Despite the linguistic similarity, raviolos are not related to the well-known ravioli, but are elongated "gnocchi" = elongated dumplings made from finely-prepared potato dough. The name, it is said, comes from its peculiar shape, as "raviolare" means to roll a small piece of pasta on a wooden board with the palm of your hand.
In general, raviolos are a very special dish for the Valle Maira and other Occitan valleys. And definitely not to be missed when visiting the Locanda Mistral.
Butter and cheese from the valley are needed to flavour this dish, giving the raviolo its distinctive delicate flavour. We recommend using the local "Toma" cheese.
The main ingredient of the recipe is potato, which used to be an essential part of the pantry. However, raviolos were not an everyday dish, but were only prepared for special occasions.
Ingredients
- 1 kg floury potatoes
- 200 g 00 flour
- 100 grams of butter
- 3 whole eggs
- Enough salt and local cheese tailored to personal taste
Preparation
Boil the unpeeled potatoes, drain and peel while still hot. Then mash with a potato masher and work the flour and eggs into a dough that does not stick to your fingers.
Now it's time to “raviolare” and shape into oblong dumplings. To do this, cut the dough into 4 to 5cm-long pieces and roll them between your hands into long grissini / long sticks. Bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a saucepan and cook the raviolos.
When the raviolos rise to the surface in the boiling salted water, drain with a slotted spoon and serve on plates with golden butter and grated local cheese.
Manuela's tips:
For a good result, Manuela recommends paying particular attention to the following factors:
Manuela's grandmother's recipe called for it this way - the raviolos are served with almost fried butter. Nowadays, of course, this is a breach of all common dietary rules. Feel free to ask - in the Locanda Mistral you can enjoy the raviolos as they were back then.
Just try it yourself. If the result isn't what you hoped for, then you’re more than welcome to eat the Occitan raviolos together with us.
Manuela and the team from the Locanda Mistral wish you every success and we look forward to hearing how you fared with the Raviolos :-)
