Amazing Shrimp Stuffed Ravioli with Basil & Creamy Sauce
Submitted by wbga
Shrimp stuffed ravioli with fresh basil cream sauce, made from scratch with hand-rolled pasta, a tomato-shrimp filling, and a Parmesan-cream finish. The Italian masterclass dinner that earns its evening.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
60 minCOOK
60 minREADY
120 minThis shrimp stuffed ravioli is the kind of project recipe that takes an evening but rewards every minute. Made-from-scratch pasta sheets wrap a slow-simmered filling of shrimp, tomato, onion, and garlic, all draped in a basil-Parmesan cream sauce that you reduce until it coats a spoon.
The filling is the unusual play. Shrimp gets cooked into the tomato base for a full 35 minutes, far longer than typical seafood. The result is a deeply concentrated flavor where the shrimp essence saturates the tomato, almost like a confit. The mixture must be fully chilled before stuffing the ravioli or it’ll melt the egg wash and break the seal.
The sauce starts with a basil purée reduced by half to concentrate flavor, then enriched with heavy cream and cooked down again. Strain it through a fine mesh sieve for a silky restaurant finish.
Use the chef’s trick from the recipe: cook a spare piece of pasta dough alongside the ravioli to test for al dente without breaking open one of your finished beauties.
Pro Tips
- Don’t overmix the pasta dough. The recipe warns about this and it’s true: tough pasta is over-kneaded pasta.
- Chill the filling completely before assembling. Warm filling melts the egg wash, breaks the seal, and your ravioli explode in the cooking water.
- Roll the pasta thin enough to almost see through. Thick pasta gives you doughy ravioli with a bite of cooked filling at the center.
- Cook in gently boiling, well-salted water. A rolling boil tears delicate ravioli; lazy bubbles cook them through gently.
Variations
- Swap shrimp for lobster tail meat for a more luxurious version.
- Add 1 tablespoon of tomato paste to the filling for deeper umami.
- Use a brown butter sauce with crispy sage leaves instead of cream sauce for a fall-leaning variation.
Ingredients
Directions
Egg wash is made of 1 egg, a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
In a blender, add fresh basil to 1 tablespoon of white wine.
Filling:
Melt the butter in a sauté pan, then cook the onion, and garlic in the butter for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
Add the tomatoes and shrimp, heat to a gentle boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Add cayenne pepper, salt, and white pepper to taste, then cook for 35 minutes.
Set aside in a refrigerator until cold.
Pasta:
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and egg.
Mix slowly, adding cooled melted butter, water, and salt.
Mix only enough to incorporate, then run through a pasta machine to form thin sheets.
Mixing too much will result in a tougher pasta.
Sauce:
Reduce basil purée by one-half.
Add cream, reduce to a smooth consistency, and remove from heat.
Add Parmesan cheese, salt and white pepper.
Strain and reserve. (Sauce should be of a medium consistency.)
Assembly:
Lay buttered sheet of parchment paper on your work surface.
Onto the parchment, place one sheet of pasta and brush it with egg wash.
Place a large spoonful of filling about every 4 inches on the pasta sheet.
Lay a second sheet of pasta over the top and form tightly around the filling, then brush with egg wash.
Cut around piles of filling and parchment to form raviolis.
Place raviolis in sauté pan, and cover with water.
Bring to a boil and cook al dente.
Your best bet to know when the ravioli is done correctly is to take a piece of the dough that isn’t used for the sheets, insure that it is the same double thickness as the final raviolis, and add it to the pan as you cook the ravioli.
You can use this “spare” piece to judge the al dente qualities of the cooked raviolis.
Place cooked ravioli on a plate and cover with sauce.
Garnish with fresh basil leaves and chopped tomato.
Comments
Such a fun recipe to share with my youngest niece. My fondest memories are of cooking with my mom and aunts. I hope I can pass along my gift.
How big are the raviolis? The recipe never says to cut the shrimp up so I’m guessing these are big