AGNOLOTTI

Italian Pasta

AGNOLOTTI ( baby ravioli ) the pronunciation annyeeolottee.

Ingredients

  • The Italian rule of thumb is 1 egg to 3/4 cup of flour per person. If this is your first time, start out with a smaller batch if you want.
  • 4-6 large eggs
  • 3-4 cups sifted all-purpose flour; In Italy they would use half Durum and half Semolina flour.
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • Shhh; the water, "if you must"
  • FILLING:
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 lb. ground beef (85-90% fat)
  • 1 pint ricotta cheese
  • A good handful of fresh grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 2-3 cloves of fresh minced garlic
  • 10-12 fresh basil leaves chopped
  • 1/2 bunch finely chopped parsley
  • Some good olive oil

Directions

As far as the dough goes, make it however you make it; by hand on a large cutting board, your table or in a machine?? My father would use a large piece of plywood that cut to fit over the end of the table and that was his pasta board. Place the sifted flour in a mound in the center of your pasta board push the flour away from the center to shape it like a bowl. Add 4 eggs, a pinch of salt, and start mixing by hand. Keep kneading it and eventually it will become dough. If it's kind of wet and keeps sticking to your hands, add a little flour or sprinkle some on the board as your kneading it. In the same token, if it's too dry add a splash of water. When ready, form it into a ball and set aside for 30-45 minutes with a dry dishtowel over it.
Heat a 12" sauté pan to med-high then add a little oil just cover the bottom. Break up the ground beef in small pieces and sauté. Sprinkle with S&P and garlic to taste. As cooking keep breaking up the meat into small pieces almost like you were mashing it. While the meat is cooking, beat the eggs in a in a med. size bowl and then remove about 1/4 of it and set aside for later use. Add the ricotta cheese, some grated cheese, S&P to taste and some basil and parsley. Mix together until blended. When the meat is done remove it from the burner and drain off most of the liquid. After it cools down somewhat, mix it with the cheese mixture and set aside.
Time to make the pasta! If you have made ravioli before, do it your own way. If not, roll out the dough thinly and cut into 1 & 1/2 inch strips. The Agnolotti's are going to be about 3/4 inch squares. Place a dab of stuffing along half of the strips about every 3/4 of an inch or so and brush the other side with the leftover egg. Fold the dough over and press the edges firmly with your fingers and don't forget to press between the stuffing also. Then, cut them with a with a pastry wheel. My father would roll the dough into a 2 foot circle, spread the filling on half of it, fold the dough over and roll out the ravioli with a special rolling pin with squares in it just for ravioli then cut them with a with a pastry wheel. Talk about mass production, he would make 2-3 hundred on a Sunday morning.
Put the pasta water on and bring to a boil. Add some salt and the pasta slowly and stir very gently or you'll bust them up. Remember, this is fresh pasta and should be done in about 3-5 min. "AL DENTE". DO NOT OVER COOK. Rule of thumb is when fresh pasta comes to the surface it's done. Drain pasta but DO NOT RINSE.
Layer each serving dish with some sauce and place the pasta flat on the plate, right side up. Drizzle a little sauce over the top of the pasta; sprinkle with graded cheese and for garnish sprinkle with parsley and basil.
This will be "del'arte di mangiare bene. (The art of eating well )

Buona Appetito, VINCENZO


Agnolotti: the pronunciation annyeeolottee. The dish comes from the Piedmont region of Italy. It's stuffed pasta similar to ravioli but smaller. They are small squares about 3/4 of an inch to an inch and stuffed with a variety of fillings. It could be anything from different cheeses, meat, veggies or any combination thereof. These pastas are quite often filled with leftovers as to get a second meal out of it and still have something a little different. When I was young, we just called them baby ravioli's and would normally be in soup. This recipe has a simple filling that my father would when he made them but you can use anything. My Father loved to make homemade pasta. Rest assured all our pasta wasn't homemade. Pop enjoyed making three things and it was usually was on a Sunday morning or a holiday. He made Ravioli, Cavatelli and Egg Noodles (Fettuccine). My mother would put a clean sheet over the top of the bed spread and layout the pasta to dry as Pop cranked away; it was like a production line with flour all over the floor. As far as the dough goes, make it however you make it; by hand on a large cutting board, your table or in a machine. My father would use a large piece of plywood that cut to fit over the end of the table and that was his pasta board. TAKE OFF YOUR RINGS AND WATCH AND ROLL UP YOUR SLEVES. Place the sifted flour in a mound in the center of your pasta board push the flour away from the center, all the way down to the surface, to shape it like a bowl. Add 4 eggs, a sprinkle of salt and start beating the eggs with a fork in one hand and little by little start scooping in the flour with the other. As it starts to thicken start mixing with both hands. Keep kneading it and eventually it will become dough. If it's kind of wet and keeps sticking to your hands, add a little flour or sprinkle some on the board as your kneading it. In the same token, if it's too dry add a splash of water but don't let my father see you. When ready, form it into workable baseball size balls and set aside for 30-45 minutes with a dry dishtowel over it. When it rises, roll it out and go to it.

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Submitted 11/9/05.
Source: SOUTH SIDE SOCIAL CLUB COOKBOOK
Submitted By: VINCENZO PAOLINO
vin.paolino@verizon.net
AGNOLOTTI