Ligurian Ravioli With Greens Recipe – Ravioli Liguri

Ravioli are a universe, with tremendous variation in the fillings. Many, especially those prepared for festive occasions, are meat based. However, Artusi says that true ravioli contain no meat. And there is some truth to his assertion, because ravioli are testament to the frugal resourcefulness of the Ligurian people, who could combine wild greens plucked from the mountainsides with the simplest of cheeses and — if they had it — pasta to make an extraordinarily rich and tasty dish. And if they didn’t have pasta? They made ravioli nudi, dumplings without the pasta shell.

 

PREPARATION

Drain the ricotta well, if need be by squeezing it in cheesecloth, and crumble it. Mince the spinach. Mix the spinach, ricotta, eggs, and spices together and check seasoning.

At this point you have a choice: You can either make ravioli nudi (naked ravioli) or normal ravioli.

• Naked ravioli are so-called because they’re just the filling without the pasta shell. To make them, flour your work surface and set out spoonfuls of the ricotta-spinach mixture on it, shaping them into squashed ovals; in all you should have about two dozen.

  Note: Depending upon how moist the filling mixture is, you may need to work some four into it to make it workable — start with a few tablespoons, and add more if need be.

  To cook naked ravioli, carefully slip them into boiling unsalted water, a few at a time, removing them just as carefully (they tend to break) to a serving bowl as they rise to the surface with a slotted spoon or strainer. Serve them with either melted butter, a few leaves of fresh sage, and grated cheese, or with meat sauce. In the eighteenth century, these ravioli were also served as a side dish with stews.

• To make normal ravioli, make the pasta, using 2 3/4 cups of flour, 3 eggs, a pinch of salt, and a spoonful of water if necessary, following the instructions for home-made pasta, or buy several sheets of store-made fresh pasta. If you make the pasta at home, divide the dough into two pieces and roll one out into a sheet about as thin as a dime.

  There is a gadget that resembles an ice tray with which you can make uniform ravioli; however, once you get the hang of it, it’s quicker and easier to make them by hand.

  Here is an easy way: pick the straightest edge of the sheet (trim it if necessary) and put heaping teaspoons of filling about an inch and a half apart and an inch and a half from the margin of the sheet. Carefully fold the pasta over the filling and cut the strip of pasta and filling free from the sheet with a serrated pasta wheel. Tamp down the pasta around the balls of filling with your finger, pressing hard to make sure the pasta adheres so the ravioli won’t come apart while cooking, and cut the individual ravioli free. Set the finished ravioli to dry on a lightly floured cloth and repeat the process, continuing till the stuffing is used up.

  Cook the ravioli in lightly salted water till the pasta is al dente (about 5 minutes), then carefully remove them to a bowl with a slotted spoon or strainer. Serve the ravioli as a first course with a few leaves of fresh sage, melted butter, and grated cheese, or, if you want something more substantial, e.g. meat sauce or walnut sauce.

A wine? A white, and since this is Ligurian I would go with either a Vermentino or a Pigato.