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Meat and Ricotta Filling with Basil for Pasta

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Time

20 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6 (Makes about 2 1/2 cups)

Meat and Ricotta Filling with Basil for Pasta

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced½ pound ground beef, pork, or veal (singly or combined)1 cup ricotta cheese ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 egg yolk ¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves

Before You Begin

This filling is especially delicious with beef, veal, or pork. Use any combination of these meats and pair this hearty filling with tomato sauce.

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add garlic and sauté until lightly colored, about 1 minute. Add meat; cook over medium-high heat, stirring to break up larger pieces, until liquid evaporates and meat browns, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain off fat; transfer meat mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in remaining and set filling aside. (Can be covered and refrigerated overnight.)
Meat and Ricotta Filling with Basil for Pasta

Meat and Ricotta Filling with Basil for Pasta

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

20 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6 (Makes about 2 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound ground beef, pork, or veal (singly or combined)
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk
¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound ground beef, pork, or veal (singly or combined)
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk
¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ pound ground beef, pork, or veal (singly or combined)
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk
¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves

Why This Recipe Works

We wanted a fresh pasta recipe that could be used to create a variety of filled pasta shapes. We found that the food processor kneaded our simple dough, made with just flour and eggs, almost to perfection. Kneading the dough by hand for an additional minute or two made our pasta dough silky and smooth. Running the dough, in pieces, through a manual pasta machine until it was translucent gave us the delicate egg pasta recipe we were after.

Before You Begin

This filling is especially delicious with beef, veal, or pork. Use any combination of these meats and pair this hearty filling with tomato sauce.

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add garlic and sauté until lightly colored, about 1 minute. Add meat; cook over medium-high heat, stirring to break up larger pieces, until liquid evaporates and meat browns, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain off fat; transfer meat mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in remaining and set filling aside. (Can be covered and refrigerated overnight.)

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