Make Ahead

Baked Burrata Ravioli in Parmesan Broth

February 22, 2016
4
4 Ratings
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

This recipe makes for an incredible entree, but in my opinion it's better served as a starter for a dinner party. It's sophisticated yet subtle enough to introduce any number of mains. Plus, it can mostly be made ahead of time. Think of it in four parts: the broth, the pasta, the ravioli filling, and the garnish. The broth and the ravioli can be made a day or two before; reheat the broth and bake/broil the ravioli when you're ready to serve. —Hi, I'm Brian

Test Kitchen Notes

Make this dish! Plan to give yourself a few hours for the recipe, or break it up over several days, as it is somewhat labor intensive, although no part of it was technically challenging or persnickety. The show stealer was the broth! Not only does it taste phenomenal, it will make your house smell amazing! It may be the best broth I have ever tasted and I plan to keep some in my freezer from now on. Don’t skip the garnish—the raviolis and broth are very rich and the bit of vinegary salad on top helped balance the dish. —Amber Banerjee

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and quartered
  • 1 head of garlic, cut in half
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed
  • 1 bunch thyme
  • 3 sprigs parsley stems, leaves removed and reserved
  • 1 bay leaf, torn
  • 1 cup white wine
  • 1 pound Parmesan rinds
  • 8 cups water
  • 200 grams Tipo '00' flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup ricotta
  • 8 ounces burrata
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 cup mixed herbs (parsley leaves from above, arugula, chervil, whatever looks good)
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons pistachio oil, or olive oil
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
Directions
  1. In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over high heat and add the onion, garlic, peppercorns, thyme, parsley stems, and bay leaf. Cook until the onion and garlic begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape up any brown bits that might have stuck to the pan. Add the Parmesan rinds and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 2 hours until reduced by half.
  2. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a clean, glass jar, discarding the solids. Salt the broth to taste and set aside. The broth can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
  3. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Pulse once or twice to mix it together. Then add the eggs one at a time, pulsing between each egg to break it up and fully incorporate it into flour.
  4. Once all the eggs have been added and the dough resembles coarse sand, turn it over into a large bowl. The bowl is optional, but it helps keep the mess contained. Form the dough into a ball and knead until it starts to feel soft and silky, about 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile in a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, burrata, lemon zest, nutmeg, salt, and pepper until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
  6. Remove the pasta from the refrigerator and using a pasta roller, roll it out to the thinnest setting. Cut the pasta into 6-inch squares.
  7. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil. Prepare a shallow baking pan by filling it halfway with cold water. This will be for the cooked pasta to stop the cooking and keep it from drying out while you prepare the ravioli. When the water is at a boil, add the pasta squares, one at a time. When they float they're cooked. Remove to your prepared pan of water and continue cooking the pasta until all the squares are cooked.
  8. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  9. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Set up a station with the pan of pasta squares to your left, a plate with paper towels directly in front of you, the bowl of filling directly beyond that, and the greased baking sheet to your right. One at a time, remove the pasta square, pat it dry with the paper towel, add a dollop–about 2 teaspoons–of the filling to the center. Gently fold the bottom edge over the filling, then the top edge to form a long rectangle. Pick it up and fold the right and left edges behind the filling, forming a pocket for the filling. Keep in mind that there really isn't a "right" way to do this. Just make sure there isn't too much filling and that it's folded in such a way that it won't come apart. And even if those instructions aren't followed you'll still end up with something delicious, if a little messy. If you're making ahead, stop here and cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
  10. Drizzle some olive oil over the prepared ravioli, season it with salt and pepper, and grate some Parmesan cheese. Put it in the oven until the ravioli starts to puff, about 20 to 30 minutes. Then put the sheet of ravioli under the broiler for 2 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through to keep it from burning.
  11. In a bowl, combine the greens, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. It will seem like an overdressed salad, which is true if it was a salad, but as a garnish, the excess vinegar and oil will drip into the final dish.
  12. To prepare the final dish, distribute the ravioli among 6 pasta bowls. Add 1/2 cup of Parmesan broth (if you've made a day ahead, reheat) to each bowl. Top each bowl with 1/4 cup of the greens. Serve.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Sally Zehmisch
    Sally Zehmisch
  • LeBec Fin
    LeBec Fin
  • Hi, I'm Brian
    Hi, I'm Brian
  • Marsha Shapiro Roux
    Marsha Shapiro Roux

17 Reviews

schmakt September 5, 2020
Ok, so... this tastes fantastic and looks wonderful too thanks to the garnish covering up my terrible looking raviolis!

I've never made my own pasta before, and I don't have a pasta roller... or a very good food processor... I ended up kneading the dough much longer than just 5 minutes and also ended up adding a tablespoon or so of olive oil and then some water on top of that.

The one piece of information I really needed once I started to roll out the dough was how many squares I was supposed to be making! Based on the picture it looked like 2 raviolis per bowl and six bowls, so that's what I went with. 3 1/2 hours later I managed to get the 12 squares rolled out.
The next piece of information I wish I had was approximately how long the squares needed to be boiled. They each seemed to float almost immediately, which seemed strange but seemed to work. Just a few seconds per each square.
There wasn't enough of the cheese mix to put 2 tablespoons in each square, so I ended up having to go down closer to one for most of them (and still had to fill one with just ricotta).

It was nearly impossible to actually fold the squares into any kind of ravioli shape (which I assume is due to my shoddy preparation of the dough), so I ended up mostly making a burrito type shape and then pinning the edges up with toothpicks.

Using the suggested cooking time still had these coming out of the over looking very tasty despite their disheveled outer appearance.

Even with my lack of equipment and experience this recipe was still absolutely delicious, and was just as good a day-and-half later after being in the refrigerator. This was a lot of fun, although a lot of work... a little frustrating at times since I was doing some guesswork, but in the end I'm very glad I tried this.

I'll definitely keep this in mind to make again... but only after I buy a pasta roller.

(Oh... also, I used mostly fresh arugula and mint along with the parsley leaves (and a tiny bit of cilantro) for the garnish, and the mint was a really nice taste surprise when I got a leaf or two)
 
Geri April 6, 2019
I think I love you Brian, I will cherish this recipe. I love to make Parmesan Brodo, the Gold broth.
 
Julia March 29, 2018
This looks so delicious and I can't wait to try it. I wonder what kind of white wine you use and would suggest. Thanks
 
Hi, I. March 29, 2018
My suggestion is to use a white wine that you'd drink normally. Because the recipe only calls for one cup, you'll presumably be drinking the rest of the bottle whilst cooking! So make it something you like.
 
Sally Z. August 11, 2017
would love to make this dish for friends who do not do alcohol. Suggestions? I was thinking of adding something acidic to the water. Maybe a squeeze of lemon?
 
Hi, I. August 14, 2017
In the two hours it's simmering the alcohol will cook out completely. If it's still a concern you could leave it out and still have a very nice broth. As far as the lemon, keep in mind that you finish the dish with vinegar, so lemon may make it too acidic.
 
Riley S. May 11, 2017
Can you make this without pre-boiling the noodles? Just making the stuffed raviolis and baking them?
 
Hi, I. May 11, 2017
Yes, cooking the pasta before baking is necessary. I don't have an answer on what the pasta would do if not cooked first, but I can say it wouldn't be good!
 
Dan September 16, 2016
A pound of Parmesan rinds...really. Who has that kicking around? Substitute?
 
Torianne K. February 24, 2017
Dan I know this sounds wired, but I keep my Parmesan rinds. I usually put them in a minestrone or ribollita soup, but I have been known to have too many. If you don't collect them Iike I do, you can go to the better stores that have a cheese department (where they actually cut the cheese in store), and ask for Parmesan rinds. I've found mine at Whole Foods, Mariano's, and Treasure Island in the Chicago area. Hope this helps!
 
Marsha S. April 7, 2019
I do!!!!!! For quite a while I would save the parm rinds whenever we purchased Parmigiano Reggiano blocks of cheese. I put them in a freezer bag and have plenty to make the broth!!!!
 
Geri September 6, 2020
I freeze the rinds, when I get a good collection I make the the broth, then freeze it quart containers.
 
LeBec F. February 22, 2016
brian, after you fix the typo, would you tell us why water instead of chicken stock? is it that you wanted to make a vegetarian-friendly version, but you would atually use chicken stock when making for yourself? of is there something about water that makes it preferable? Also, I was expecting to see a pinch or two of cayenne or chili flakes. Any reason you left them out? And lastly, since I've very little experience w/ buratta and ricotta, is there a reason you chose the 2 of them and no mascarpone?
Thx for this inspiring dish!
 
Hi, I. February 23, 2016
Thanks for having my back! When I was copying from my recipe database I missed the step on baking and broiling the pasta; obviously crucial. The reason for water vs. broth is just that there are a lot of delicate flavors here, and chicken broth would impact that. But having said that, this recipe has lots of opportunity to play with: change up the broth, change up the filling. It's hard to go wrong. On the mascarpone question, ravioli is generally made with ricotta and other stuff, and burrata is a cream filled mozzarella, making extra creaminess unnecessary.
 
LeBec F. February 24, 2016
somehow, I sensed you'd have good reasons. Glad to learn from them. So much more helpful than people who answer " 'cuz that's what I had around", end of conversation!
 
LeBec F. February 22, 2016
i was very excited to see this dish when I read that it was yours. but i think some important steps have been accidentally omitted- re: the heating of the ravs and the broth?? All of us have had MANY problems w/ disappeared info from our recipes; ya' gotta re-read them and then re-read them many more times to make sure they're right!
 
LeBec F. February 22, 2016
i was very excited to see this dish when I read that it was yours. but i think some important steps have been accidentally omitted- re: the heating of the ravs and the broth?? All of us have had MANY problems w/ disappeared info from our recipes; ya' gotta re-read them and then re-read them many more times to make sure they're right!