Casoncelli alla Bresciana - Chef Recipe by Nicola Romano

Ingredients

Pasta dough:

80g 00 flour
2 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
Pinch salt

Filling:

Ground nutmeg to taste
Salt to taste
5g chopped sage
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150g breadcrumbs
100g Grana Padano
100mL vegetable stock
100g butter

Sauce:

60g Grana Padano
60g butter
6g sage leaves

Method

Dough:

Mix ingredients together to form dough.

It is good to prepare the pasta dough a few hours beforehand to give it enough time to rest, so that it is no longer elastic and has developed a more extendible structure.

This will make it easier to roll out later and the pasta will hold its shape and consistency better for a more pleasing bite.

Filling:

Brown butter and crushed garlic in a pan, add chopped parsley, sage, breadcrumbs, grated Grana Padano, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Stir in the stock to obtain a soft, thick mixture.

Roll out the pasta dough thinly and cut into 6cm x 6cm squares. Stuff with the filling and pinch each ravioli closed with your fingers.

Tip: it is best to use ordinary Italian-style bread for the crumbs, without a particularly thick or browned crust. The bread is the base of the filling and its neutral flavour is fundamental for enhancing the other flavours in this recipe.

Sauce:

In a separate pan, melt the butter before stirring in sage and letting the flavour infuse over a low heat until lightly browned.

It is essential you don’t burn the butter. Apart from being better for your health, it retains characteristic flavours – for a more intense flavour use clarified butter, which is more aromatic and has a rich straw.

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water. When cooked, drain well and top with hot butter sauce and grated Grana Padano. Garnish with crispy sage leaves if desired.