• 9 cups unbleached white flour
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 6 eggs
• 1 ½ - 2 cups water

Filling:

• 1½ lbs lean ground beef
• 2 Tbl butter
• 3 cloves fresh garlic
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 5 green onions, chopped
• 1 Tbl dry parsley flakes
• 6 eggs
• 2 cups grated Italian cheese blend
• 1 tsp nutmeg

If making the ravioli dough by hand, the recipe instructs to sift the flour and salt together and place the mixture on a board, making a well in the center. Break eggs into the well and then beat the eggs slightly. Combine the eggs and flour, gradually adding enough water to make a stiff dough.

I prepared the dough using my Bosch mixer. I put all the dough ingredients in the mixing bowl (starting with only 1 ½ cups of water). I used my dough hook and mixed everything on medium, adding a few more teaspoons of water, until it had formed what is a very stiff, dense dough. While I allowed the noodle dough to rest for about 15 minutes, I prepared the filling.

I melted the butter in my cast iron skillet and added the ground beef, onions and garlic and cooked it until the meat was nicely browned. Next, I transferred the meat to a large mixing bowl and added the remaining ingredients for the filling, combining them thoroughly.

Constructing the Ravioli

Rolling the dough will be a challenge if you haven't let it rest long enough for the gluten to relax so it will stretch easily. Remember I multiplied this recipe roughly 3 times the original, so this is a big batch of very dense dough. I quartered it to roll it out, keeping the unused quarters covered with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out. Roll it out on a floured surface until it is very thin (about 1/8" to 1/16 " thick).

The next step is to add the ravioli filling. I elected to use my cookie dough scoop, so that the filling amount would be uniform in each noodle. I scooped 24 onto this one piece of dough.

Roll out a second quarter of dough and try to roll it slightly larger than the first. You are going to want it to stretch over the little hills of filling. This is the part where the density and stiffness of the dough are a great help. It stretches easily without tearing. Ingenious!

Once your second quarter is rolled, take a pastry brush and lightly brush the surface of the first dough with a few drops of water. Be sure to go inbetween each mound of meat and around all the edges. Place the second rolled quarter over the top of this first one, gently pushing and stretching the dough down and around your filling so that they seal.

If you have a pretty, zig-zag edged pastry cutter, this is the time to use it. I used a knife and cut my ravioli into squares. I checked all the edges for a good seal and crimped them as I went with the tines of a fork. Place the completed ravioli on a floured board, or like me, on a floured cookie sheet and allow them to dry at least one hour before boiling.

If you have created a big batch, like me, you still have two quarters of dough waiting for you to prepare the next 24 ravioli. While the first batch is drying, it's the perfect time to finish up. Repeat all the construction steps above.

I boiled the dried ravioli in boiling salt water, with just a touch of olive oil added to keep them from sticking together. They cooked about 10-15 minutes until the dough was tender and then I used a large slotted spoon to gently remove them and put them on a serving plate. We served them with our favorite spaghetti sauce and a sprinkling of grated Italian cheeses.