In Italy, gathering wild mushrooms – andare a funghi – is a cherished tradition, enabled by the favourable growing conditions of the Italian landscape. The Alps and Apennine mountains nurture even the most revered of mushrooms, like the cherished porcini or spicy galetti. By late-Autumn, as the funghi burgeons, Italian natives flock to the woodland hunting grounds once favoured by their ancestors, keen to satiate their hunger for the precious, earthy gems.
Though meaty wild mushrooms are the centrepiece of this recipe, we ensure to lavish our ravioli in a luxurious butter sauce, peppered with flecks of precious black truffle, foraged in the region of Umbria. Married with the earthy, umami flavours of the wild mushroom, the truffle butter lends both an enticing gloss and an exceptional and distinct aroma. We finish this elegant dish with a scattering of gently toasted hazelnuts, ensuring a thoughtful textural addition to an already stand-out bite.
Our wild mushroom ravioli recipe
Serves 4
Prep time: 75 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Calories per serving: 655 kcal
Should you wish to follow along, watch Chef Roberta as she makes our truffle mushroom ravioli.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 cup wild mushrooms
- 50g dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated
- ½ cup ricotta
- 1-2 shallots, finely chopped
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or a vegetarian alternative)
- ½ cup white wine
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons mushroom stock
- 1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme, finely chopped
- Salt, to taste
- White pepper, to taste
For the ravioli
- For all you need to know, see our recipe for homemade ravioli
For the sauce and topping
- 100g of good quality butter
- 10g of freshly grated black truffle (feel free to substitute for truffle oil or black truffle cream)
- Salt to season
- 4 tbsp hazelnuts
Chef’s tip: This recipe calls for mushroom stock, rehydrating your dried porcini mushrooms yields a delicious umami broth that works perfectly for this purpose!
Method
To make your ravioli
- Place your dried porcini in a deep bowl, and cover with hot water, allowing it to steep until the mushrooms are plump in texture. Reserve the remaining broth.
- In a large pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil, before adding your diced shallots and garlic. Sauté for a couple of minutes until golden brown.
- Finely chop your wild and porcini mushrooms, before adding to the mixture, frying until reduced and dark in colour. Deglaze the pan with white wine, adding your mushroom stock and fresh rosemary and thyme. Leave to simmer until the liquid has evaporated completely - the mixture must be relatively dry in order to reach the desired consistency for your ravioli filling.
- Season with salt and pepper, then remove from the heat and taste your mixture, adjusting the flavour if necessary before allowing it to cool in the pan.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add your completely cool mushroom mixture. Pulse until a coarse paste is formed.
- Take a large mixing bowl and add your fresh ricotta and grated parmesan, before adding your mushroom mixture, and fresh parsley. Stir the mixture until completely combined. Your filling is now complete! Be sure to cover your mixture and refrigerate for at least an hour, while you make your pasta. This step will ensure your filling is a lot easier to handle when forming your ravioli parcels.
- Then, all you need to do is follow the remaining steps in our making fresh ravioli recipe.
To make your black truffle butter
- Place your room-temperature butter in a mixing bowl. Clean your truffle and finely grate into small pieces (we recommend using a truffle grater here).
- Incorporate the grated truffle into the butter. While you can use a food processor to speed up the process we’d recommend doing it by hand as you’ll have more control over the texture of your mixture.
- Add salt to taste.
- To serve immediately, transfer your compound butter to a pan, and heat gently until melted and deep golden in hue.
To finish your ravioli
- To finish, toast some hazelnuts in a pan over a medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until golden brown and fragrant. Set the hazelnuts aside, and once cooled, cover with a kitchen towel and smash with a rolling pin, until a rustic crumb is achieved.
- Cook your ravioli in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and then transfer to the pan with the butter. Toss together to coat the ravioli.
- Dress your ravioli with these simple components, and enjoy!
