BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE, FAIRY-TALE WATERWAYS AND A RICH FOOD CULTURE – CASANOVA’S HOME TOWN IS ABOUT AS ROMANTIC AS DESTINATIONS GET
Raffioli de herbe
This is a stunning dish to serve. The plump ravioli are filled with three kinds of cheese, bathed in glorious saffron sauce and decorated with aromatic leaves. The recipe is an adaption of the original by the Anonimo Veneziano, created by Sergio and Mario at the restaurant Bistrot de Venise, where it forms part of their historical Venetian menu.
SERVES 4 AS A MAIN
OR 6 AS A STARTER
FOR THE FILLING
• 200ml milk
• 50g ‘00’ flour
• 100g cheese, such as pecorino, fontina or asiago
• 60g soft goat’s cheese
• 50g Parmesan or grana padano, finely grated
• 2 egg yolks FOR THE PASTA
• 200g ‘00’ flour, plus a little for dusting
• 2 large free-range eggs
FOR THE SAUCE
• 50g salted butter
• 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 1 heaped tsp grated fresh ginger
• ½tsp saffron
TO SERVE
• 50g salted butter
• Large handful aromatic herbs (leaves only) such as rosemar y, thyme, sage or marjoram
• 30g toasted flaked almonds
• 30g smoked cheese, such as ricotta, scamorza or smoked Cheddar, coarsely grated
1 For the filling, heat the milk in a medium pan over medium heat, whisk in the flour and continue whisking over the heat until thick and any lumps have disappeared. Turn the heat to low and add the cheeses, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and whisk through. Take the pan off the heat and whisk in the egg yolks. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessar y, then allow to cool to room temperature.
2 Meanwhile, prepare the pasta. Pour the flour into a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Crack the eggs into the well. Using a table knife, gradually combine the flour into the eggs, starting with the flour around the eggs and working your way out. Keep mixing the egg and flour until they form clumps of dough. Use the fingertips of one hand to incorporate any remaining flour, bringing ever ything together until you have a ball of dough. Try to squash all the crumbs of dough into the ball, but discard any that don’t make it. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a floured work surface. Knead the dough by flattening and folding it for around 5-7min, adding a little more flour if it is very sticky. Do this until it stops sticking to the palm of your hand. The dough should form a soft but firm ball that bounces back to the touch when prodded. If the dough becomes really dry and has many cracks, add 1-2 drops of water – do this in a bowl or
