Recipe: Big Mamma's giant raviolo carbonara
Serves 4
- 400g fresh pasta
- Four egg yolks
- 80g pecorino, grated
- 20g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- 150g ricotta
- 200g guanciale
- Black pepper quanto basta (as much as needed)
Prepare the stuffing: mix the ricotta with 60g of pecorino and 10g of Parmigiano. Add a generous flurry of freshly ground pepper (this changes everything). Cut half the guanciale into matchsticks (listarelle in Italian) and brown them in a saucepan. Set aside, still in the pan. Once the guanciale matchsticks have cooled, add them to the cheese mixture.
Prepare the ravioli: roll out the pasta dough to obtain a sheet 2mm thick. Cut out eight discs 18cm in diameter (you can use a bowl or a large mug, or even a kid's pencil pot, provided it's circular and the right size). Add a spoonful of stuffing to half the discs, about 7-8cm in diameter.
Sprinkle 10g of Parmigiano on top, then add an egg yolk to the centre of the stuffing. Close the raviolo with another disc of pasta. Squeeze the edges together to ensure that they are closed tight. Put the raviolo in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 2½ minutes maximum (the egg yolk should be runny). Drain very very carefully in a sieve or with a slotted spoon, as it's a fragile little thing. Repeat this for the remaining three ravioli.
Looks are everything here: if you want to be a top chef, try to avoid any cooking water going on the plates. Place the sieve on a tea towel before transferring the raviolo to a plate.
Slice and brown the remaining guanciale in a frying pan and spoon it straight onto the ravioli, along with its fat (waste not, want not!). Sprinkle on the remaining 20g grated pecorino. If you're feeling fancy, you can grind some more fresh pepper on top – and there you are, a tavola!
Taken from Big Mamma: Italian Recipes in 30 Minutes by Big Mamma (White Lion Publishing, £25)
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