Ravioli & Rice Pie

Yesterday, in a serious campaign against another boring day in my unemployed life, I decided to take on task number twenty-two - make homemade ravioli. And if that wasn't enough to do for one day I also decided to make my first attempt at re-creating my grandmother's rice pie. I know, I know; my heart could barely handle all the excitement either.

Ingredients & Recipe

I started off my cooking extravaganza with making the pasta dough which surprisingly only consists of three ingredients: egg yolks, flour, and water. First, I put 3 cups of flour in a large bowl and made a crater in the middle which I next filled with 5 beaten egg yolks. Using my hands, I mixed these two ingredients together adding water as needed until I had firm, but sticky dough. I then kneaded the dough for about ten minutes at which point the dough was a lot smoother and kind of stretchy. Kneading the dough takes a while and honestly, I was kind of winging it because I wasn't sure of the exact process, but it seemed to be going in the right direction so I went with it. I then put the dough aside to rest until I was ready for the next step in the process.



While the dough was resting, I started on the rice pie. Now my grandmother's rice pie is famous within my family which makes attempting it a daunting task. She makes them for Easter and it is a favorite among my family - especially my brother. In fact, there's a story that always gets brought up at the mention of rice pie when my brother is around. My grandmother often makes rice pies to give away to different people including my family. Well, one time she entrusted Nathan with this pie and he brought it home and didn't tell a single person about it, but instead ate nearly the whole thing by himself. True story. So I have high expectations to live up to if I plan on ever letting my family try my version of this treat. Rice pie for those of you who have never had it before is basically what the name implies - a pie of sorts with a sweet rice filling that includes cinnamon, ricotta cheese, and crushed pineapple to name a few things. I got the recipe from my grandmother who like a lot of good cooks doesn't actually measure when she cooks which makes her written down measurements more of a guess than actual fact. In turn, this complicates things for me further as I've never seen her make rice pie which would help with the whole guessing game of adjusting the recipe as needed. To start the rice pie, I set out to cook the rice which for some reason was more complicated to me than it should have been. I think I misunderstood her directions and just tried to boil it until tender rather than just cooking it normally which I think is my best bet for future attempts.

The Crust

While the rice was cooking, I set out to make the crust which was also my grandmother's recipe. Just as with her filling recipe, these measurements were also guesses, but it came out great with no real adjustments. I then finished mixing up the filling for the rice pie which is where I had my biggest moment of doubt. The filling had several liquid components to it which watered it down quite a bit and it looked extremely runny which I had been warned against so I wasn't sure if it was going to cook properly. However, at this point there really wasn't anything I could change so I just went with it and filled two 9x2 loaf pans and popped them in the oven, all the while with my fingers crossed hoping for the best. They had to cook for an hour which allowed me to turn my focus back to the ravioli.


Before I could begin actually putting together my ravioli, I still had to make my filling. I decided to go with a relatively simple ricotta and spinach filling. However, if you're interested in making your own ravioli there are literally hundreds of ideas online for different and interesting fillings. The recipe I decided to go with called for: 1 pound each of fresh (cook it first!) spinach and ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, 4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all up and viola, you have a delicious filling ready to be placed inside some freshly made pasta dough.


With the filling ready to go, I was now ready to begin the actual ravioli making process. I separated my dough into 4 pieces and rolled them out one at a time into about 1/8 inch thick rectangles which I cut in half - one for the top and one for the bottom. I originally was going to make the ravioli with just a knife and a fork, but Kevin's parents happen to have a ravioli maker of sorts which I decided to use. Unfortunately, there were no directions and I am 99% sure I did not fully take advantage of this machine because it didn't really cut them out as I had anticipated, but it was a good guide as far as the size of the ravioli and the amount of filling to put inside. I would lay out the bottom sheet of dough, place the filling at appropriate intervals, rub egg yolk - the glue - all in between the filling and then lay on the top sheet and press down on the ravioli stamper. The ravioli maker/stamper didn't cut all the way through the dough so I had to go back and finish the cut with a butter knife most times, but other than that it wasn't difficult at all. I got ten ravioli out of each of the 4 sections and was able to get another 8 or so good ones out of the scraps left over. The only ones I had trouble with were the ones I tried to make out of the leftover scraps. The dough seemed overworked and wouldn't roll out thin enough and wasn't holding together as well. In the end though, I was left with a decent amount of well-made raviolis - ready to be cooked and eaten.

The Good Ones

Now that my ravioli were made, it was time to cook them, but first I had to get my rice pies out of the oven which had thankfully lost their runny look and seemed to be on the right track. I ended up leaving them in the oven a little longer than an hour because I wasn't sure if they were cooked all the way through, but after an extra ten minutes the tops were browned and the filling was firm which seemed to be the test for doneness according to the recipe. I took them out and set them on the counter to cool for their later test taste - which they did pass with flying colors.


With the rice pie finished, it was time for the ravioli to complete their journey to the plate via being cooked. My biggest concern with the ravioli was that when I went to go boil them that they would split open and then I would be left with only plain squares of pasta floating around in a very, very watered down cheese and spinach sauce of sorts. I'm sure it would be just as gross as it sounds. Freshly made ravioli only has to be cooked for 3 to 5 minutes in boiling water so I was hoping they could survive that short amount of time. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded as all the ravioli made it through their cooking time without any incident. All that there was left to do was finally sit down and eat them which as we all know if everything goes as planned is the best part of any cooking experience. And these ravioli did not disappoint.

The Final Products

Home-made Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

Grandma's Rice Pie