PORCINI MUSHROOMS RAVIOLI

PORCINI MUSHROOMS RAVIOLI

Ingredients for the pasta:

6 EGGS (about 300g)

about 400g PLAIN FLOUR (=14,11oz=3 ⅓ cups)

about 200g DARUM WHEAT SEMOLINA (=7,05oz=1 ⅔ cups)

10g EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (=0,35oz=¾ tbsp)

TABLE SALT to taste

(COARSE SALT to taste)

Ingredients for the filling:

400g PDO PARMIGIANO REGGIANO 24months (=14,11oz=4 cups)

200g BREADCRUMBS (=7,05oz=1 ¾ cups)

50g DRIED PORCINI MUSHROOMS (=1,76oz)

2 EGGS (1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk)

1 SHALLOT

1 GARLIC CLOVE

EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL to taste

NUTMEG to taste

TABLE SALT to taste

Ingredients for the sauce:

200g sweet unflavoured PORK SAUSAGE or SALAMI PASTE (=7,05oz)

50g DRIED PORCINI MUSHROOMS (=1,76oz)

15g UNSALTED BUTTER (=0,53oz=⅛ cup) 

50g DRY WHITE WINE (=1,76oz)

1 SHALLOT

1 GARLIC CLOVE

1 tbsp TOMATO PASTE

EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL to taste

TABLE SALT to taste

Ingredients for the topping:

PDO PARMIGIANO REGGIANO 24months to taste

Method:

Preparing the filling

Break the mushrooms into pieces and soak them in lukewarm water for minimum half an hour (the more the best), changing water 2 or 3 times in order to lose impurities. 

In the meantime, grate the hardened bread you will have prepared days before: I usually make bread at home (recipe here), then cut it into slices and let it dry. Once grated, bake breadcrumbs in the oven at 180°C (356°F) for about 20 minutes in order to lose humidity.

Grate PDO Parmigiano Reggiano.

Squeeze the mushrooms, keeping the last water apart.

Mince shallot and lightly pan-fry it with whole garlic clove in extra-virgin olive oil (if they are browning too much, add some water). Add mushrooms and stew them as well for about 5-10 minutes.

Remove the garlic clove, then blend everything with a blender. Filter and then add mushrooms water (about 150g=5,29oz=⅔ cup) and table salt, then put back on the stove for a few minutes. Keep stirring.

Lay the breadcrumbs in a bowl and pour the hot liquid on top. Mix with a fork and let everything cool down.

Once cooled down, add grated PDO Parmigiano Reggiano and grate some nutmeg on top. Mix with the hands and then add eggs (1 whole and 1 yolk).

Mix everything with the hands making sure the filling is homogeneous and compact, then cover it with plastic wrap (or lid) and let it rest in the fridge for minimum 1 night.

Prepare pasta and wrap porcini mushrooms ravioli

The day after, prepare the pasta dough. The general rule is: add 100g (=3,53oz=¾ cup) flour for each egg, but I do prefer the more precise way. I usually weigh the eggs (about 45-50g=1,59-1,760oz), then double their weight and calculate ⅓ darum wheat semolina and ⅔ plain flour. In this case it will be: 6 eggs weigh about 300g (=10,58oz=2 ½ cups); the double is 600g (=21,16oz=5 cups), so it will be 200g (=7,05oz=1 ⅔ cups) darum wheat semolina and 400g (=14,11oz=3 ⅓ cup) plain flour. Add a little salt (1 pinch on each egg yolk) and extra-virgin olive oil.

Mix with a fork and then knead until it becomes smooth, elastic and homogeneous (if it looks too hard add a little water, but I always prefer not to). Carefully cover the dough ball with plastic wrap, then let it rest in the fridge for minimum 1 hour before using it.

The amount of pasta needed is very subjective, depending on how thick you are rolling the pasta, how humid your pasta is (this also depends from the surrounding environment, the outside weather and so on) or how much pasta scraps you can re-use before it becomes too hard. You might need more pasta or some will remain (you can easily make tagliatelle with the discarded one!): you will learn how to deal with it the more you become familiar in making pasta… Make sure to have more pasta dough ingredients available in your cupboard in case you need to prepare some more!

Shape the ravioli, rolling the dough thin with a pasta machine: take a little pasta (the right amount for a strip of ravioli), flatten it a bit with the hands or with a rolling pin and insert it in the pasta machine starting from the larger hole (setting the adjustment knob of the machine to 0). Decrease the thickness step by step and pass through the machine each time until you get to your chosen thickness (my machine has 9 levels and I stop at 7). Anytime you prepare a strip, you can re-use the scraps of the strip before (if they are still humid enough).

Flour copiously the ravioli mould (don’t be stingy or the pasta will stick to the mould!) and the side of the pasta strip entering in contact with it. Lay the pasta on the ravioli mould and place the filling in each hole (the right amount to have tasty rich ravioli, but making sure the filling is not too much or you won’t be able to seal them). Lay another pasta strip on top (or use the same long pasta strip for bottom and top) and press gently to seal. Use a rolling pin to carefully impress and cut the pasta. Turn the ravioli mould upside-down and help the ravioli detach one from the other with your hands or, if they resist, proceed with a pasta cutter wheel. Lay the ravioli separated on a floured paper tray. 

You can eat them fresh or preserve them in the freezer. To freeze them, lay each paper tray (one at a time: proceed as soon as you fill one tray as you cannot overlap trays) in the freezer for minimum half an hour (the more the better) and then move the frozen ravioli in a plastic freezer bag. 

Prepare the sauce

Last but not least, proceed with the sauce. Break the mushrooms into pieces and soak them for minimum half an hour (the more the better) in lukewarm water, changing water 2 or 3 times in order to lose impurities. 

In the meantime, mince the shallot.

Squeeze mushrooms, keeping the last water apart. 

Stew whole garlic clove and shallot with a little extra-virgin olive oil. If they start frying, add some water. Peel the sausage and add it, breaking it into pieces. Once the meat has completely changed in colour, drizzle with wine and add the concentrated tomato paste.

Add mushrooms, filtered mushrooms water (about 150g=5,29oz=⅔ cup) and table salt. Cook for about 10 minutes. Turn the fire off, remove the garlic clove and add butter.

If you are not using all the sauce (as you are not eating all the ravioli at once), you can freeze it.

Cook and serve the ravioli

To cook the ravioli, put a pot with water on the stove at high flame. When water boils, add coarse salt. As it comes to boil again, toss the ravioli in and stir gently with a perforated spoon. As soon as they start floating on the surface (about 1 or 2 minutes), strain them with the perforated spoon. If they are frozen, it will take a few minutes more: calculate about 2 minutes from the moment when ravioli are floating and water is boiling.

Mix porcini mushrooms ravioli and warm porcini mushrooms and sausage sauce and sprinkle with freshly grated PDO Parmigiano Reggiano.

Watch the porcini mushrooms ravioli video recipe on our YouTube channel.

The original recipe has been given me by my dear friend Silvana Ghillani. As every Italian granny does, she cooks by hearth so I made them with her the first time to make sure I could measure the ingredients amount… what a pleasant memory!

I played a bit with her recipe and I made my own buckwheat version (recipe here).