Courgette and Scamorza Ravioli Recipe

This delicious ravioli recipe will transport you to the southern regions of il bel paese. The freshness of the vibrant green zucchini (courgette) and the delicate, smokey flavour of the scamorza are a match made in heaven. Both courgette and scamorza are associated with the Italian region of Campania, which also boasts the iconic Amalfi coast, and this fusion of flavours evokes beautiful sunny days spent gazing at the turquoise ocean on a postcard-perfect beach. We blend our filling with creamy ricotta cheese which creates a delightful, velvety smoothness and makes each morsel melt in the mouth. 

To Make our Courgette & Scamorza Ravioli

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 1½ hours

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Calories per serving: 775 kcal

Ingredients

For the Pasta:

• 400g “00” flour
• 4 large eggs

For the Filling:

• 200g ricotta cheese
• 2 courgettes, grated
• 75g smoked scamorza 
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
• 25g butter, to serve
• Parmigiano Reggiano, to garnish

Method

For the Pasta:

Making the pasta sheet for your ravioli is very simple and we’ve outlined the process in the steps below. We also have a helpful video guide if you’d like to follow along with Roberta as she makes fresh pasta dough. 

1. Start by making a mound of flour on a wooden board or clean work surface. Then make a well in the centre to form a crater-like shape. 
2. Crack the eggs into the centre and, with a fork, start whisking to combine flour and egg, slowly incorporating more and more of the flour from the edges of the crater as you go until you’re left with a thick mixture.
3. At this stage the mixture becomes too sticky for the fork so we recommend using your hands or a dough scraper if you have one to incorporate the rest of the flour.
4. Form the mixture into a ball of dough and begin kneading it. 
5. To knead, drag the dough forward with your palm, using the other hand to hold it steady. Then pull the stretched dough back over, turn it around and start again. Repeat this process until you’re left with a firm, smooth consistency. 
6. We recommend 10-20 minutes of kneading to create a nice elastic dough. A good way of checking if you’ve kneaded the dough well is to press your finger into the centre. As you lift your finger away, the dough should spring back up.
7. Wrap the dough in a tea towel (a more sustainable alternative to cling film) and set aside to rest for about 20-30 minutes at room temperature. This is a good time to prepare the filling for your ravioli.
8. Once rested, unwrap the dough and divide it into two pieces. Cover one half with the tea towel to keep it from drying out and set aside. Press the remaining piece of dough into a flat circle using your hands. Next, take a rolling pin or matterello and begin rolling out the dough to create a thin sheet. This will take a little while if you’re doing it by hand, so if you have a pasta machine now is the moment to put it to use, however this is not by any means an essential piece of kit!
9. When your pasta sheet, called a sfoglia, is ready, you should be able to see your hand through it. 
10. Even off the edges of your sfoglia and cut it in half so that you have two even strips side by side. Spoon your filling, at even intervals (roughly 5cm apart), down the middle of the first strip. Don’t forget you’ve got another piece of dough to roll out, so only use half of the filling at this stage.
11.  Wet the edges of the two strips with a pastry brush and place the second strip directly on top of the piece with the filling on. Gently press the dough to eliminate excess pockets of air.
12.  Seal the dough firmly around the edges and between each lump of filling. 
13. Now take a ravioli cutter if you have one, or use an object like a wine glass if you don’t, and cut out the individual ravioli, ensuring they’re tightly sealed so the filling can’t escape.
14. Bring a large saucepan of generously salted water to the boil. Carefully place your homemade ravioli into the pan and cook for 3 minutes. Serve with melted butter and a sprinkling of Parmigiano Reggiano!

For the Filling

1. Put the ricotta cheese in a medium bowl and add the grated courgette.
2. Cut your scamorza into very small pieces and add to the ricotta and courgette. Combine the ingredients so that the creamy filling is speckled green throughout.
3. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper.