Something I love about Joey is that he is often quite willing to jump into a grand kitchen experiment with me.
Recently, that was when I pulled out my pasta roller, and instead of merely making noodles, as I have so far since I bought it, I proposed creating ravioli from scratch.
He was totally on board.
We did some troubleshooting together, trying to hone our technique, and by the end, we had some pretty nice looking stuffed pasta, ready to be made into dinner. (It might have also been after 8 p.m. by the time we finally accomplished this, but that’s not the point.)
This recipe is a combination of a beef ravioli recipe from the blog “Josie and Nina” (you can find their original post at https://josieandnina.com/italian-beef-ravioli/) and from “Easy Italian Cookbook” by Jennifer Donovan.
Beef and Spinach Ravioli
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 6-8 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 16 ounces fresh spinach
- 1 cup breadcrumbs I used panko
- 1/2 rounded cup parmesan cheese grated
- garlic salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- batch of fresh pasta dough
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Add the onion and saute until it is cooked through. Add in the garlic and saute for about a minute or until it just starts to be fragrant.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and saute, breaking it apart as it cooks, until it’s cooked through. Remove any excess fat from the pan, and then pour in the wine, being sure to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the spinach, and let everything cook for about two minutes, stirring to wilt the spinach into the mixture.
- Add the meat mixture to a food processor and process for a bit, just to get things incorporated, and then add in the bread crumbs, parmesan, garlic salt, pepper and nutmeg, and process until the mixture is kind of a paste.
- Mix the ricotta into the meat mixture.
- Assemble your ravioli by rolling out the dough into long strips. Using the utensil you’ll use to cut the ravioli (I used a two-inch scalloped cookie cutter), gently make impressions along the dough where you’ll want to cut out each ravioli (you’re just marking it, not cutting the dough), and then scoop about one teaspoon of filling (or more, if your ravioli are larger) into the center of each of the spots. Using a pastry brush, brush a thin layer of water around the edges of each spot. Cover with another sheet of dough and press around each mound of filling with your fingers to seal them, working out as much air as possible, and firmly press your cutter to cut out each individual ravioli.
- Set the finished ones off to the side.
- To freeze, place them on a baking sheet lined with waxed or parchment paper, and place them in the freezer until they are frozen through. Then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag until you’re ready to cook them.
- To cook them, fresh or frozen, boil a large pot of salted water, and carefully drop the ravioli in. Let them boil for a couple minutes until they float to the top and are warmed through. (You don’t need to thaw the frozen ones before cooking them.)
- Serve with your favorite sauce.
We ate our ravioli with pesto, and they were really tasty. I did learn that it’s imperative to really flour your surface when you’re cutting out the ravioli so that you can get them to release without tearing.
These were a lot of work, and I’m sure many people would think it’s a waste of time to make your own ravioli, when there are excellent ones in the freezer section at the grocery store. But Joey and I had a great time cooking—and eating—together, and that made it worth it.
This piece first appeared in print April 2, 2026.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
