Sea bass Ravioli is a delicate and flavorful dish. It combines tender, flaky sea bass with delicate pasta pillows filled with a zesty and herby sea bass filling. This preparation is very simple. The filling is a finely chopped branzino aromatized with olive oil, thyme, and lemon. It will cook once you boil the ravioli. The ravioli are dressed with branzino chunks, tomatoes, garlic, lemon, and thyme.
It is definitely a delicate dish, where you will feel the taste of the sea bass in a filling. It is a bit untraditional. There is no breadcrumbs, no ricotta, or parmesan. It is simply high-quality sea bass.
Why you will love this recipe
This recipe is ideal if you are a seafood lover and are already experience in making Italian pasta.
It requires simple, fresh ingredients and it is a total mediterranean recipe, being sea bass one of the most recommended fish in the Med diet, thanks to its macro nutrient composition.
Sea bass is a classic Mediterranean fish, very popular in Italy and this preparation is great to propell the great flavor of this meat.
Homemade Sea Bass Ravioli Essential Ingredients
For the dough:
– 00 Flour: This is a very fine flour that will give more elasticity to the dough.  You can also sub it with all purpose flour, but I never get the same results, so I recommend to buy Italian flour.
– Eggs: The ratio is approximately 1 egg  and 1 yolk for every 100 grams  of flour. The eggs should be at room temperature, which will allow them to disperse better in the flour when you make the dough. You will use both the yolk and the white.
– Salt: Please remember to add salt to the dough and of course to the cooking water.
For the filling:
– Sea Bass (branzino): 2 full branzino fish fillet. You monk-fisher can remove skin and bones. Sea bass is a great fish to eat as it is lower in calories, high in protein and rich in omega 3 fatty acids, making it ideal if you are on a low calorie diet.
– Lemon: you will need zest and juice. Citrus is in season in the colder months, and lemons are rich in Vitamic C and have purifying properties.
–Thyme: I recommend frsh thyme.The herbaceous flavor of the thyme will pair perfectly wth the delicate taste of the branzino.
– Extra virgin olive oil: good quality olive oil, with a low level of acidity. My favorite brand is Olio Carli, a ligurian olive oil that is delivered straight to your home and that is the only oil ever used in my family. My grandma before and now my mom regularly get it delivered.
For the sauce:
– Tomatoes: fresh cherry tomatoes aree best, alternatively you can use canned one, but too much tomato sauce will overpower the flavor of the dish.
– Garlic: it will add an aromatic flavor.
– Butter: cold, unsalted to add at the end, will give a touch of creaminess.
– Dry Vermouth: Dry vermouth is light-bodied, floral, herbal, and a little bitter. It’s often used in martinis. Its dry finishing pairing well with the dish. Thanks to its citrusy notes it makes the dish taste fresh.
–Black pepper: a sprinkle of balck pepper will add more aroma to the dish.
How to make homemade Sea Bass Ravioli
1.MAKE THE DOUGH
On a clean working surface make a wheel with the flour 00, add the, eggs and the yolks, a bit of salt and start incorporating.
Conitnue kneading the dough on a floured surface, until you have a dough that is elastic. You will know is ready when if you make an impression on the dough with your thumb, the dough springs back immediately.
Cover it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
2.MAKE THE FILLING
Take one fillet of fish and start choppin it into small pieces. Add it to a bowl with the zest of lemon, juice, some extra virgin olive oil and fresh thyme leaves. Mix well and set aside untile ready to use.Â
3. MAKE THE PASTA SHEETS
Take the pasta dough out of the fridge, divide dough into 4 pieces and using a rolling pin, start flattening one piece of the dough. Cover the other with a discarded linen towel to prevent it from drying out.
Once your dough is flat, run it through a pasta maker machine starting from the widest settings, then adjust to the next narrower setting and run again the dough. Continue your way up until you obtain a thin dough sheet. Usually it takes 4 runs through the pasta machine to obtain the correct thickness. You will know it is the right thickness when you will do the window test. Take your pasta dough and hold it in your hands against the window. If you see your hand through, the dough is ready for the next steps. If not, pass it one more time.
You will end up with a long sheet of pasta that you cut in half.
4. PUT IN THE FILLING AND MAKE THE RAVIOLI
Spread some semolina flour on your countertop and place the sheet of dough on top. Semolina flour will prevent the pasta sheet to stick. Place the ravioli filling in a pocket and put about a walnut sized amount of filling on the flattened sheet. The space between each filling should be about 1 ½ inches so you have enough room to cut the ravioli.
Overlap the other half of the sheet, using your hands to make sure you remove all the air as you press around each filling to close it. Now take your ravioli stamp and cut the pasta into ravioli. If you do not have a ravioli cutter, you could also use a biscuit cutter. Transfer the ravioli on a baking tray covered with parchment paper sprinkled with semolina flour.
Continue with the rest of the 3 pieces of dough until you have used all the filling. Lay the ravioli on a baking sheet cover with parchment paper and sprinkled with semolina flour.
5. COOK THE RAVIOLI
Now that your ravioli are ready, it is time to have these homemade ravioli taking a bath in boiling salted water! Bring a large pot of water to roaring boil, add 2 tbsp of salt and gently dip the ravioli in the pasta water with a slotted spoon. They will need 5-7 minutes to cook and you will know when they will float on the surface.
While your sea bass ravioli are cooking, add some olive oil to a pan, once it shimmers add the garlic, let it brown 2 minutes, remove the cloves and add the branzino cut in pieces. Once it turns white opaque, add the tomatoes and let them blister a bit. Now add the dry vermouth and let is evaporate. Once it has evaporates, add the butter and then add the ravioli, with a few splash of pasta cooking water.Â
More Seafood recipes for you
Seared Scallops with Lemon Brown Butter Sauce
Italian Calamarata Pasta (calamari & tomato sauce)
Easy Smoked Salmon Mascarpone Linguine
Sicilian Style Tuna (Tonno Agghiotta)
Pesto Salad with Shrimp and Farro
What to serve with Sea Bass Ravioli
Sea bass ravioli can be served as an appetizer or main course depending on how many ravioli you serve per person. This recipee makes 28 ravioli, which are great served as appetizers for 13 persons ( 3 individual ravioli each) or as a main for 4 person ( 7 ravioli per pax). If you serve them as appetizer, I recommend to have as a main a sea bream with potatoes. If instead you serve them as a amain, start with some roasted peppers mozzarella anchovies crostini, or some mussel gratin.
Which wine to pair with Sea Bass Ravioli
Pair it with a light white wine like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc for the perfect dining experience.
Ingredients
Pasta Dough
- 10 oz flour 00
- 2 yolks egg
- 2 unit egg
Filling
- 12 oz Branzino
- 3 tbsp olive oil extra. virgin
- 2 tsp thyme
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
Sauce
- 6 oz tomatoes
- 13 oz branzino
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tsp thyme
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper black
- 3 tbsp olive oil extra. virgin
- 3 tbsp butter
- 3 oz vermouth dry
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Make the pasta dough
- On a clean working surface make a wheel with the flour 00, add the, eggs and the yolks, a bit of salt and start incorporating until a dough forms.
- Take the dough and knead it on a floured surface until it is elastic.
- Cover it in plastic wrap and place itin the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
Make the filling
- Take one fillet of fish and start chopping it into small pieces. Add it to a bowl with the zest of lemon, juice, some extra virgin olive oil and fresh thyme leaves. Mix well and set aside until ready to use.Â
Make the pasta sheet
- Take the pasta dough out of the fridge, divide dough into 4 pieces and using a rolling pin, start flattening one piece of the dough. Cover the other with a discarded linen towel to prevent it from drying out.
- Onceyour dough is flat, run it through a pasta maker machine starting from thewidest settings, then adjust to the next narrower setting and run again thedough. Continue your way up until you obtain a thin dough sheet. Usually ittakes 4 runs through the pasta machine to obtain the correct thickness.
- Youwill know it is the right thickness when you will do the window test. Take yourpasta dough and hold it in your hands against the window. If you see your hand through, the dough is ready for the next steps. If not, pass it one more time.
- You will end up with a long sheet of pasta that you cut in half.
Put in the filling and make the ravioli
- Spread some semolina flour on your countertop and place the sheet of dough on top.Semolina flour will prevent the pasta sheet to stick.
- Place the ravioli filling in a pocket and put about a walnut sized amount of filling on the flattened sheet. The space between each filling should be about 1 ½ inches so you have enough room to cut the ravioli
- Overlap the other half of the sheet, using your hands to make sure you remove all theair as you press around each filling to close it. Now take your ravioli stampand cut the pasta into ravioli. If you do not have a ravioli cutter, you could also use a biscuit cutter.
- Transfer the ravioli on a baking tray covered with parchment paper sprinkled with semolina flour.Continue with the rest of the 3 pieces of dough.
COOK THE RAVIOLI
- Now that your ravioli are ready, bring a large pot of water to roaring boil, add 2 tbsp of salt.
- While the water reaches a roaring boil, add some EVOO to a pan, once it shimmers add the garlic, let it brown 2 minutes, remove the cloves and add the branzino cut in pieces. Once it turnswhite opaque, add the tomatoes and let them blister a bit. Now add the dry vermouth and let is evaporate. Once it has evaporates, add the butter.
- Now that the water is boilingand gently dip the ravioli in the pasta water with a slotted spoon. They will need 5 minutes to cook and you will know when they will float on the surface.
- Remove the ravioli with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the pan with a splash of pasta cooking water. Plate it, sprinkleing your plate with black pepper, thyme and more lemon zest.
Nutrition
What do you recommend for branzino substitutions?
Hi Leslie,
Thank you for stopping by. You can sub branzino with fluke, which has an equally delicate taste. If instead you are looking for something different, I recommend salmon – king salmon or wild salmon, definitely not Coho as it is a bit too dry.
If you go for salmon, I suggest to swap the thyme with dill, which is pairing much better.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you try it 🙂
Have a great day!