Uovo In Raviolo Con Tartufi Bianchi
Homemade Raviolo filled with Egg yolk with White Truffles
By Chef Odette Fada, Sandomenico Restaurant,
New York, NY

If ever there was a more voluptuous, even decadent, and defining dish of modern Italian cuisine, this is a single, large raviolo stuffed with a barely cooked egg yolk that spills forth into a sauce of brown butter under a mantle of outrageously expensive white truffles (when in season)

The dish was created by famous chef Nino Bergese (chef of the last king of Italy) and then passed on to chef Valentino Mercattillii of the trend-setting San Domenico restaurant in Imola, outside of Bologna (a city known for its gastronomic excess by the sobriquet Bologna La Grassa ñ Fat Bologna). When San Domenico's owner Gianluigi Morini went into a consulting agreement with Neapolitan born New York restaurateur Tony May to open San Domenico in Manhattan, this signature dish was introduced by Chef Valentino Mercattillii and became the centerpiece for a kind of exquisite Italian cooking never before seen in the U.S..

Although Morini and Chef Mercattilii are no longer associated with the New York San Domenico, Tony May and his chef Odette Fada have kept this glorious pasta dish on the menu, and it is not particularly difficult to make at home. The shavings of white truffles, which cost thousands of dollars per kilo, are optional, of course, but this is one special dish that deserves full tilt, spare-no-expense hedonism.

Serves: 4

Ingredients: (For pasta dough)
1 cup “00" flour
3 eggs
a pinch of salt

Ingredients: (For filling)
1/2 cup sautéed spinach
1/2 cup ricotta
3 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano
5 large egg
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
white pepper freshly ground
a pinch of salt
2 oz. white truffles
3 1/2 oz. butter

Procedures:
1. Prepare the pasta dough with the white flour, the eggs and salt. Knead well and set aside.

2. Finely chop the spinach. In a bowl mix thoroughly the spinach with the ricotta, half the Parmigiano and egg. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. This stuffing should not be too stiff. Roll out the pasta dough fairly thin and cut 8 circles by 4î in diameter.

3. Place 4 circles of the pasta dough on a sheet of waxed paper. Place equal portions of the ricotta-spinach mixture on four of the rounds.

4. Separate the yolks from the whites of the remaining 4 eggs. Make a slight indentation in each mound of the mixture, then carefully place 1 egg yolk in the indentation. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Brush the edges of the pasta circles with a little cold water, cover with the remaining 4 circles of pasta and press together to seal, eliminating as much air as possible from the insides.

6. Bring a pot of water to the boil, add 2 tbs. coarse sea salt and carefully ease the ravioli into the water. Cook for 3 minutes.

7. While the ravioli are cooking, melt the butter in a saucepan over high heat, just until the butter takes on a light brown color.

8. Drain the ravioli and place them on 4 individual heated plates. Sprinkle generously with the remaining Parmigiano, then pour the browned butter on the ravioli.

Shave the white truffles over just before serving.

Other Chef Odette Fada Recipes:
Polipetti Affogati
(Baby Mediterranean Octopus Poached with Tomatoes and Olives)

Raviolini Capresi Con Passato Di Pomodorini Di Collina
(Homemade raviolini Caprese filled with caciotta cheese in a strained tomato sauce)

Uovo In Raviolo
Homemade Raviolo filled with Egg yolk with White Truffles)

Restaurant and Chef Links:
Sandomenico NY Restaurant
Executive Chef Odette Fada
Events