Sweet Potato + Kale Ravioli – Delicious, homemade pasta with a sweet potato, kale and ricotta filling, topped with a rich lemon and thyme cream sauce
This recipe was born from procrastination, if that makes any sense. I'm a very last minute type of person. My mom loaned me her pasta roller about 5 months ago. Knowing I have about a month left with it, I am making ALL. THE. PASTA.
So what better to start with than ravioli! This was pretty fun to make, and if you haven't tried making homemade pasta before, I totally recommend it. You get better and quicker as you go and the thing is, it's actually quite forgiving.
My first ones looked good and then the next ones just kept getting better, but once the ravioli are swimming in the lemon and thyme cream sauce, nothing else matters.
If you want a shortcut , you could use ready made ravioli and then just whip up the lemon + thyme cream sauce for a super quick and tasty dinner. But these homemade ravioli are honestly so good!
Did you know March 20th is considered National Ravioli Day?
How to Make Sweet Potato + Kale Ravioli in a Lemon + Thyme Cream Sauce
To make the dough, add two cups of flour in a mixing bowl and whisk in a half teaspoon of salt. Use your measuring cup and make a little well in the center of the flour. Crack the three eggs in and stir with fork until it comes together. Once its too hard to mix with the fork, knead the dough by hand, turning it out onto the counter. Knead until it's a smooth ball. It'll take about 5-10 minutes. Once it's smooth, set it back in the bowl, covered tightly with plastic wrap. Let it rest for about an hour. It won't rise as we didn't add any raising agents or anything, but it makes it easier to roll out.
When you're ready to roll the pasta sheets, divide the dough in half or into quarters. I did half, but they get really long so next time I might try quarters. Keep the rest covered.
How to Use a Pasta Machine
I use a pasta rolling machine to make my ravioli sheets. Taking your portion of dough, run it through the roller at setting "1". Do this about five or six times, until the pasta is the width of the roller. Then put the dough through twice each on settings "2" and "3". You can fold it in half and roll it through if the dough is getting really misshapen. Send the pasta through once on settings 4-7 or 8. I liked the pasta better rolled on 8. It gets easier to handle the more you do it. And you can cut off the ugly bits later.
Once it's rolled, lay it on a floured counter. Place about a tablespoons or so (maybe just less) of the filling on the pasta sheet. Place each one at the bottom of the sheet (you'll fold the top over after) about an inch or so apart until the sheet is full.
Use your fingers or a pastry brush to swipe some water along the seam parts of the ravioli. So - all along the bottom of the sheet, at the middle just above the filling and then between each ball of filling. Fold the top of the the sheet down over the filling. Press it down by hand, getting the air out. Use a sharp knife and cut between each ravioli. Trim any edges you want to. Use a fork and crimp the edges together. (I also used a round fluted cookie cutter for this one time and really like the look of that as well).
How to Cook Fresh Ravioli
As each piece is ready, place it on a piece of parchment paper or floured cookie sheet and then cover with a towel. Once all of your pieces are ready, depending on how much of the dough you are using, boil them for a minute or two or until they float. ( I start my water boiling while I'm making the ravioli).
How to Make a Lemon + Thyme Cream Sauce
For the sauce, I start it while the dough is resting and then reheat it and thin it out once the ravioli is boiling.
Melt the butter over medium in a pot or pan. Add the flour and whisk for about a minute. Slowly add the milk while whisking to keep it smooth. Add the lemon, salt and pepper, thyme and cream then heat through. If you are letting it rest and then reheating, simply add milk as needed while whisking and reheating. Serve either drizzled on top of the ravioli or mixed in a bowl to coat each ravioli.
Sweet Potato + Kale Ravioli with a Lemon + Thyme Cream Sauce
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 large eggs (at room temperature)
Sweet Potato + Kale Filling
- ½ cup boiled + mashed sweet potato (about half a small potato)
- drizzle oil
- ¼ cup chopped kale
- 2 tablespoons diced red onion
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup ricotta cheese
Lemon + Thyme Cream Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 cup milk (+ more to thin, as needed)
- ½ cup cream
Instructions
Pasta Dough
- Mix flour and salt. Make a hole in the middle and, with a fork, whisk the eggs then begin stirring, gradually adding in more flour until it comes together as a dough. Knead with your hands on a counter for 5-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Cover well and let rest for 1 hour.
- Cut dough in half and begin feeding through pasta roller. I rolled at "1" about five or six times until I have a smooth sheet of pasta that was the same width as the pasta roller.
- Then I fed the dough through settings "2" and "3" twice and then settings "4" to "8" one time each.
- Cut the dough in half (don't let it sit on top of each other, they will stick.)
- Work quickly as the dough dries out. Have a towel ready to set on top of formed ravioli and a lightly floured cookie sheet to set formed ravioli onto.
- On one sheet of dough set the filling at the bottom of the sheet about a tablespoon of filling about an inch apart.
- Wet the dough all around the filling and then fold over the top of the sheet. Press out all air bubbles and stick the dough together. Trim edges and cut each ravioli out by dividing dough into squares with a knife. (You can also use a cookie cutter)
- Let the ravioli sit on a parchment lined sheet or floured sheet, under a towel while you repeat with the other half of dough. This half will go faster.
- Boil ravioli 1-2 minutes, or until they float.
Sweet Potato + Kale Filling
- Boil and mash the sweet potato and measure out ½ cup. Let cool.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat and drizzle with oil. Add the red onion and kale. Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until softened and cook through.
- Add the salt, pepper and thyme and heat through then let mixture cool.
- Mix together the mashed potato, the kale and onion mixture and then add the Parmesan and ricotta. Set aside while you roll the pasta sheets.
Lemon + Thyme Cream Sauce
- Heat the butter over medium until sizzling. Add the flour and whisk together and then let cook for a minute or so until it gets a bit of color and you can't see any raw flour.
- Add the cup of milk slowly while whisking. It'll turn into a ball and then into a paste until it finally thins out a bit. Add the cream, lemon, thyme, salt and pepper and whisk until heated through. Set aside until ravioli is ready. (You can leave on low heat) Use additional milk to thin it out, as needed.
Jodee Carlson
How do you make the filling with kale...this is something new I'm trying
Thanks
pipercooks
Hi Jodee,
To make the filling with kale, I make sure to chop the kale up really small. I boil and mash the sweet potatoes. Then I saute the onion with the kale. Then I add the thyme, salt and pepper. Add the mashed sweet potato, plus the Parmesan and ricotta cheese. And that's the filling done! It's really easy. Let me know if you have any more questions. The process is in the recipe card as well, which you can print if you like.
Thanks
Jacqueline