At the end of the day, sometimes I talk with my family about my work, the people I meet and the food I cook with them.
With the help of cooking classes I have the opportunity to discover again some Italian dishes, more or less traditional, I cook them again for my family and, if approved, the became part of my private kitchen repertoire.
Few weeks I was talking about two fun girls and an egg yolk raviolo in their lesson menù.
The description of that moment when the fork sinks in the raviolo and the gold, creamy yolk runs outside has captured Alice’s attention immediately.
She loves eggs, cooked in every way and eaten in any moment of the day! This is one of the things we have in common.
She asked me to make this dish for her, and unfortunately for her she had to wait quite a while.
Last Sunday I had finally the time to make these ravioli for our Sunday lunch.
I prefer to make one big raviolo, as I think one yolk it’s enough for one portion. For the filling you can choose spinach and ricotta or you can use just ricotta.
For a special occasion you can finish the dish with a rain of fresh grated truffle.
They are easy, more than you can imagine, they need just a little bit more attention, but the “wow” effect is guaranteed.
INGREDIENTS
For the pasta dough: 100 g. fine semolina flour – 100 g. tender wheat flour – 2 eggs – 1 pinch of salt
For the filling: 500 g. fresh spinach – 300 g. sheep milk ricotta – 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese – pinch of nutmeg – salt and pepper – 1 egg yolk for each raviolo
For the sauce: 40 g. butter – sage – salt and pepper
Sift the tender wheat flour with the semolina flour, pour them on a wooden board or a large working surface and make a nest in the middle.
Break in the eggs and add a good pinch of salt. Mix the flour and the eggs with a fork until crumbly, then knead the dough.
Keep on kneading, more and more, as to develop the gluten which will give strength to the sheets of pasta. Just do as when you knead the bread: hold it with one hand while you roll it from you with the other, with the heel of the palm. Wrap it in plastic film and let it stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.
During this time you can prepare the filling.
Rinse the spinach, put them in a large pan and cook at medium heat for 5 minutes or until soft, covered with a lid.
One they are cooked, drain and let them cool down before squeezing out the liquid more than you can.
Chop them finely and mix with the ricotta, the parmesan cheese and a pinch of nutmeg.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the ravioli: roll out the dough quite thinly. Keep dough not in use covered either with a damp cloth or cling film to stop it drying out. Cut a disc with a round cutter – about 10 cm diameter – put a big spoonful of filling (you can use a pastry bag) in the middle, shaping a nest, then add one egg yolk in the middle. Cover with another disc of pasta. Press gently with your fingers all around the pasta disc to get rid of the pockets of air.
In a small pan melt the butter, add sage leaves – I don’t chop them – and season with salt and pepper.
Cook the ravioli in a large pot with boiling salted water, one at time, for about 2 minutes. Transfer the ravioli in the indivual plates and cover with the sauce. Serve immediately . Serves 4
Runny egg yolk ravioli
