Nonna Denzio's Ravioli ___

Nonna Denzio's Ravioli

Ingredients

For the Filling:

  • 1 pound veal
  • 1 pound beef steak
  • 1 pound pork steak (I had roasts pieces, so I cooked all 3 meats together with herbs, onion, carrot and celery in a pressure cooker)
  • 0.5 cup uncooked plain rice
  • 1 large can of spinach (I used fresh spinach and used enough to have a couple of big handfuls when squeezed dry.)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 0.5 cup hard grating cheese, like romano, I used Grana Padano
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 ounces butter
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic

For the Pasta:

  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup warm water

Directions

Prepare the Stuffing:

  1. Saute` the meats all together in frying pan with the oil, butter and garlic.
  2. Saute the rice with half of a small onion.
  3. Cook with water normally and set aside.
  4. Drain spinach and fry with a little butter and garlic
  5. When the meats are done, cool enough to handle.
  6. I chopped the meats up and sautéed them in a small amount of oil before putting them through the meat grinder. I reserved the vegetables and juices for the sauce later)
  7. The meats, spinach, and rice all go through the meat grinder.
  8. (I don't have one, so mine went through the food processor)
  9. Then I added 4 eggs and the grated cheese.
  10. (As I know my family's taste, I added a generous amount of fresh ground noci moscate or nutmeg, which I knew would have been pointed out, if I had omitted it.)
  11. I then adjusted the seasoning with some salt and pepper.
  12. It needs to be a dry, moist and flavorful filling.
  13. I filled a pastry bag with a plain round tip to fill the pasta.

Make the Dough:

  1. Mix all the Pasta ingredients together.
  2. This will make a soft dough.
  3. Roll out thin placing filling 1/2” apart on dough.
  4. Cover, cut and cook.
  5. Drain and add your favorite sauce.
  6. Traditionally, served with a meat ragu sauce.
  7. I, of course, tried a little local variation.
  8. You take the meat juices and cooked vegetables and run it through the food mill for a passata. Often it is served just like that and called Salsa dell' arrosto.
  9. On Fabrizio's urging, I added a bit of the filling that I had left over with the thickened passata from the vegetables and juices, adjusted seasonings and voila`.