Italy meets The Netherlands: Ravioli con Gouda e cavolo nero
This is a recipe that came about, based on a traditional Italian one: Ravioli con Ricotta e spinaci. At the time I imagined this recipe, I was living in Holland, and this combination seemed quite natural:
Ravioli con cavolo nero e Gouda
A specific variety of Kale (Brassica oleracea var. sabellica), or "Cavolo nero" in Italian, is referred to in
The Netherlands as Boerenkool (pronounced: booren coal), meaning, basically, Farmer's cabbage. This kind of Brassica is packed with Vitamin A and C, hence highly desirable in our diet, as are most Brassicas. Of course, when I say diet, I am referring to our daily food palette, and not, as unfortunately it has often come to mean, starving and depriving the body, as well as the utter nonsense or removing starches (rice, couscous, pasta, potatoes, bread, etc...) out of our diet. See my articles on the Asian and Mediterranean diets by clicking here.
Depending on whether it is a main dish or only a "primo piatto" (starter), the ingredients will serve 4 to 6. 100 gr is equivalent to 3 1/2 oz:
For the pasta (dough)
300 gr flour (fine, such as Italian double zero) OR
200 gr flour and 100 gr finely ground semolina
3 eggs
salt/pepper
Come visit our underground Trattoria in The Hague, Netherlands where we make seasonal ravioli as part of your menu; we are Home of the home-made pasta, fresh produce from The Hague Market and we have a FREE bottle of Italian wine for you with every meal. Our way of saying "Welcome!". More on us? Click here now.
-combine all ingredients and knead till you get a homogeneous, fluffy yet firm mass. If it gets a bit dry while mixing, add a few sprinkles of water. Let rest for a few minutes. In the meanwhile, make the stuffing. As you finish the stuffing, start rolling out your dough (unless you have an automatic or hand-operated pasta machine). Roll it out to about 1 mm (0.04 inch) or just slightly more. For a more rustic feel, leave dough a little thicker, perhaps 2 or 3 mm. The thinnest version needs to simmer (not cook) for about 10 minutes. How do you determine simmer? Bring water to a gentle boil, then roll back the fire till the superficies of the water moves gently.
For the stuffing
400 gr Brassica, finely chopped (if you pre-simmer it for some 2-3 mins, it will offer a softer feel in the cooked ravioli. If you don't precook it, it will offer a more "al dente" feel, which I, personally, prefer)
300 gr Gouda, not very cured (of course, you can use Cheddar or Emmental instead), finely chopped
optional: 100 gr bread crumbs, preferably wholewheat bread (stale/day before's bread is best. This will confer more body to the stuffing)
a sprinkle of nutmeg
salt/pepper
-add all ingredients in a bowl, amalgamate well.
For the Sauce
100 gr butter or extra virgin olive oil
a few sage leaves (saute' them in butter or oil, till they change color, over gentle fire. This will bring out their marvelous scent and wonderfully perfume your butter/oil. If you like beurre noisette [brown butter], you might need to turn up the heat a little more).
ENJOY !
