Half Moon Stuffed Pasta with Spinach and Ricotta

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

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FILLING

Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until spinach is dry, about 1 minute; transfer to large bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in ricotta, Asiago, and egg yolk until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. (Filling can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)

MEZZELUNE

Transfer dough to clean counter, divide into 3 pieces, and cover with plastic wrap. Flatten 1 piece of dough into ½-inch-thick disk. Using pasta machine with rollers set to widest position, feed dough through rollers twice. Bring tapered ends of dough toward middle and press to seal. Feed dough seam side first through rollers again. Repeat feeding dough tapered ends first through rollers set at widest position, without folding, until dough is smooth and barely tacky. (If dough sticks to fingers or rollers, lightly dust with flour and roll again.)
Narrow rollers to next setting and feed dough through rollers twice. Continue to progressively narrow rollers, feeding dough through each setting twice, until dough is very thin and semi-transparent. (If dough becomes too long to manage, halve crosswise.) Transfer sheet of pasta to liberally floured sheet of parchment paper. Cover with second sheet of parchment, followed by damp kitchen towel, to keep pasta from drying out. Repeat rolling with remaining 2 pieces of dough, stacking pasta sheets between floured layers of parchment.
Recipe Tip
Our favorite pasta machine is the Marcato Altas 150 Wellness Pasta Machine; the pasta will be thin and semi-transparent when rolled to setting 7.
Liberally dust 2 rimmed baking sheets with flour. Cut 1 pasta sheet into rounds on lightly floured counter using 3-inch round cookie cutter (keep remaining sheets covered); discard scraps. Place 1½ teaspoons filling in center of each round. Working with 1 pasta round at a time, lightly brush edges with water. Fold bottom edge of pasta over filling until flush with top edge to form half-moon shape. Press to seal edges flush to filling and transfer to prepared sheets. Repeat cutting and filling remaining pasta (you should have about 30 mezzelune). Let mezzelune sit uncovered until dry to touch and slightly stiffened, about 30 minutes. (Mezzelune can be wrapped with plastic and refrigerated for up to 4 hours or chilled in freezer until firm, then transferred to zipper-lock bag and frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, do not thaw before cooking; increase simmering time to 3 to 4 minutes.)
Melt butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; set aside. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add half of mezzelune and 1 tablespoon salt and simmer gently, stirring often, until edges of pasta are al dente, 2 to 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer mezzelune to skillet, gently toss to coat, and cover to keep warm. Return cooking water to boil and repeat cooking remaining mezzelune; transfer to skillet. Add ½ teaspoon salt and gently toss to coat. Top individual portions with extra Asiago before serving.