Homemade Ravioli

Measure 5 cups flour into a large mixing bowl, and make a well in the center. In a smaller bowl, lightly beat the eggs with water and olive oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour well. Using a fork, pull the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and stir, continuing until you have a cohesive ball of dough. You can switch to using your hands at any point, if desired. Editor's Tip: Flour has a lower water content when humidity is low. If it's a dry time of year, you may need to add more liquid (egg, water or oil, your choice) to make your pasta dough come together. Conversely, if it's very humid, you may not need as much water.

Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until the dough is smooth, silky and elastic, meaning it bounces back when you press on it, about four to six minutes. Cover the dough, and let rest for 30 minutes. Editor's Tip: Depending on how vigorously you knead, this may take as few as four minutes or significantly longer. It's more about the feel of the dough than the time it takes to get there.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, Parmesan, water, tomato paste, sugar, fresh herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered, for one hour, stirring occasionally.

In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, fresh herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and stir until fully combined. Season to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Divide the dough into four portions. Roll one piece to 1/16th-inch thickness, keeping the remaining dough covered until you're ready to use it. Editor's Tip: If you choose to use a pasta rolling machine here, start by rolling your dough through the largest setting, folding it up like a letter, and putting it through the largest setting yet again. Repeat until you have a nice, uniform piece of dough as a starting point. Then, start working through the different settings on the machine to make the pasta thinner and thinner.

Working quickly, so as not to dry out the dough, place rounded teaspoons of filling 1 inch apart on half of the rolled dough, making sure that it's not too close to the edge. Fold the sheet over, and press around the filling (not on it) to create a seal. Cut the ravioli into squares using a pastry wheel. Repeat the rolling, filling and cutting process with the remaining dough and filling. Editor's Tip: I like to dampen my finger and run it between dollops of filling and down the edge of the dough to help the sheets stick together.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ravioli, and reduce the temperature to achieve a gentle simmer. Cook the ravioli for one to two minutes, until they float to the top and become tender. When done cooking, drain the ravioli gently into a colander. Sauce and serve! Editor's Tip: Before dumping all of the ravioli in the pot, test just one raviolo. Sometimes, the place where the two layers of dough overlap takes a little longer to cook. You can adjust the time for the rest of your ravioli accordingly.