History: The first known documentation of the Italian classic comes from the personal correspondence of one Francesco di Marco Datini, who details the dish sometime in the 14th Century. Manuscripts uncovered in Venice also record the process of stuffing the raviolo with herbs, egg, and cheese. The Italian’s enjoy this pasta so much it was served during the papal conclave of 1549!
Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups flour
Ricotta cheese (drained)
Parmesan Cheese (fresher the better!)
Butter
Herbs
Salt
Pepper
Directions:
Tonight, we are going to construct a ravioli that will need concentration (DO NOT be intimidated because we will get through this as long as you listen to me). Let’s make our pasta dough. Egg and flour (literally that simple). Make a mound of flour (2 cups) with a deep well in the center. Crack three eggs into the hole. Whisk, then pour into the well of flour. With your hands (Oh yes, you are getting dirty), mold the dough together into a ball. Let it sit for about a half hour (covered). Roll out your dough thin (but NOT see-through as you have gone past the point of no return). Cut out your dough into roughly 4inX4in squares (the size of the square depends on how much filling you are using as wells and the size of the yolk! Adjust accordingly… you got this!).
Moving on to my favorite part… THE CHEESE FILLING! Take ricotta (drain it as much as you can so it doesn’t run), add an egg (as a binder), and add parmesan cheese (not from the shaker, add the real stuff… right off the block is the best ((don’t even try to argue that)). You can season your cheese mixture with any seasoning you want! If you aren’t comfortable with this step and don’t know what spices to add, don’t worry, this base filling is all you need (please, its basically all CHEESE, can’t get any better than that).
Here is the part of the filling we will get through… the YOLK! First you want to take your cut out dough squares and add a dollop of the cheese filling. Make a well in the filling and GENTLY add the egg yolk (you know the steps on how to separate the egg yolk, I know you do). Place another dough square on top of the filling and yolk and pinch the ravioli shut (this is important, if you don’t pinch it shut entirely you will have a leak while cooking it and then all types of swear words will emerge and you’ll have to start over).
In a pan, melt a generous amount of salted butter (don’t forget the butter… as the butter hasn’t forgotten you). Gently place your ravioli in the pan. Slowly baste the sides and make your way to the center (we want to cook that yolk last because we want it runny when we cut into the center). Keep basting and check the bottom of the ravioli (once it gets a golden color at the bottom you are done!). Serve with grated cheese on top and spoon on the leftover butter sauce (never leave the butter sauce behind…ever.)
Official Statement: Today you have a cheese filled handmade ravioli with a runny yolk center.
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