Small dumplings, most often square shape, stuffed with meat, cottage cheese or cheese, vegetables – ravioli - one of the most popular Italian dishes after pizza and paste. Boiled in broth, they are given with dense creamy, tomato or other fragrant sauces. But they aren't less tasty both simply watered with quality olive oil and strewed with parmesan.
History ravioli
The first mention about ravioli belongs to the 14th century. In letters of Francesco di Marco, the merchant from Tuscany, the recipe of small square dumplings with a stuffing from the crushed herbs mixed with crude egg and a grated cheese is described. These dumplings were called равиоло. In the cult "Decameron" of Giovanni Boccaccio which was issued also about the middle of the 14th century, the author wrote about the heroes: "they made nothing yet, but put to cook pasta and ravioli". It is surprising what at the same time about ravioli was written in the ancient Anglo-Norman manuscript, as about a dish whose recipe was brought from Malta.
Later about ravioli it will be written in the 16th century. These dumplings filled with forcemeat from chicken meat were served to a table on the papal conclave of 1549 by the famous cook Bartolomeo Scappi. Later he will publish the cult recipe-book Opera dell'arte del cucinare by which the people who are interested in cookery still become engrossed in reading. He will bring in it, among other, and the recipe of ravioli. By the 17th century, ravioli with a vegetable stuffing became traditional food of Italians on fast Fridays and during the Lent.
Such different ravioli
Ravioli do with the most various stuffing. There are dozens of various regional recipes, the most known of them it:
- potato ravioli from Lazio; - salad ravioli радичьо in a Veronese way; - ravioli in Sardinian with cottage cheese and a lemon dried peel; - Neapolitan fried ravioli; - meat ravioli in Milan. The most popular forcemeat for ravioli is done of spinach, ricotta and parmesan it is called di магро, that is "for thin". With such stuffing these "pelmeshka" give in fast days (Catholics have a bit different ideas of fast dishes, than at Orthodox Christians). The little less often ravioli fill with forcemeat from ricotta, the crushed greens of parsley, crude egg and parmesan. Such ravioli give in dense tomato sauce. Gourmets choose recipes of ravioli with a stuffing from anchovies, mozzarella and raisin or with sturgeon in shrimp sauce, lentil and pancetta ravioli, with pumpkin and nutmeg turn out tasty. There are also sweet ravioli, for them the stuffing to a ricotta stuffing is added by fresh berries and fruit, honey, season it with cinnamon and cardamom. As not always ravioli do square and fill with different forcemeat, sometimes it is very difficult not to confuse them with other types of the Italian dumplings. For example ravioli differ from a tortella for which northern Italy is famous only in the smaller sizes. Ravioli are considered as a version the Piedmont angolott, the Parma anolin, the Ligurian panzott.