Try making your own homemade pasta with this recipe for mushroom ravioli in a walnut sauce, which comes from Puglia.
The cuisine of Puglia, deep in the south of Italy, is distinctive and delicious. Puglia may not be as well known as celebrated Italian regions such as Tuscany or Liguria. Fewer people go on holiday there for a start, and all most people know about Puglia are its famous trulli – those whitewashed conical houses.
An Appetite for Puglia
But now you can get cheap flights to Bari, the capital of Puglia, more people are discovering the beauty of the region. If you’re off to Puglia – or just interested in trying some recipes from the region, it’s worth checking out An Appetite for Puglia by Christine Smallwood (pub. BDP £19.99).
Homemade Pasta Recipe
To get a taste for Puglian food, try this recipe for Mushroom Ravioli in a Walnut Sauce taken, with permission, from the book. It’s a recipe that comes from La Taverna Li Jalantuúmene, a restaurant in Monte Sant’Angelo, a town in Puglia that sits high on a hill, overlooking endless olive groves.
Triangular Mushroom Ravioli in a Walnut Sauce – Recipe (Triangoli ai Porcini in Salsa di Noci)
Ingredients – Serves 4
For the Walnut sauce
200 g walnuts, shelled and chopped finely
Extra virgin olive oil
30 g Parmesan
Pepper
½ clove garlic
For the Pasta
375 g ‘00’ flour
125 g semolina
Salt
3 eggs
1 spoon extra virgin olive oil
Water as needed
For the Ravioli filling
200 g porcini mushrooms, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
500 g fresh goat’s ricotta, sieved
Small bunch parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Method
Before making the walnut sauce, separate a small quantity of the walnuts for a garnish. Then put the remainder and the other ingredients in a blender, with plenty of oil and when blitzed, keep to one side.
Make the filling by frying the mushrooms in the oil and garlic, and then mixing with the ricotta and parsley. Season to taste and leave to cool.
Make the pasta by mixing the flour, semolina and salt with the eggs. Add water and oil as needed. Work the dough until it becomes soft and elastic. With the use of a rolling pin and extra flour to prevent sticking, roll out 4 thin sheets. Cut into triangles, with a knife or pasta cutter and leave to rest for an hour.
Place a teaspoon of filling on the pasta and press closed with your fingers; eggs or milk will not be needed. Boil in plenty of salted boiling water, and drain when just al dente.
Heat the walnut sauce in a frying pan and coat the ravioli lightly with the sauce on the heat. Serve immediately with a few chopped walnuts.
The copyright of the article Homemade Ravioli in Walnut Sauce in Regional Italian Specialties is owned by Rebecca Ford. Permission to republish Homemade Ravioli in Walnut Sauce must be granted by the author in writing.