Setting out to make ravioli from scratch is no small culinary chore. Thankfully, there are tools in your kitchen to make the process easier. Though you may not think of circular cookie or biscuit cutters when you have pasta on your mind, these convenient shapes can be your ticket to evenly-sized ravioli pieces. Armed with the helpful shape, the dough you cut will be uniform in shape and size — and that much easier to fill with the flavorful fillings you have chosen.
Biscuit cutters have handles that can make your ravioli-making efforts efficient. Simply roll out the pasta dough and press down with the cutter to remove doughy discs to pack with your preferences of cheese, vegetables, or meat. Whether you have your heart set on a butternut squash ravioli recipe or are craving a decadent recipe with crab, you’ll be able to gauge just how big of a spoonful you need to pack each doughy piece of ravioli to plump perfection.
A thrifty shortcut for homemade ravioli
Just as you would use biscuit cutters to cut dough for fluffy biscuits, make sure your kitchen workspace is well-floured. You will also want to check the bottom of your biscuit cutter. Ideally, the edges are sharp so that each piece of dough can be cleanly cut and removed. Use even pressure when pressing down on the cutter to pierce circular shapes out of the dough. Keep in mind that twisting the cutter can result in folds along the perimeter of your ravioli pieces. If the cutter is sharp enough, you shouldn’t need to do too much manipulating.
Aim to keep each piece of cut dough wrinkle-free to create a smooth platform that can easily enclose your prepared fillings. Then, with a flat, circular surface to work with, you can seal filled ravioli pieces and boil the packed pasta without any of your hard work — or bites of pear or gorgonzola — seeping out into the pot on the stove.
