Potato and Speck Ravioloni

SERVES 4 TOTAL TIME 1 h. & 30 minutes DIFFICULTY difficult

INGREDIENTS:

For the dough

150 flour '00' plus extra for the pastry board

50 g durum wheat flour

2 large eggs (65 gr. Each)

a pinch of salt

For the filling

450 gr. potatoes

70 g speck

40 g Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and pepper

Season with:

fresh sage

butter

DIRECTIONS:

• Put the peeled potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with salted cold water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for about 25/30 minutes until they are tender, try the fork. Peel them and, still hot, pass them to the potato masher in a bowl. Chop the speck and add it to the mashed potatoes, season with salt. Let it cool down.

• Meanwhile….

• Pour the flours into a bowl (better to keep some aside to add in case of need) or directly on a wooden pastry board, create a recess in the center and add the previously beaten eggs with a pinch of salt. With a fork, stir and begin to incorporate the flour from the outside towards the center. When the dough becomes consistent, start working it with your hands for about 8/10 minutes until you get a smooth and homogeneous dough; form a dough, wrap it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. The dough will be much more elastic after rest.

• Once you have a crumbly texture, it’s time to knead. Knead for about 8 minutes until you have a smooth dough. Roll the dough into a ball, cover with cling film and leave to rest for 1 hour in the fridge. The dough will be much more elastic after resting.

• Once the dough has rested, it's time to roll it out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured wooden surface. Start pulling the dough from the center forward by applying a little pressure. Repeat ⅔ times. Turn the dough a quarter and repeat until the sheet becomes thin. Dust the flour dough every time you start sticking to the surface or a rolling pin.

• If you have a pasta machine:

• Once the dough has rested, cut a part of the dough (leave the rest in the film). Flatten it with your fingers so that it can pass through the rollers of the machine, then lightly floured on both sides and start passing through the maximum thickness (usually nr. 0). Fold it in half and turn it 90 degrees, then pass it again on the rollers. Repeat this process by folding the sides and going through the wider setting ¾ times, to allow the pasta to become more elastic. Repeat the operation until the paste is homogeneous and takes on a regular shape. Then pass from time to time to the thinnest thickness until you get a sheet of the desired thickness (about 2 / 3mm). Remember to lightly flour on both sides with each step.

• Keep the dough spread covered with a clean kitchen towel.

• Roll out a sheet on a lightly floured surface, spread a spoonful of filling on the long side of the sheet, spacing the piles well and moisten the pasta all around with water.

• Fold the other half of the sheet and seal the edges by pressing the pasta well between a pile of filling and the other with your fingers so as to release all the air.

• Cut the 8x8 cm ravioli with a pasta bowl or with the notched cutter wheel.

• Continue with the remaining dough and filling.

• Cook the ravioli in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for about 5 minutes.

• In the meantime, melt the butter with the sage leaves in a medium skillet.

• Drain the ravioli with a slotted spoon and put them directly on the plates, season with butter and sage and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

• Serve immediately.

TIP

The ravioli can be frozen, place them on a lightly floured tray. Once frozen, transfer them to a container or bag. The ravioli must be cooked when frozen.