Potato ravioli with prosciutto and pine nuts in a light cream sauce. The potato filling is flavoured with parmesan, sage and lemon for a creamy, luscious pasta filling. The thin prosciutto draped over the top adds the perfect salty finishing touch. Don't let a dish like this intimidate you, I promise it's so achievable!
Hello! So this dish is a straight replica from a dish I heard about on my favourite podcast Off Menu. Ed Gamble, one of the hosts was talking about a dish he had eaten at Cafe Paci which was a potato filled ravioli with prosciutto draped over top. I knew I HAD to make it, it was haunting me!
The ravioli is a simple square shape and you can use my guide to easy homemade ravioli or you could use the filling for any shape you like! Potato is a really traditional ravioli filling. You might think the carb on carb action is too much but it's surprisingly light.
Ingredients
The ravioli
Pasta - You will use my homemade pasta dough recipe which is the perfect base for the ravioli.
Potatoes - I use a floury variety, they are called agria in New Zealand. It won't make a huge difference what you use.
Lemon - Lemon zest adds a freshness to the filling and helps to cut through the richness of the entire dish.
Sage - Fresh sage adds a lovely flavour note. You could also use rosemary, thyme or a combination.
The sauce
Cream - Use a light cream, I even add pasta water to it to make it less rich.
Parmesan - Adding parmesan to the cream gives it flavour as well as seasoning.
Pine nuts - The pine nuts add a great crunch and toasty flavour to the dish. Toast them in a fry pan first.
Prosciutto - I absolutely love the way the prosciutto drapes over the pasta. Visually it's so amazing but it also adds the perfect salty hit to the dish.
Equipment you'll need
- Pasta roller - Yes you can roll pasta out by hand with a rolling pin but a pasta roller really is the easiest and fastest way. I use both a Marcato 150 and the kitchen aid pasta attachment.
- Wooden chopping board - It always works best making pasta on a wooden surface.
- Sharp knife or pizza cutter - To cut the edges of ravioli you need a sharp knife to get good clean cuts, a pizza cutter is great! An optional tool for cutting the edges is a fluted pasta and pastry wheel.
Optional equipment
- A potato ricer - It just creates a lighter filling but a normal potato masher is fine.
- Piping bag - I prefer piping filling onto the pasta, it's easier and cleaner in my opinion. You can of course just dollop the filling on with a spoon.
Homemade pasta
If you haven't made my homemade pasta dough then you're in for a treat, it's the perfect dough for this ravioli. I weigh my eggs to make the perfect ratio of eggs to flour. Eggs vary in weight a lot so weighing them ensures a perfectly hydrated dough every time. I put a bowl on my scales then crack eggs in one by one until I reach 226g. It will be around 4, depending on the size of your eggs.
With homemade pasta you can use all '00' or plain flour or a mix of '00' and fine semolina. I sometimes like adding 50g of semola rimacinata (you can find it easily online). It adds a bite to the texture. My dough recipe also has in-depth instructions on how to roll the perfect pasta sheets.
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How to make the potato filling
Potato fillings are traditional to Tuscany in Italy, it's such a simple but delicious filling. It's creamy and surprisingly light. I would really advise you use a potato ricer if you have one, it makes the filling really light.
- Boil the potatoes until soft.
- Pass the potato pieces through a potato ricer or mash.
- Mix in all the other ingredients and season to taste.
- Transfer to a piping bag or keep in the bowl until you need.
I always suggest using a piping bag for ravioli. You can buy reusable ones and it just makes the whole process a lot cleaner and tidier than using a spoon. You could use a snap lock bag with the corner cut off too.
How to make the ravioli
Lucky for you I have a brand new guide on how to make homemade ravioli. It's the very traditional square shape. You could make any shape you like but it does suit a flat shape (as opposed to something like cappelletti) so the prosciutto can drape flat on top.
Another shape option
I love making Triangoli and I think it's actually a lot easier than the square ravioli as it's as simple as folding a square in half. You also don't need to flute the edges, they can be cut with a regular knife or pizza cutter.
Tips for success
Planning the process
When making a filled pasta dish there are three elements - the pasta, the filling and the sauce. Planning is essential and think about anything you can get done ahead of time to make the process less stressful. If I am cooking for other people I generally always make the ravioli a day or even week before and freeze it. It's so much easier to then just boil the ravioli and make the sauce on the day. My guide on how to store ravioli will help! This will be the process if doing it all in one go.
- Make the pasta and wrap tightly to rest.
- While pasta is resting make the filling. The filling could be made the day before as an option.
- Assemble the ravioli and either freeze or cook straight away.
- Boil the pasta and make the simple cream sauce at the same time.
For serving
- Boil the ravioli in a really wide pot so they have room to move around. It just means less curled edges (but who really cares if you get those!).
- Heat your plates! This is KEY for me when making any pasta. Pasta cools down really quickly, even more so on a cold plate. Heat your plates in a warm oven while cooking.
- Seasoning - Don't be afraid of salt, pasta really needs it. Make sure the filling and sauce are well seasoned.
Want some other dishes to try?
If you loved this potato ravioli with prosciutto and pine nuts then check out my recipe section for lots of other delicious ideas. If you don't fancy a potato filling you could use my simple ricotta filling for ravioli. One of my favourite dishes is my spinach and ricotta agnolotti in a sage butter. My roast pumpkin agnolotti is also pretty special.
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! Also if you put a photo on instagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!
Recipe
Potato Ravioli with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts
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Ingredients
- 1 x batch of my homemade pasta dough
For the filling
- 530 g potatoes halved or quartered
- 40 g butter cubed
- 50 g parmesan finely grated
- Zest of a lemon
- 1 - 2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon sea sat
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon pepper
For the sauce
- 250 ml light or single cream
- 40 g parmesan finely grated
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- Prosciutto
- Salt and pepper taste
- Olive oil to drizzle optional
Instructions
- Make the pasta and rest for at least 30 minutes.
- Boil the potatoes in well salted water until tender and pass through a potato ricer or mash.
- Add all the other filling ingredients and mix.
- Season to taste, I have put the amounts as a guide, you want it really well seasoned.
- Transfer to a piping bag or cover the bowl until ready to use.
- Make the ravioli using my homemade ravioli guide, it has all the step by step photos and instructions.
- Boil the ravioli in well salted water for 4 - 5 minutes.
- At the same time gently heat the cream over a medium low heat until just starting to bubble around the edges.
- Add the parmesan in a couple of lots, letting it melt into the cream between each addition.
- Add a big pinch of salt and pepper and mix. The cream should not be boiling, just a VERY gentle simmer.
- Add a splash of pasta water and mix well, you don't want the cream to be thick at all.
- Take it off the heat before it gets too thick. It will continue to thicken off the heat.
- Serve the ravioli with some spoonfuls of the cream sauce and a sprinkling of the pine nuts.
- Drape a few pieces of prosciutto over the top and finish with a little drizzle of olive oil.
- Serve with extra freshly grated parmesan and a nice crack of pepper on top.
Notes
- I generally serve 5 ravioli per person. It's up to you! I always go for less so my guests want seconds rather than dishing up a huge plate to start with!
- Some lemon zest on top would be delish too.
Alina says
We made this ravioli dish as a bit of a project since we’re not experts in handmade pasta. It turned out amazing, we had a lovely time making it and an even better time eating it. Pair it with your fave wine and you’re onto a winner! We reserve your recipes for the weekend so it feels an even bigger treat!
Harriet Lai says
One of my fave Burnt Butter recipes (and that’s saying a lot)
Simple filling but so incredible delicious that I dream about it regularly.