Ravioli dolci di Carnevale

Ravioli dolci di Carnevale – fried “ravioli” filled with jam and dusted with icing sugar, a typical Italian sweet eaten during Carnevale.

Prep Time 1 hour  Cook Time 30 minutes Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• Ravioli Dough
•  2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 3 ½ tbsp butter
• ¼ cup + 1 tbsp sugar
•  1 egg
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp Rhum
•  Zest of 1 lemon
•   1 tsp vanilla extract
•   1 pinch salt

Filling & Assembling

•     Jams or nutella
  
•     Icing sugar
•     Vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

•     Put all the dough ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and knead well until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
•     Make it into a ball, wrap it with cling wrap and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
•     Divide the dough into smaller pieces and start working with one (keep the remaining dough covered with cling wrap so it doesn’t dry out).
•     Flatten the piece of dough into a rectangular shape with your hands.
•     Put a little flour on it and begin passing it through the pasta machine. Turn the dial to the widest setting (#1) and, starting with one of the shorter sides of the rectangle, feed it through the rollers.
•     Now fold one side of the piece of dough into the middle, then fold the other side over that to form 3 layers.
•     Starting with one of the narrower sides of the folded dough, feed the dough through the machine, again at the widest setting. Repeat the folding and rolling technique on the widest setting for at least a couple of times.
•     Now you can start rolling it thinner, by turning the dial to the next narrowest setting (# 2). Roll the dough through the machine without folding the dough between settings. Keep reducing the settings until #5 or #6. If the sheet of dough gets too long, you can cut it in half with a knife.
•     Now put the filling with a teaspoon on one half of the sheet of dough. Make sure to leave some space in between, like in the pictures.
•     Fold the other half of the sheet onto the filling and press well all around. Make sure there are no air bubbles inside, or the ravioli will open while cooking and the filling will come out. To seal the dough use a little bit of water or egg white.
•     Cut around the filling in a squarish shape and remove the excess dough.
•     Keep the Ravioli on a tray dusted with flour and get ready to fry them!
•     Fry them in batches in warm vegetable oil.
•     When golden on both sides, remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on a plate covered with kitchen paper.
•     When dry, dust them with icing sugar.
•     Serve your sweet ravioli lukewarm or at room temperature.