Crab Ravioli Recipe

Crab meat is one of the most popular types of seafood out there, and with good reason. The deliciously salty and subtly sweet meat pairs well with a number of foods. Crab meat can be found in sushi rolls or served straight up as crab cakes. As a stuffing, however, it adds a delicious change to whatever it's stuffed into — cue the ravioli.

In this crab ravioli recipe, courtesy of creator Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge, we see this luxurious meat intertwined with a delicious Italian staple. The contrast of the buttery dough with the slightly-tangy crab makes for an unforgettable taste adventure, sure to impress anybody lucky enough to be at the table. Plus, there is really only 20 minutes of active prep (plus an hour of refrigeration) before about 3 minutes of cooking, despite the fact that these ravioli will taste like you've worked over them all day. So, if you love crab and you love ravioli, let's dive right into this delicious recipe!

This recipe calls for making dough and a crab meat mixture separately, then combing the two. To start, you will need some 00 Italian pasta flour. As Olayinka explains, "00 flour is very fine and is traditionally used in Italian pasta cooking." Then, get at least a half dozen eggs to finish the dough. The tough find, though, will be the crab meat. In some coastal cities, you can regularly find crabmeat. "You can thankfully always find it in big supermarkets canned, or frozen," explains Olayinka. "I used canned and it was perfect." If your local supermarket doesn't have it, likely a specialty foods retailer will carry it.

From the produce section you'll need a small bunch of fresh parsley and a lemon. To round out the crab mixture, pick up a container of ricotta cheese, at least a cup worth. Finally, get a stick of butter and you will need a small bit of salt, which you likely have at home but, honestly, it never hurts to grab some extra!

Start with making the dough. Pile all of your flour on a clean surface, such as a pastry mat, and make a well in the middle. Break 4 eggs and strain one additional egg yolk into the well and start mixing. Olayinka suggests using a fork for this. Eventually, all of your flour and eggs should be blended into one smooth mixture. Congratulations, you've just homemade dough!  Now, kneed this dough ball for about 10 minutes and wrap in plastic wrap. Then, set it aside for an hour at room temperature, and turn your attention to the crab filling.

The first thing you need to do for your crab meat mixture is to chop the parsley into smaller pieces. Place the crabmeat into a large bowl, then add the ricotta cheese, followed by juice from ½ a lemon. "I find that crab always needs some sort of fresh herb and citrus to elevate it," Olayinka explains.

Mix that together with a fork until it's well-blended. Finally, add the chopped parsley, mix well, and cover the bowl with plastic. You should put the meat mixture in your refrigerator while you wait for your dough to be ready.

After the hour is up, unwrap your dough and divide it into two even pieces. Cover a surface with flour and drop your dough pieces on top of it. The flour will help to prevent it from sticking to the surface.

Roll out each piece of dough until they are both roughly rectangular and thin enough to be able to see through. Spoon in your crab mixture so it makes six lumps, about 1 inch apart. Place the second piece of dough on top of the first piece with the crab meat and press down. Then, use a ravioli cutter to cut them into 6 perfect little ravioli squares, and you're ready for boiling.

Heat up a pot of about 4 cups of water and add some salt while heating. When it starts boiling, drop the ravioli into the pot, ideally one by one, and cook for three minutes. While the ravioli are cooking, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave. This timing depends on the microwave but it is best to heat it for short amounts of time to keep from burning it, normally about 10 to 20 seconds. 

Finally, take the ravioli out of the pot using a slotted spoon. Place the ravioli on a serving tray, top with the melted butter, and triumphantly bring these delicious little ravioli pasta bites out to the table.