about the tragedies.  You know how it’s going to end, but at the same time, as you’re reading, you’re caught up in a beautifully written story, and you find yourself hoping for a better ending than you remember.  Okay, maybe it’s not really like that, but this past Saturday, faced with a day of absolutely no plans, I thought it would be fun to make some homemade ravioli.  It had been some time since I made any kind of homemade pasta, and I thought it was time to give it another try.

So I started by making my pasta dough early in the day.  I used the recipe and procedure that I found over at The Kitchn.  I kneaded the dough by hand, and while it was a bit sticky and, of course, it was a tougher dough, it came together nicely, and I put in the fridge for later in the day.

Meanwhile,  I had planned on making a butternut squash filling for the ravioli, so I roasted my squash, let it cool , and then made my filling by sauteing some onion until it just started to brown, and then adding some sage, nutmeg,and Parmesan cheese.   Then I thought my kids might not appreciate butternut squash filling, so I rummaged around in the fridge and pulled together cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella, herbs and spices to make a cheese filling.

Armed with my pasta roller and a clean counter, I rolled out my dough and started cutting out circles for my ravioli.  It did not take me long at all to start cursing my creative juices that told me to make pasta.  Making this homemade ravioli was tedious at best, and halfway through I was really cursing to myself.  Most especially that it was Valentine’s Day, because what I really wanted to do was chuck the whole idea of homemade pasta and go out for dinner.  Being Valentine’s Day though, I thought our chances of eating out at a reasonable time were slim to none.  So I forged ahead.  It didn’t take me long to calculate that not only was it going to take a while to make my ravioli, but I was only going to make the cheese ones.  Six little pillows of ravioli took some time, and it was also clear that the quantity of dough I had was not going to be enough for two kinds of ravioli.  Sigh.

I trudged on though, and when my dough was used up I had about 32 pillows of ravioli.

I was loathing this ravioli though, because it took me, literally, all day to put these 32-or-so little pillows of pasta together.  I was thinking about how much easier it would have been to splurge on the frozen pasta already made for me.   I sent Andy to the store for frozen pizzas, because it was clear there was not going to be enough pasta for everyone to have their fill, and at the same time, I fired up a pot of water to boil some shells.  I still had that butternut filling, so I thought I’d stuff some bought shells with it, so I could at least use it.  I also warmed up a can of Muir Glen diced tomatoes with basil for tossing with the cheese ravioli.  Easy and simple was what I was going for now.

Well, after deciding how much I hated making this ravioli, and how I was pretty certain I was never going to do it again, the real kicker, and the tragedy is that the ravioli was fantastic.  The homemade pasta was nothing short of spectacular.  It was flavorful and tender and it was easily the best pasta I’ve ever eaten.  Of course, neither of the kids liked it, to add insult to injury.

So my lesson learned is that homemade pasta, is, in fact, absolutely delicious, but it would be better in a much easier to make shape.  Something that doesn’t require tedious rolling and cutting and egg washing and forking and liberal flour dusting, and ugh. Just thinking about that ravioli is making my blood boil again.  I will make homemade pasta again, I just won’t be stuffing it.  In fact, I really want to make lasagna with homemade pasta sheets.  I bet that would be incredible- and even easier because all I would have to do is pass it through the roller and cut to fit the pan.

I highly recommend the recipe at The Kitchn.  The have excellent photos there as well to help you out, and some great tips.  Just avoid making ravioli with it.  I promise, you’ll save yourself a huge headache.