Serves: 4
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes
During summer days, my Neapolitan blood sometimes has a call: eating ravioli Capresi, the typical ravioli made on the magical island of Capri. Just off the coast of Naples, surrounded by cobalt blue sea, with countless bays bordered by luscious vegetation and spectacular sceneries, Capri is a jewel in the Mediterranean Sea, visited over the centuries by intellectuals, artists and writers, all amazed by its magical beauty.
History, nature, culture, blend together to give life to Capri’s legend, a legend that also involves the food prepared on the island that provides the fragrance of the Mediterranean flavors.
So, I was craving for these Ravioli Capresi, filled with caciotta, Parmesan cheese and marjoram, prepared in all of the kitchens of Capri, according to old recipes handed down from generation to generation.
The only chance for me to eat them NOW is to make them. I found a recipe and the result was excellent : I am going to make them again !
Ingredients
For the dough
500 gr. flour
250 gr of boiling water
2 table spoons of olive oil
For the filling
300 gr Caciotta di Sorrento cheese (grated, also using a food processor)
2 eggs
100 gr grated Parmesan cheese
marjoram or oregano
For the sauce:
600 gr fresh tomato sauce
300 gr fresh cherry tomatoes cut in half
100 gr grated Parmesan cheese
fresh basil
extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Prepare the sauce :
Make a soffritto with oil and garlic. Add tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes and a few basil leaves. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Prepare the dough :
To make the dough without a lot of mess, add the flour, the boiling water to a food processor with extra virgin olive oil. If your dough looks too dry add water, if it too wet add flour. When all the ingredients combine into a ball, take the dough out and knead with your hands until the dough gets soft and velvety. Then let the dough rest for at least about 20 minutes at room temperature wrapped in a plastic wrap. I made the dough one day before and put it in the fridge to rest.
Prepare the filling :
Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the caciotta, Parmesan cheese and the marjoram.
Prepare the ravioli :
Roll the dough through a pasta machine, starting on the widest setting. Keep working your way down to narrow setting, from second up to fourth, depends on the thickness you desire.
As you go, lay out the pasta sheets on a countertop as you keep doing other pasta sheets from the dough. When you have run out of the dough, start to make the ravioli.
On a pasta sheet, place dollops of the cheese mixture, positioning them about 6 cm apart. Brush some water around the filling, water will help to seal the ravioli.Take another pasta sheet and cover the one with the stuffing. Press with your fingers all around the filling to let the air go out. Proceed to separate the ravioli, cutting around each ball of filling with either a ravioli cutter or a glass, with a diameter of roughly 4 to 5 cm. Repeat the procedure with each of the remaining pasta sheet.
As you go, place the ravioli on a floured surface, taking care not to put them one on top of the other.
Cook the ravioli in boiling water for five minutes and serve them hot with fresh tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, and a few leaves of basil.