Potato Ravioli with Meat Ragu
To the average American, it can seem like most of the Italian cuisine is just various combinations of pasta, either tomato or meat sauce, and a bit of cheese, and, well…this dish won’t really break that stereotype, but it will be delicious.
This very unique recipe for potato-filled ravioli served with meat sauce, known in Italy as Tortelli di Mugello, comes from the town of Mugello, located just North of Florence, and might be double carbs, but it is double carbs done in an incredible way. Today, I will walk you through the steps on how to make this rustic dish at home the easy way.
Classic recipes for this sauce are made with beef, that is my preference and is what I’ll be using today, but some recipes also call for ground wild boar or even rabbit meat…don’t worry, no rabbits were harmed in the making of this recipe.
Serves 4
Time: 2 1/2 hours
For the Meat Sauce:
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 pound of ground beef
A 14 ounce can of crushed tomatoes or passata
Salt and Pepper
For the Pasta:
14 ounces of 00 or All purpose flour
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of olive oil
For the Tomato Sauce (This will become part of the ravioli filling):
2 garlic cloves, minced
A handful of chopped parsley
3 tablespoons of olive oil
9 ounces of crushed tomatoes or passata
Salt and Pepper
For the Filling:
1 1/2 pounds of Russet or any starchy potato
3 tablespoons of grated parmesan
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Step 1: Make the Meat Sauce
(There’s no particular order you need to do the components for this dish, but I recommend starting with the meat sauce as it takes a while to simmer. Everything else can be done while that’s doing it’s thing.)
In a Dutch oven or any heavy-bottomed pot, combine the veggies and parsley and cook over low heat without any oil for about 10 minutes, or until the veggies have given up most of their liquid. Add the olive oil, then continue cooking, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for 15 more minutes or until the veggies are very soft.
(I know it sounds like a long time to be cooking vegetables, but this is where lots of flavor is being developed.)
Add the ground beef, then cook, breaking up the beef with a wooden spoon, until the beef is starting to brown and no traces of pink remain; it’ll take at least 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes then fill your tomato can about half full with water, give that a swirl, and add that in as well. Give the sauce a pinch of salt and pepper. Be cautious with the salt at this point because the sauce is going to reduce; cover the pot, then let the sauce gently simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Make the Pasta
(If you’ve been following Pastalove then you should, no doubt, know how to make great pasta dough, but here’s the rundown.)
Dump all of your flour into a mound on a clean workbench, create a well in the middle, then add in the eggs and oil.
Use a fork to beat the eggs and slowly start incorporating the flour a little bit at a time.
Once the dough is stiff enough that a fork won’t do it justice, get your hands in there and knead the dough for at least 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. You might not need all of that flour, but any excess can be used as bench flour for when you roll out the dough later.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, or cover with an inverted bowl, and leave the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes.
Step 3: Make the Tomato Sauce
(If you have the time, you could do this before making the meat sauce so you don’t end up dirtying up another pot.)
In a separate pot, combine the garlic, parsley, and oil, then heat that over medium-low heat until the garlic is soft but not golden.
Add the tomatoes and a splash of water, bring that to a boil, then let it simmer away for at least 15 minutes, or until the sauce is very thick. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4: Make the Filling
While both sauces are simmering and the pasta is resting, peel the potatoes, cut them into even-sized chunks, and place them into a pot of cold salted water. Bring that to a boil, then let that cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fall-apart tender.
(By the way, you don’t have to throw away the water used to cook the potatoes. Reserve it and use that to cook your pasta later.)
Remove the potatoes from the water, then pass them through a ricer or mash with a potato masher to get a fine texture. Stir in the parmesan, nutmeg, and about 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. The potatoes should turn orange and have a bit more depth of flavor, but you can add more sauce if you’d like. Let that cool while you roll out the pasta.
Any leftover sauce can be added to the meat sauce for extra flavor.
Step 5: Roll out and fill your ravioli
Use a pasta machine or rolling pin to roll out the pasta dough as thin as possible, it may be easier to cut the dough in half and work with half at a time. Cut the dough into 1-foot-long sheets, then keep any sheets you’re not using under a damp towel.
Pinch out walnut-sized balls of the potato filling and place them in a line about 2 inches apart on one sheet of pasta on the half closest to you. Fold the other end of the pasta over the filling then use your fingers to press out the air around the balls of filling and press the two halves of dough together.
Use either a ravioli cutter or a knife to trim away the excess pasta and cut into individual squares. Repeat this until you’ve used up all of your pasta and/or filling.
Step 6: Cook the Ravioli
When the meat sauce is closer to being done, bring the pot of water used to cook the potatoes back to a boil. Gently lower your ravioli into the water and let that simmer for about 3-4 minutes, or until the ravioli floats to the top.
(I do suggest leaving the ravioli in the water a bit longer than you’d normally cook fresh pasta as you want to ensure the filling gets warmed through and the pasta becomes nice and tender.)
Drain the ravioli, then carefully lay onto a serving platter and top with a generous amount of that delicious meat sauce.
Note: Mugello locals don’t typically top this dish with grated cheese, but what you do is between you and your cheese grater.
I cannot say enough good things about this dish, it’s almost like gnocchi and pasta bolognese got together and made a glorious baby.
That fluffy potato filling laced with a hint of depth from that tomato sauce, the tender pasta, the rich and meaty meat sauce, all come together in perfect harmony for a rustic, delicious dish that you don’t have to be an Italian grandmother to make.
