Beetroot Fillings for Ravioli w/ Poppy Seeds

Beetroot ravioli Casunziei all’Ampezzana)
from https://www.the-pasta-project.com/

This incredibly flavorful homemade ravioli recipe from Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Italian mountains pairs beetroot and potato filled ravioli with melted butter and poppy seeds. Not only do these raviolis look beautiful but the combination of the flavors and textures makes this a dish to impress guests with. Casunziei all’ampezzana, are a wonderful example of traditional Italian mountain fare.

Casunziei all’ampezzana is an example of the influence of the centuries-old Austro-Hungarian domination of the Ampezzo area, which only ended with the First World War. Beetroots are a typical Eastern European ingredient as is the poppy seed garnish.

I have come across recipes for beetroot ravioli with ricotta instead of potatoes. Although delicious, this isn’t traditional in Cortina, where ricotta is used with wild spinach in a summer version of casunziei, but not with beets.

For the ravioli dough
7 ounces Italian soft wheat flour or all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 pinch salt
warm water as required

For the ravioli filling.
14 ounces beetroot (cooked)
3 potatoes (starchy) (medium)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper.

For the condiment
3.5 ounces unsalted butter
2.5 ounces Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano grated (or vegetarian parmesan)
poppy seeds

If using uncooked beetroot
Cook the beets in a little water (just enough to cover them), or steam them so they don’t absorb any more water. When a fork can easily pierce the beets, drain and peel them. Grate the cooked and cooled beetroot into a sieve and let any liquid drain for at least one hour.

Make the pasta dough
Sieve the flour into a bowl, add one egg and one egg yolk to the flour with a pinch of salt. Use a fork to beat the eggs and incorporate them into the flour until well mixed. Then use your hands to knead the mixture, adding a little water at a time until you have a dough that no longer sticks to the side of the bowl and your hands.

Turn the dough out onto a flour dusted work top or pastry board and knead for up to 10 minutes until the dough is quite smooth and elastic. Roll it into a ball and wrap it in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Make the ravioli filling.
Boil unpeeled potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Drain and then peel the potatoes. I used a potato ricer which works without peeling the potatoes. The peel remains in the ricer while the cooked potato passes through the holes. If you don’t have a ricer grate the cooked potato after peeling it.

Next, if you haven’t already done so, grate the beetroot into a bowl. Then add it to the grated potato with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Mix and mash the potato and beet together using a fork.

Make the pasta sheets.
Cut off ¼ ofthe pasta dough ball and rewrap the rest to keep it from drying out. Flatten the dough slightly with a rolling pin or your hands. Pass it through the widest setting of your pasta machine (mine is 7, some are no 1). Fold the dough sheet in thirds and pass it through the widest setting again, narrow side first. Repeat.

Next, pass the dough sheet through the 3rd widest setting (mine is 5) and then through the 5th widest setting (mine is 3). The pasta sheets for beetroot ravioli need to be quite fine so that the colour of the filling shows through when the ravioli is cooked. However, the narrowest setting on hand operated pasta machines may produce dough that’s too fine and liable to break.

Make the beetroot ravioli
Lay a dough sheet onto a flour dusted surface. Use a glass or cookie cutter to cut out 8cm discs. Place a small teaspoon of filling on the centre of the pasta discs, wet the edges with a little water using your index finger and then fold the pasta over the filling to create half-moons (mezze lune).

Use the tines of a fork to crimp and seal the edges of your beet ravioli. Place the ready casunziei on a flour dusted tray. Semolina flour is best for this. I used a tray covered in oven paper. Repeat with the rest of the pasta dough, one quarter at a time.

Cook and serve your casunziei.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and then add salt and bring to a boil again. In the meantime, melt the butter in a frying pan that’s large enough to hold the ravioli. Add the poppy seeds to the butter so they cook a little but don’t let the butter brown.

Cook the ravioli in the boiling water. After they rise to the surface, leave them for a minute and then remove with a slotted spoon and add them to the melted butter and poppy seeds. You will probably need to cook the ravioli in batches to avoid crowding the pan.

Toss the cooked ravioli gently in the butter and serve immediatelywith grated grana or parmigiano if required.

Servings 4