Recipe by Nikos Vasileiou, Owner of Symposio, Pelendri
INGREDIENTS
For the Dough
• 2 ½ cups (375g) Village Flour
• ½ cup (95g) Fine Semolina
• 1 teaspoon Salt (8g)
• 1 cup (250ml) Lukewarm Water
For the Filling
• 2 cups (200g) Halloumi, preferably mature, grated on the fine side of the grater
• 1 cup (165g) Fresh, unsalted ricotta, crumbled
• ⅓ cup (12g) Fresh mint, finely chopped, or 1 tablespoon (3g) dried mint
• 2 Eggs (M)
For Boiling
• 3 Liters Water
• 2 Vegetable Stock Cubes
• 1 teaspoon Salt (8g)
For Serving
• Grated Halloumi
METHOD
First, prepare the dough:
1. In a bowl or the mixer bowl, place the flour, semolina, and salt. Mix and gradually add the water.
2. Knead until you have a soft and elastic dough.
3. Shape it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and set it aside for 30 minutes to 'rest'.
For the filling:
1. In a bowl, combine the halloumi, ricotta, mint, and eggs. Mix until the ingredients are combined. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and place one piece of dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little flour and roll it out with a rolling pin into a large, thin sheet, up to 2 millimeters thick. If you prefer, use a pasta machine. My machine starts at setting 1 (the thickest) and goes up to 7 (the thinnest).
2. Personally, I roll it out to setting 5 or 6. Using a teaspoon, take some filling and place it along the entire length of the sheet, leaving 3-4 cm of space between dollops. Fold the sheet over and cover the filling. Cut the ravioli using a cookie cutter or the special round ravioli cutter with a 5 cm diameter, or with a small wine glass. To make cutting easier, dip the tool you will use for cutting the ravioli into flour. Press down to cut them evenly.
3. Place the ravioli on a tray lined with a cloth and sprinkle with a little flour. Repeat the process until all the ingredients are used up.
For boiling:
1. In a saucepan, pour the water, and when it heats up, add the stock cubes and salt. Stir and bring the water to a rolling boil. Add a batch of ravioli and boil until they float to the surface, about 4-5 minutes.
2. Serve with plenty of grated halloumi. Some people might also sprinkle a little dried mint on top.
3. If you have leftovers, store them in the fridge with a little of their cooking broth so they don't dry out. If you like, you can freeze the raw ravioli. Place the tray in the freezer, and once frozen, transfer them to an airtight bag. When you cook them, place them directly from the freezer into the hot broth.