Raviolissimo

I have always wanted to learn how to turn out good homemade ravioli, but being of British/Scandinavian descent, I was at a distinct disadvantage. Together Harry and I tried a couple of times to make ravioli, but we failed miserably. I knew we needed a good Italian.

Our friend, Linda, gave us a ravioli making lesson last Friday. Linda and her sister, Nicki, have been making their grandmother's Christmas ravioli recipe together for the last 25 years. Their Italian grandmother came to this country when she was 16 and every Christmas, made ravioli for the family using a broom stick to roll out the pasta dough.

When we arrived at Linda's kitchen in Linden Hills last week, everything, except the broom stick, was ready for our lesson. Linda had spent two days preparing; making the meatballs, the sauce, the filling and the pasta dough. This time our ravioli making went perfectly. We were in the presence of a maestra. Linda taught us how to create the adorable little ravioli using grandma's techniques with the aid of a modern hand-cranked pasta machine. You roll the pasta dough through the hand-cranked machine until it is thin but not too thin. And don't be afraid of the flour you may have to add after kneading the dough so it won't stick in the machine. We learned how to squeeze the air gently out of the little pasta blobs before you cut them with the roller that also seals in the filling.

We drank a nice bottle of red wine after our efforts and took home a bag of the frozen ravioli, sauce, meatballs and ribs (the secret ingredient to the tasty sauce). We also took home a huge casserole of ravioli with sauce, meat and cheese which we ate for the next three days. I felt like I had died and gone to Italian heaven! We were given Grandma's recipes for the sauce, the filling and the pasta dough!!

For me, the love affair with ravioli began many years ago. I remember my dad would sometimes open a can of Chef Boyardee as a bedtime snack. I thought the perfect little pasta shapes were so cute! Nine times out of ten, I order ravioli when I eat in an Italian restaurant (the tenth time is gnocchi!). Of course, restaurant ravioli is usually better than Chef Boyardee, but not always. It is not easy to make good ravioli. Sometimes the filling or sauce isn't good, or the pasta is rubbery. To get it all perfect is complicated and it takes hours of work. A true labor of love.

A couple years back I happened upon the book, The Lost Ravioli Recipes of Hoboken, by Laura Schenone. The author, a food writer and chef, embarked on a very personal journey in search of her family's authentic ravioli recipe from the old country. What she learned disappointed her (cream cheese in the filling made by her great-grandmother? OMG!) but what she learned about herself was firmer than cream cheese. I sent my Italian friend a copy of the book and we began to talk about someday getting together to make ravioli.

I am grateful to Linda that the day happened and for all her hard work on our behalf. Harry and I are going to try making ravioli on our own next, and if Linda ever wants to learn to make Shepherd's Pie or Scotch eggs, or trifle, or Christmas Pudding, she just needs to say the word! None of these things are as difficult to make as ravioli, that's for sure!