Piedmontese Ravioli: Culinary Trips to Italy

This thoughtful dish with perfect autumn flavors is quite traditional in Piedmont, which is located in the very northwest corner of Italy. It is one of our favorite locations for a cooking vacation or culinary tour in Italy. Pair this recipe with a Barolo wine, and buon appetito!

If you like this recipe, consider a Piedmont cooking vacation!

Piedmontese Ravioli

Serves: 4 servings
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 3 minutes
Cook method: Boil

Ingredients

For the pasta:

• 1 lb flour
• 6 eggs
• 1 glass warm water

For the filling:

• Nettle leaves (large handful)
• ½ onion
• Fresh rosemary sprig (leaves only)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 T butter
• Olive oil
• Around 3/4 c. boiled chopped vegetables such as carrots, celery, spinach, cabbage, leeks, well-drained
• 1 lb. beef, veal, or pork, cut into small cubes
• 1 egg
• Pepper and nutmeg

Learn more about Piedmont wines.

For serving:

• Butter
• A few fresh sage leaves
• Grated Parmesan

See all our cooking vacations in Piedmont.

Instructions

For the pasta:
Mix all the ingredients together and knead well for at least 10 minutes. Roll out very thinly on a wooden board, and cut into square pieces the same size and shape.

For the filling:
Sauté the onion with the nettles and rosemary, add the garlic for a few minutes (whole), then remove the garlic.

Add the meat, cut into small cubes. Brown the meat, then add the white wine. When the wine has mostly evaporated, add a little water, salt and pepper to taste, and cover loosely with a lid. When the meat is thoroughly cooked, put it and the vegetables through a mincer or food processor. Return the mixture to a frying pan with the butter. Add the nutmeg and leave to cool thoroughly. Once cool, add the egg to help bind it together.

Meet Francesca, chef and hostess for our Authentic Experience in Piedmont.

To make the ravioli:
Place a scant teaspoon of filling in rows on the pasta, leaving space between the filing. Then fold the pasta over and close it with a pinch, also called a “plin.” (You can brush around the filling with egg white first to help make a better seal.) Cut around each “raviolo” with the pasta cutter.

Boil the ravioli in salted boiling water just until they float, only a few minutes.

To serve:

Sauté the sage leaves in butter for a few minutes, then add the ravioli. Top with grated parmigiano.

Check out these other Piedmont recipes for Manzo brasato al Barolo and Paniscia.

Try another recipe using nettle leaves: Five Leaf Pesto.

Discover 5 foodie finds on our Northern Italy culinary tour.

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