For Christmas a contagious first course. Special ravioli!
And as every year, we think about what to cook: from ravioli, to baked pasta, risottos, roasts, sweet panettones, and other delicacies
We have an Italy rich in regional delights, every dish prepared reflects tradition. And sometimes we want to change, while remaining faithful to traditions maybe with just an aesthetic change and my ravioli have turned into trees with little stars.
A festive first course, a very simple first course to prepare and then, the sauce is made in no time. A little cheese, a little milk, and leeks. Here is the secret revealed for such goodness
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 2 Hours
- Portions: 20
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
These ravioli with potatoes, leeks, and cheese are not only prepared at Christmas, but by changing their shape, they can be prepared whenever the craving calls.
P.S. The quantities for the sauce are for four people, so 12 ravioli.
- 14 oz remilled durum wheat semolina (Plus extra flour for the table)
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons Spirulina (Powdered)
- 2 teaspoons boiled beetroot (Powdered, alternatively 1 finely blended and sifted beetroot to remove liquid)
- 1.1 lbs potatoes, skin-on, boiled
- 1 stem thyme
- a few sage (Leaves)
- 3.5 oz Grana Padano DOP
- 2 pinches nutmeg
- 3.5 oz Grated Grana Padano
- 1 oz butter
- 1.25 cups milk
- 1 leek (Small)
- 1 tablespoon flour (Scant)
- to taste salt
- to taste olive oil
Tools
A bowl, pasta sheeter, and small cookie cutters
- Bowls
- Pasta Sheeters
- Molds
Steps
You won’t need many steps, just a bit of patience!
Knead the semolina, eggs, and colored powders separately…
Mix the powders with the flour, I also made a neutral one. Add the eggs and knead until you get a homogeneous dough. Cover with plastic wrap until use
In a bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, herbs, and cheese. Mix well
Roll out the pasta
Roll the sheets and cut the stars; apply them on the top only on the upper sheets, and pass with the rolling pin to fix them
Some I made in squares to make
Stars with the same filling to see which shape worked best. They all hold up well during cooking and the stars or stripes don’t escape.
Tree-shaped ravioli ready!
In a pan, sauté the sliced leeks to soften them
Then add the flour and mix well.
Finally, add the Grana, and the milk, let it thicken slightly until you get a fluid consistency, if needed add a drop of milk.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water and season with the leek and cheese sauce. Exquisite!
You can store your ravioli:
In the freezer, if you don’t cook them immediately on a tray over baking paper and then transfer them into a bag once frozen. Once cooked, you can safely store them in the refrigerator for two days.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Do you need to wet the dough to attach the stars?
No, it’s not necessary; fresh pasta has the right humidity, just press them a little with the rolling pin, the same goes for the stripes.
