Postcards from Capri: Just looooooove these...

When Francesco suggested me to order ravioli during my first stay in Capri I was like "Are you kidding me, I'm not going to eat boring tasteless ravioli!" Obviously not knowing what I was missing out on... Was I glad that he insisted because they were absolutely AMAZING!!! Tender, fluffy clouds of delight. Definitely one of my favorite dishes in the world.

Ravioli Capresi

Simple recipe, big mess. My kitchen (and I) looked kind of like the last scene of Scarface...
A tip from the cook; make a lot and freeze them for later. I made 120 ravioli with 1 kg of all-purpose flour (and some more for dusting), 1 liter of boiling water, 5 table spoons of olive oil extra vergine. For the filling you need 5 eggs, 700 grams of Caciotta di Sorrento cheese (ricotta), 400 grams of grated Parmesan, fresh marjoram leaves, salt and pepper.

La pasta (the dough)

On a clean surface combine the flour, water and olive oil and stir the ingredients with a fork to combine into a big ball.

Il ripieno (the filling)

Beat the eggs. Combine the Caciotta, Parmesan and the eggs. Stir well. Add the finely chopped marjoram, a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir again.

Dust the work surface and a rolling pin. Take one third of the dough and roll it into a thin (3 mm) rectangle. Place rounded teaspoons of cheese filling on one half of the rolled dough. Make sure that they're 1,5 cm apart. Gently fold the other part of the dough over the cheese filling. Use a small round cutter mold to cut out the ravioli. If you don't have a ravioli cutter mold use a knife to make small rounds (note; ravioli capresi are NOT SQUARE!). In this case you have to seal them by pressing the edges down with your fingertips. If you have an original italian stampo (mold) for ravioli capresi it's not necessary. Keep on cutting until there's no dough/filling left.

I guess portions of 8 to 10 ravioli a person are perfect. Just boil them in a large pot of salted water and take them out when they're floating. Serve them with a sauce of fresh pomodorini, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil leaves, oregano and peperoncino.

You'll love them!

P.S. If you're interested in a genuine capresi ravioli cutter send a mail to culinary@postcardsfromcapri.com