Description:

A very old Italian recipe stright from Italy.

Source:

From Tony ( The Wasper )

Serves/Makes:6 dozen Ravioli

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 2 cups (475 ml) flour
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) water
• 2 tsp (10 ml) salt
• 2 large eggs
• Ingredients for Filling:
• 2 lbs (.9 kg). round steak
• 1 large pork loin roast
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) salt
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) pepper
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) minced garlic
• 1 onion chopped fine
• 1 lb (.5 kg). Genoa salami
• 1 package spinach
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) cooking oil
• Parsley
• Pinch of oregano
• Pinch of sage

Preparation

• This is part of the meat filling.
• Tenderize the round steak a bit with a food hammer.
• Cut the round steak into strips about 3 inches wide, and 4 inches long, and set aside.
• Combine the onion and parsley and lay a strip of about 1/4 inch wide in the center of each piece of round steak.
• Roll each one up and wrap white sewing thread around each piece to hold it together. This is called a roladine.
• In a large skillet, heat oil and fry each of the roladines until tender, set aside when done cooking, and don't forget to remove the string.
• Cook the spinach, drain, and set aside.
• Trim all fat from the pork roast and place in a large pot with 1/2 inch of water, cover.
• Place in a 350 degree (175 C.) oven for 1 1/2 hours or until done.
• When cool, cut into 1 inch squares and set aside.
• You now need an electric or hand food grinder to complete the following steps.
• Grind all the meats including the roladine's alternating the spinach to make the grinding process a bit easier.
• Put the ground up meat and spinach into a large mixing bowl and add the parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, and eggs.
• Mix all very well by hand, and form 3/4 inch little meatballs, set aside.
• This will make better then six dozen of them.
• Prepare dough:
• Mix eggs, flour, water, and salt to form a ball of dough, and cut into 4 sections.
• Flour a hard wooden table, or use cheesecloth on a smooth table to roll out the dough.
• Roll out each section to 1/16 th of an inch.
• Make Raviolis:
• Starting from 2 inches from the edge of the rolled out dough lay a line of meatball fillings about 1/2 inch apart.
• Flop dough edge over the meatballs.
• Using your fingertips, press the dough next to the meatballs so as to make a seal.
• Using the sides of you little fingers, press them on each side of each meatball to form a little meat filled ravioli.
• Using a dough cutter wheel, cut along just in front of the ravioli where you used your finger tips to seal earlier.
• Now cut in between each of the raviolis where you used the sides of your little fingers to seal. This will form a single ravioli.
• Now this is the Italian way of forming the ravioli's, or you can buy a ravioli maker.
• Cooking:
• Fill a very large cooking pot about 3/4 full of water, and bring to a boil.
• Add the ravioli a few at a time, and stir to help prevent from sticking. Once they have been in the hot water for a bit, they will not stick any longer.
• Boil until tender, but not mushy, they're better when they are more firm.

Comments

This recipe was handed down to me from my Mother who got it from my Grandmother. It comes straight from Italy. It's not as hard to prepare as it looks, but once you get the hang of it, it's well worth the extra work. It's all done by hand as it should be, but you can purchase a Ravoli machine that will press the dough around the little meat balls and cut them as well.

Serve with a glass of red wine, home made if possible.