RAVIOLI MEZZELUNE
You won't want to stop eating these fresh and flavorful stuffed ravioli. A mix of sautéed veggies and Italian sausages make this the ultimate savory pasta. Once you get the feel for this, the filling options are endless!
Ingredients + Preparation
- Fresh pasta (See recipe)
- Onion (One, finely minced)
- Garlic cloves (Two, cleaned and finely minced)
- Ground Italian sausage (1 cup)
- Mushrooms: Chose a fragrant variety (1/2 cup, very finely minced)
- Spinach (One handful, finely chopped)
- Red wine (1/2 cup)
- Herb: Fresh or dried parsley, thyme, basil or oregano (2 tbsp)
- Ricotta (1 cup)
- Salt & pepper (To taste)
Instructions
For the shells:
1. With your fresh pasta sheet rolled out, dust the rim of a pint glass in flour. Press the glass down into the dough to make a round shell.
2. Repeat the process until you've used all your dough and have pasta shells laid out on the cutting board.
For the filling:
1. On medium heat, cook onion and garlic in oil until onion is slightly golden, about 3 minutes.
2. Add sausage and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Drain off excess oil if needed.
3. Add red wine and spinach and cook for a further 5 minutes, until liquid has reduced and spinach is wilted.
4. Mix through fresh herb and season with salt & pepper.
5. Let cool slightly, then mix through ricotta.
Filling the shells:
1. Place 1 tbsp of filling in the center of each shell.
2. Fold the dough in half over the filling, and then seal by crimping down the edges with a fork.
Cook the pasta in water on a slow boil until they float at the surface, about 2 minutes.
Sens Sips
Sangiovese
Tuscany, Italy
The sauce and filling preparation will influence what wine you chose to pair this with. Consider how rich your dish will be when picking a wine: the heavier the dish, the more oomph you need from your wine.
With this calssic Italian dish you really can't go wrong with one of Tuscany's medium bodied wines. The high tannins and acidity are perfect with a tomato based sauce. Look for a Sangiovese varietal.
Check out: Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Sens Toolkit
Tips + Tricks
- When pressing the pasta shells try and keep each spaced as close together as possible to maximize your doughs surface area.
- Chose a more fragrant mushroom for a better, more rounded taste. If you can find chanterelles, porcino or fresh shiitake they are worth the price. Otherwise, portobellos are your next best bet!
- The beauty of this dish is that anything can go in your pasta shells. Try using this recipe as a good starting point but try experimenting with different veggies or meats. The only thing to keep in mind is that everything needs to be fine enough to fit in the pasta shells!
Mama's Wisdom
Homemade pasta doesn't have the (unwanted) binders and fillers that store bought does. Mushrooms and spinach bring in wanted iron, calcium and various vitamins, so boosting the nutritional grade of this dish. Ricotta cheese and sausage deliver a good amount of protein.
Mama Wulf
Marta De Wulf is a dietitian with over 25 years experience helping people explore and appreciate the link between food and personal wellbeing.
