After Italian cuisine took over the world, it seems that the red colour on the Italian flag symbolizes the nation’s love for tomatoes. But what did they eat in Italy before the Spanish seafarers brought the “pomi d’oro” – “golden apple” to Europe? They ate, for example, ravioli. The first ravioli cutters were found at the Roman Empire cities excavations. Each nation has its own dish, that is basically a filling wrapped in dough, which is then cooked. But only among Italians it is not customary to make raviolis by hand; for this they use special moulds or cutters. Ravioli fillings can be quite varied. I chose lamb for my recipe to make these raviolis richer and more satisfying.
After Italian cuisine took over the world, it seems that the red colour on the Italian flag symbolizes the nation’s love for tomatoes. But what did they eat in Italy before the Spanish seafarers brought the “pomi d’oro” – “golden apple” to Europe? They ate, for example, ravioli. The first ravioli cutters were found at the Roman Empire cities excavations. Each nation has its own dish, that is basically a filling wrapped in dough, which is then cooked. But only among Italians it is not customary to make raviolis by hand; for this they use special moulds or cutters. Ravioli fillings can be quite varied. I chose lamb for my recipe to make these raviolis richer and more satisfying.- Prep time: 35 minutes
- Cook time: 10 minutes
- Serves: 6-8
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: pasta
- Cookware: ravioli cutter or pastry wheel, pasta pot, mortar and pestle, cheese grater
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 500 g ravioli dough
- 500 g lamb fillet
- 2 slices of white stale bread
- 50 g parmesan, grated
- 70 ml white wine
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
Cooking method
Step 1
Cut the meat into small cubes and transfer to a bowl. Cut off the crust from bread, discard. Mash the remaining bread into crumbs and add to the meat. Bash rosemary leaves in a mortar and pestle with olive oil. Add to minced meat. Then add wine, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Mix the minced meat well.
Step 2
Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll out the dough into about 3mm thick rectangular. With a teaspoon, put a small amount of minced meat at regular intervals on half the dough. Cover with the other half. Using a ravioli cutter, cut the ravioli, pressing firmly to secure the edges. Or, if using a pastry wheel, beat the egg and brush the dough with it, around the filling. Cover with the other half of the dough and cut the ravioli with a wheel.
Step 3
Put a large pot with water on a high heat, add salt and bring to boil. Add ravioli and boil for 5-10 minutes. Drain the ravioli. Serve the ravioli warm, lightly sprinkled with parmesan or with small pieces of Breton salted butter.
My tips and tricks:
If you do not have a ravioli cutter, but you really want ravioli now, roll out the dough, cut it into equal squares, put the filling in the centre of each square and secure the edges, forming a triangle. Then, use fork prongs to seal the edges, pressing one layer of dough against the other, thus securing the edges, and creating a beautiful pattern.
- 500 g ravioli dough
- 500 g lamb fillet
- 2 slices of white stale bread
- 50 g parmesan, grated
- 70 ml white wine
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- Cut the meat into small cubes and transfer to a bowl. Cut off the crust from bread, discard. Mash the remaining bread into crumbs and add to the meat. Bash rosemary leaves in a mortar and pestle with olive oil. Add to minced meat. Then add wine, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Mix the minced meat well.
- Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Roll out the dough into about 3mm thick rectangular. With a teaspoon, put a small amount of minced meat at regular intervals on half the dough. Cover with the other half. Using a ravioli cutter, cut the ravioli, pressing firmly to secure the edges. Or, if using a pastry wheel, beat the egg and brush the dough with it, around the filling. Cover with the other half of the dough and cut the ravioli with a wheel.
- Put a large pot with water on a high heat, add salt and bring to boil. Add ravioli and boil for 5-10 minutes. Drain the ravioli. Serve the ravioli warm, lightly sprinkled with parmesan or with small pieces of Breton salted butter.