Homemade Ravioli / Beef, Ricotta cheese and Basil with Mushroom Sauce UPDATED

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If you ever thought about making your own Ravioli then maybe this pic will encourage you.  Making them is actually quite easy. I made the fillings with:

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil to brown beef
8 ounces (package weight) of browned beef ground beef
8 ounces of Ricotta cheese (1 cup)
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves (1Tbs of dried Basil)
1/2 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
(Complements to Cooks Illustrated) 

The Pasta:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

Water

Brown the beef and drain. Transfer to a bowl and let cook just for a minute or two, mix in the Ricotta, then the egg and basil. Refrigerate up to to days.

Pulse the flour in a food processor to aerate. Add eggs and process until the dough forms a ball, about 30 seconds. If the ball forms small pebbles add some water a tbsp at a time.

Turn out the dough ball onto your counter and knead it for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Cut the dough into 5 equal parts and using a manual pasta machine roll the dough into sheets. I have the Atlas 150 Wellness, made in Italy as is of excellent quality.

After passing the dough through the machine, starting out large and the adjusting and passing it through the machine several times the gough will be ready.

Lay the dough on a cutting board, and depending on the size of your ravioli place the filling on the bottom sheet accordingly.

Then using water or egg whites mixed with water, brush the pasta sheet where the filling is just where where the second sheet will meet the first.

Cover the first sheet and filling and press firmly to make a seal between the two and then using a ravioli stamp, punch out the individual ravioli's.

I have bought a few and I'll say the best are made in Italy. This is the one that I used most often...Eppicotispai Aluminum Round Ravioli Stamp with Beechwood Handle, 3-Inch

Note: The top layer of pasta has to be larger than the bottom sheet.

In 4 quarts of gently boiling salted water cook the pasta for about 2 minutes Gently and constantly stirring. Remove to a strainer, drain and then add your sauce which could be a simple tomato sauce.

The Sauce:

I made the sauce with milk, chicken base, mushroom base, thyme leaves, parsley, marinated mushrooms, butter and grated Parmesan cheese.

Note: It's been about 6 years since I made this and I just threw together the sauce so I can't provide any measurements.

But as a sideboard comment I once fried them in brown butter and they were off the chain!