The region of Liguria, situated on the strip of coast known as the Italian riviera, is famed for its delicious seafood dishes. The most popular fish dish of this area involves freshly-caught sea bass gently cooked and served whole dressed in Liguria’s famed olive oil with Taggiasche olives and sometimes a scattering of tomatoes. Despite its simplicity, this dish is entirely captivating. It encapsulates the essence of Italian cuisine with its humble preparation of fresh, locally sourced ingredients and we pay homage to this with our delightful sea bass ravioli. Best served in a simple sage butter sauce or simply dressed with a generous glug of Ligurian olive oil, these fresh pasta pieces will transport you to the Italian riviera.
Make our Sea Bass Ravioli
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 mins
Calories per serving: 563 kcal
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 400g “00” flour
- 4 eggs
For the Filling:
- 200g boneless sea bass fillet
- 100g single cream
- 50g ricotta cheese
- 1 egg white
- Small handful freshly chopped parsley or dill
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- A sprinkling of fresh samphire, to serve
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 from scratch.
Making the Dough
- Start by making a mound with your flour on a wooden board or clean work surface. Then make a well in the centre to form a crater-like shape.
- 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.
- 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.
- Form the mixture into a ball of dough and begin kneading it.
Kneading the Dough
- 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.
- 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.
Resting the Dough
- 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.
Rolling the Dough
- 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!
- When your pasta sheet, called a sfoglia, is ready, you should be able to see your hand through it.
Shaping the Ravioli
- 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.
- 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.
- Seal the dough firmly around the edges and between each lump of filling.
- Now take your ravioli cutter, if you have one, and cut out the individual pieces. We’ve selected a circular shape for these ravioli and if you don’t have a pasta cutter you could use the lid of a jar to make the basic shape of your pasta pieces.
- Ensure each raviolo is tightly sealed so that none of the filling can escape.
Cooking the Ravioli
- 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 a melted sage butter and a sprinkling of lightly fried samphire or simply dress with authentic olive oil from Liguria. Buon appetito!
For the Filling:
- Roughly chop your sea bass fillets and place in a food processor with the cream, ricotta cheese, egg white and fresh parsley or dill. Blitz until all of the ingredients are mixed together well.
- When your pasta sheet is ready, transfer your fish filling into a piping bag with a wide nozzle. Pipe (or alternatively, spoon) the mixture evenly onto your sheet of pasta dough.
At Pasta Evangelists, we bring a taste of Italy to your kitchen. Prepared using the freshest ingredients, our gourmet pasta dishes are perfect for those looking to enjoy restaurant-quality meals, delivered to your door, and ready in under five minutes. Order from our weekly menu today, and we’ll offer you 25% off your first delivery - simply enter the code BLOG25 at checkout.
