Perfecting Ravioli

Four-Cheese Filling

Carrot-and-Ricotta Filling

Meat Filling (pictured)

Tip: Ravioli can be prepared over two days. Mix the filling on day one, store it in the fridge overnight, then make the dough and assemble the ravioli the next day. Freeze for up to a month.

After rolling out the dough with an old-fashioned Atlas machine, Domenica Marchetti tests the pasta sheets by holding her hand up behind one. If she can see a shadow, the sheets are the right thickness to stuff. "The dough should be thin, but still have substance and texture," she says.

Tip: "Always err on the side of making ravioli dough a little bit sticky," Marchetti says. "You can sprinkle on more flour as you roll it out."

Suns

Cut a sheet of dough in half crosswise. On one half, spoon 10 mounded teaspoons of filling in 2 rows of 5, about 3 inches apart; cover with the second half. Press out any air around the filling. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out the ravioli. Make "rays" around the edges with the tines of a fork.

Squares

Cut a sheet of dough in half crosswise. On one half, spoon 10 mounded teaspoons of filling in 2 rows of 5, about 3 inches apart; cover with the second half. Press out any air around the filling. Using a fluted pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut between the mounds to form squares.

Half-Moons

Don't cut the sheet of dough. Spoon 10 rounded teaspoons of filling 3 inches apart in a single row along the center. Fold the dough over the mounds. Press out any air around the filling, then press the edges to seal. Using a fluted pastry cutter or a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out half-moons.