Culurgiones - Sardinian Ravioli

Ingredients

• 250 g semolina
• 250 g Italian '00' pasta flour
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (For the pasta dough; the author uses Pomora.)
• 1 tsp Shetland sea salt (Plus additional salt for the potato-cooking and pasta water.)
• 150 ml lukewarm water (Add approximately 100 ml initially, then add the remainder by the tablespoon as needed.)
• 800 g potatoes (Unpeeled weight.)
• 50 g ricotta cheese
• 50 g Pecorino Romano cheese (Or Parmesan cheese.)
• 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves (Finely chopped.)
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (For the potato filling.)
• 1 large clove garlic (Finely chopped; for the filling.)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (For the sauce.)
• 3 large cloves garlic (Finely chopped; for the sauce.)
• 540 g passata rustica
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves (Roughly torn; stirred into the sauce.)
• fresh basil leaves (Torn, for serving.)
• Pecorino Romano cheese (Grated, for serving.)

Steps

1. 1

   Prepare the filling. Peel and cube the potatoes. Cook them in a large pan of boiling, salted water for about 15–20 minutes, until tender.

2. 2

   Drain the potatoes and return them to the heat for a few minutes to evaporate some additional moisture.

3. 3

   Rice the potatoes with a potato ricer, or pass them through a fine sieve.

4. 4

   Add the ricotta, Pecorino Romano, finely chopped mint, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, and the finely chopped garlic to the riced potatoes. Stir well, then set the filling aside at room temperature for 1 hour to cool.

5. 5

   Prepare the pasta dough by whisking together the semolina and Italian '00' flour until combined.

6. 6

   Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the sea salt. Add approximately 100 ml of the lukewarm water, then add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until a dough forms.

7. 7

   Knead the dough for 2 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Add a little more water at a time if needed; the source describes adding water by dipping fingers into it and working it into the dough.

8. 8

   Cover the dough in cling film and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.

9. 9

   Cut the dough into two equal portions. Run each portion through a pasta machine, beginning with the thickest setting.

10. 10

    Fold each sheet into thirds and run it through the thickest setting again. Repeat if needed to achieve an even width, then run the dough through progressively thinner settings. Roll it to the second-thinnest setting.

11. 11

    Using an 8 cm round cutter, or a glass tumbler, cut the pasta dough into circles. Place the circles on a floured surface.

12. 12

    Place a heaped teaspoonful of potato filling in the center of each pasta circle.

13. 13

    Cup a filled pasta circle in your palm in a taco shape. Pinch about 1 cm of one end together, then push the pinched dough inward and slightly left, folding the edge into a bend and pinching it in and slightly over. Repeat on the other side.

14. 14

    Continue pinching and folding the dough over and down toward the top, then pinch the end closed. The finished pasta should resemble a filled pocket shaped like a wheat sheaf. Set it on a floured surface and repeat with the remaining circles.

15. 15

    Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Boil the culurgiones in batches for 5 minutes.

16. 16

    Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry the 3 finely chopped garlic cloves for about 1 minute, until their aroma is released.

17. 17

    Add the passata rustica and cook for 3 minutes.

18. 18

    Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the handful of roughly torn basil leaves.

19. 19

    Serve the culurgiones immediately with some of the sauce, extra torn fresh basil leaves, and grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

20. 20

    Freeze leftover uncooked culurgiones for later use; cook them directly from frozen.

Notes

The recipe yields approximately 80 culurgiones. Regional variations may include gently fried onions in the filling or fresh tomatoes in the sauce; these variations are not included in the ingredient list. The source does not specify the cooking method or timing for culurgiones cooked directly from frozen.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• pasta
• Italian
• Sardinian
• vegetarian
• boiled
• make-ahead
• freezer-friendly