Ravioli sweet of Bologna. Here is my recipe, many rounds, many ideas. We really have an embarrassment of choices when it comes to getting to know our culinary heritage.
I couldn’t say which region to put first; certainly I know some regions better than others, but I assure you you never finish discovering something special.
Sweet raviolo of Bologna, even if as an imported recipe Anita used to make simple and tasty sweet ravioli. Amaretti and plums in the filling — I loved that combination; last year I gathered many wild plums, so I had no problem creating something special.
A rich, crumbly shortcrust pastry that wraps a filling that takes you back in time when you remember it; amaretti in many recipes of cooking served as the base for many fillings — who knows why? Dry amaretti were produced in many Italian areas, among the first the Piedmont, Liguria and Sicily, with “armelline” (the apricot kernel) at a price that allowed their use to give intense flavors and aromas, or almonds where cultivation was abundant. Now we find them everywhere, but once they were more common in warmer regions. While in the north apricots prevailed, which explains this difference.
Some regional sweet recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 30 ravioli
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Father's Day, All seasons
Ingredients for Bologna ravioli
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/8 cups unsalted butter (cold, cut into pieces (about 8.8 oz))
- 1 packet baking powder
- 2 eggs
- to taste lemon zest
- to taste plum jam
- 7 oz amaretti (dry)
Useful tools for making Bologna ravioli
Mixing bowl or stand mixer, rolling pin and cookie cutter, bowl for mixing the filling… You can find the tools I use in my buying guide
- Kitchen scales
- Stand mixers
Steps
One of the traditional recipes that is easy to make and delicious to remember. Sometimes they open at the top — for me it’s not a problem; you can glimpse the filling and it makes you want to taste them even more.
Prepare the shortcrust pastry by mixing the flour, sugar and baking powder, then add the cold butter cut into pieces, the eggs and the lemon zest. Once you have a dough ball, let it rest about half an hour in the refrigerator in a covered container so the surface does not dry out. Meanwhile prepare the filling: chop the amaretti and mix them with the plum jam. Make a soft but not too wet mixture.
After the necessary resting time, roll out the dough on your work surface and cut disks about 2 3/8 inches in diameter.
Place the filling on each disk.
Fold into a half-moon and, using the tines of a fork, crimp the edge as shown in the photo.
Brush or dust the surface with sugar and bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 15 minutes. Bake until nicely golden.
The sweet ravioli of Bologna are ready to enjoy. Try “dipping” them in a good white wine or serve with hot chocolate. And eat them whenever you crave something good! In the province of Bologna many towns even hold festivals dedicated to this tasty raviolo.
