Saffron is a very Sardinian ingredient and they often combine it with tomato, which works beautifully, adding a floral earthy note to the sweet acidity of tomatoes. I call this shape ravioli but probably it's more accurate to say 'pansotti', little bellies.
Course: Appetizer, Italian, Lunch, Main Course, Pasta, Sardinian, Vegetarian mains,
Cuisine: Italian, Sardinian
Keyword: Pasta, Sardinia, Vegetarian
Servings: 8
Equipment
Pasta roller
Ravioli cutter
cling film
Ingredients
450ghard durum wheat flour or 00 flouror 50/50 proportions of each flour. Leave some flour for dusting.
pinchsea salt
225mltepid water
generousslugOlive oil
500gfresh tomatoes, diced
pinchsaffron, ground
1tspsalt
300gricotta
2tbspsalt for the cooking water
fresh basil garnish
Instructions
Make the pasta dough. Or you can totally cheat by buying say, ricotta stuffed pasta and putting the tomato and saffron on top!
To make the ravioli:
Mix the flour, salt and water in a food processor. Process until it looks like couscous.
Remove from the processor and knead until it forms a ball.
Cover tightly with clingfilm and leave to rest for at least half an hour.
Cut the dough in half. Make sure the half you aren't using, is tightly covered with cling film.
At this point you can refrigerate the dough until ready to use. The longer you rest the dough, the easier it is to work with. Do not freeze.
Using a pasta machine, run it through. Then form an tongue of pasta, folded in half. Feed the open ended side through the machine as many times until you see a bubble and a pop form at the enclosed end. Then your pasta is ready to roll.
Run it through (unfolded now) on the machine from 0 to 7. It'll get longer everytime. Toward the end you may need to cut your pasta tongue in half again. Cover the other half that you aren't rolling with a damp teatowel or clingilm to stop it drying out. If it gets too dry, wet your hands with water and sprinkle it over the dough or use a spray bottle.
Finally lay out all your pasta, cover with damp tea towels or plastic sheets. Leave to 'cure'.
With the second ball of dough, you can either roll that out or leave to ferment for a couple of days. This way you are adding a sourdough flavour.
To make the stuffing
Fry the olive oil and tomatoes with the saffron and salt. Leave aside some to dot the top of the dish.
Mix the tomato/saffron with the ricotta. Add seasoning.
Constructing the ravioli
Using an 8 cm cutter, working with a small section at a time, leaving the rest covered, cut out circles.
Using a teaspoon, put a small ball of the mixture inside a pasta circle.
Press another pasta circle on top and seal the edges by wetting your fingers or using a pastry brush.
Once formed, leave on a floured tray, not touching each other until all the raviolis are made.
At this point they can be frozen on trays in the freezer, then removed, placed in a plastic bag in the freezer to be used later.
Cooking the ravioli
Boil a large pan with salty water.
Add the ravioli a few at a time until they float. Then drain.
Continue until you have enough for your dish/guests/meal.
Once cooked, add olive oil or butter, some diced tomatoes and sprigs of basil.