ITALIAN DUMPLINGS WITH TRUFFLES AND RICOTTA; TRUFFLE RAVIOLI, ITALY, Venice & Dubrovnik
Ingredients
Soft Wheat Flour 00 by Antimo Caputo – 200 grams (7 ounces)
Free Range Egg – 1 large
Egg Yolks – 5 large
Ricotta Cheese by BelGioioso – 180 grams (6.3 ounces)
Black Truffles Grated by Zigante Tartufi – 90 grams (3.2 ounces)
Black Truffles Whole by Zigante Tartufi – 25 grams (0.9 ounces)
Unsalted Butter – 20 grams (0.7 ounces)
Sea Salt – ½ teaspoon
Ravioli – The Mediterranean region boasts an astounding culinary diversity. Pasta is a staple food of Italy but is equally popular across the region. Many types of pasta are prepared with hearty sauces, cooked in soups, used in salads and filled with delicious fillings. Ravioli, a traditional Italian pasta, are small dumplings stuffed with various fillings and served in a broth or pasta sauce. The fresh pasta dough for ravioli is made of finely milled flour, eggs and orange-colored yolks. For our recipe, we select an Italian Soft Wheat Flour “Tipo 00” by Antimo Caputo that contains elastic gluten. Tipo “00” means that the flour is finely milled into a powdery texture. We use organic Free Range Eggs that have orange-colored yolks, based on the hens’ diet of various plants rich in carotenoids. Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese created with the milk liquid and with curds retained during the cheese making process. The ricotta’s light and creamy texture is an ideal filling used in Italian dumplings. We combine the Ricotta Cheese by BelGioioso with the Black Truffles Grated by Zigante Tartufi, making a delicious filling for our ravioli. The Black Truffles Whole by Zigante Tartufi are thinly sliced on top the ravioli at serving. Zigante Tartufi, a company based in Croatia, promotes premium quality truffles from Istria, a peninsula in the Adriatic Sea, shared by Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. Our Ravioli with Truffles and Ricotta have a wonderfully earthy and nutty flavor.
Preparation Method
Step 1 – Drain the oil from the black truffles grated, using a tea filter strainer or a fine mesh sieve strainer. Note: Retain the oil to use in other recipes. In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, the black truffles grated and the sea salt. Mix the filling, then cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.
Step 2 – On a large work surface, place the flour and make a well in the middle, then add the egg and the egg yolks. Use your hands to slowly combine the flour with the eggs and form a ball. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until the dough has an elastic texture. Cover the dough with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours.
Step 3 – Divide the dough into two pieces and roll out the dough into two long sheets (as thin as possible). Place an equal amount of the filling in the middle of each pasta sheet, leaving an equal space between each filling (around 4cm or 1.6 inches). Fold the pasta sheet over the filling, press to remove the air around the filling and to seal the edges. Form the ravioli into squares with a pasta cutting wheel. Place the ravioli on a lightly floured surface. Note: We use the Pasta Cutter Festooned Wheel by La Gondola, available at Carbon Knife Co (carbonknifeco.com).
Step 4 – In a large pot, bring water to a boil and cook the ravioli for 3-4 minutes (after they float on the surface). Drain the ravioli, then place in a sauté pan with melted butter and stir gently.
Step 5 –Serve the ravioli in shallow bowls, drizzle with the remaining butter in the sauté pan and place thinly sliced truffles on top. Enjoy the wonderfully earthy and nutty flavor.