Stuffed Pastas & Other Delights that can't be Pigeonholed
About Cannelloni
Also
known (in the US) as manicotti, these are a relatively recent development. And
good too.
About Ravioli and other Stuffed
Pasta
The tradition goes tremendously far back.
Standbys
Agnolotti
The classic Piemontese
stuffed pasta, with a meat-based filling.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you
make the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Ravioli
The traditional
genovese specialty can be either in a pasta shell or without one.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Tortellini
How could something
isnspired by Venus's navel not be tasty?
Difficulty: Intermediate -
Advanced
Tortellini with Cream Sauce: Tortellini alla
Panna
Tortellini and cream sauce make a surprisingly happy
marriage.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Other Stuffed Pasta Recipes
Agnolotti with Cheese: Agnolotti ai
Formaggi
Piemontese stuffed pasta, with a cheese-based filling.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Agnolotti with Spiny Lobster and Shrimp:
Agnolotti con Aragosta e Scampi
An extremely delicate,
refined pasta stuffed with spiny lobster and scampi, in a scampi sauce.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Calentita
A Gibraltarian
variation on Panissa that might have been brought by Ligurian sailors.
Difficulty: Moderate
Cannelloni with White Sauce: Cannelloni alla
Besciamella
A quick, simple meat filling, and a creamy sauce
to go with it.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if
you use store-bought pasta.
Cannelloni Provençal Style: Cannelloni
alla Provenzale
A heartier filling, with pork and spinach,
which will be wonderful in winter.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the
pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Cannelloni with Ricotta and Sausage: Cannelloni
con Ricotta e Salsiccia
A tasty cannellone filling made with
fresh ricotta and sausage.
Etruscan Cannelloni: Cannelloni
all'Etrusca
Woodsy cannelloni with a wild mushroom filling.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Canederli
Simple bread
balls from the high reaches of the Dolomites.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
Cannelloni with Peppers and Olives: Cannelloni
con Peperoni e Olive
Cannelloni stuffed with a ricotta based
filling that gains delightful zest from olives and bell peppers.
Difficulty:
Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta..
Cappelletti
Similar to
tortellini, but more delicate, they're the beginning of Christmas dinner in
much of the North.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Chestnut Flavored "Rags:" Stracci di
Castagne
Tasty home made pasta that gains a special something
from chestnut flour.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Conchiglioni Stuffed with Peas: Conchiglioni
Ripieni ai Piselli
Conchiglioni are shaped like shells and
perfect stuffed, in this case with peas and ricotta.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
Cuscus
A classic Italian
Jewish recipe from Pellegrino Artusi: Cuscus, with beef balls and broth.
Difficulty: Intermediate -- Advanced
Cuscussù
A Jewish
recipe from the port of Livorno, which is served with vegetables, and meatballs
with beans.
Difficulty: Intermediate -- Advanced
Cùscussú or
Cùscus
A classic Sicilian recipe that accompanies the
cuscus with fish rather than meat.
Difficulty: Intermediate --
Advanced
Cuscus with Pork and Cauliflower, or Cuscus con
Carne di Maiale e Cavolfiore
Sicilian cuscus recipes generally
call for fish. But not always; this meaty variation is from Trapani.
Crespelle
The Italian
equivalent of crepes; when savory they're excellent cannelloni (manicotti)
shells.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Fazzoletti
An easy stuffed
pasta destined to become a standby
Frascatole in Fish Sauce, or Frascatole al Sugo
di Pesce
A Siclian variation on cuscus, served with a rich
fish sauce.
Nonna Ersilia's Ravioli -- Ravioli di Nonna
Ersilia
Unusual sweet ravioli laced with
cinnamon.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you
use store-bought pasta.
Olives Ascolana Style: Olive
all'Ascolana
Olives, stuffed with a zesty combination of meat
and cheese, and fried. One normally wouldn't think of this as a first course
but in Ascoli it can be.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Panissa
Classic Ligurian frugal
peasant food, a polenta made from chickpea flour that will make a satisfying,
simple meal.
Difficulty: Moderate
Panzanella
Great picnic food
and a perfect use for day-old Italian bread.
Difficulty: Easy
Panzarotti
Neapolitan fried
ravioli.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you
use store-bought pasta.
Pegai
Ravioli with a
chestnut flour filling, from my review of Richard Sidoli's Cooking of
Parma.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you
use store-bought pasta.
Ravioli with Greens: Ravioli con
Verdura
A Sardinian variation on the classic ricotta-and-greens
filling, which gains grace from saffron.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you
make the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Ravioli with Spinach
An
Italian Jewish recipe for ravioli that combines greens with meat, and thus
allows one to eat a meat-based second course too.
Ravioli and Crescione Pie: Ravioli Pasticciati
col Crescione
If you have leftover ravioli, what could be
better than baking them in a tasty cheesy greenful pie?
Difficulty:
Moderate
Ravioli with Spiny Lobster and Radicchio:
Ravioli con Astice e Radicchio Rosso
The bitterness of the
radicchio wonderfully complements the sweetness of the lobster in this filling,
and the radicchio sauce adds the perfect touch.
Difficulty: Intermediate if
you make the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Ravioli with Sturgeon: Ravioli di
Storione
Ravioli stuffed with sturgeon, in a delicate shrimp
sauce.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Ravioli Stuffed with Anchovies, Buffalo
Mozzarella and Raisins, Served with an Artichoke-and-Thyme Sauce
Much quicker to make than the title suggests, and quite tasty
too.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Ravioli with Trout: Ravioli di
Trota
Ravioli stuffed with trout, in a zesty tomato sauce.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Milanese Ravioli: Ravioeu Alla
Milanese
Simple Milanese ravioli with a meat-based filling.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Ravioli with Ricotta: Ravioli con la
Ricotta
Ravioli with a delicate ricotta filling.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Ravioli with Potatoes and Sausages: Ravioli di
Patate e Salsiccia
Potatoes and sausage are a perfect filling
for Ravioli.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if
you use store-bought pasta.
Salmon Crespelle: Crespelle al
Salmone
Crespelle are the Italian equivalent of crepes, and
these, made with salmon, are wonderful.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Seafood
Cannelloni
Quick, easy, and quite delicate: A good choice for
a special occasion.
Spinach Roll: Salame di Spinaci
A sheet of pasta, spread with spinach and ricotta and rolled up: Elegant
and ideal for a festive meal.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Sweet Potato Ravioli: Ravioli di Patata
Americana
Stuart Borken's variation on butternut squash
filled ravioli involves sweet potatoes. And looks quite good.
Difficulty:
Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Sicula's Ravioli with Squash
A
quick, tasty recipe for ravioli made with squash or pumpkin.
Difficulty:
Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought
pasta.
Ravioli Stuffed with Fish and Greens, in a Pink
Sauce: Ravioloni con Ripieno di Cernia e Verdura in Salsa Rosa
This is quite traditional, and is a wonderful use for leftover fish too.
Difficulty: Moderate
Ravioli from Pesaro: Ravioli Pesaresi
In the Marche they add a tasty hint of lemon to their
ravioli.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Large Ravioli Stuffed with Vegetables: Fagottini
di Fagiolini e Carotine al Vapore:
Fagottini are square
pasta-filled packets that are similar to ravioli, but easier to make. In this
case they're filled with steamed greens and ricotta.
Difficulty:
Moderate
Squash Ravioli with Lentils and Pancetta:
Ravioli di Zucca con Lenticchie e Pancetta
Lentils &
Pancetta work quite nicely to offset the sweetness of squash
ravioli.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
"Socks" with Ricotta: Calzoncelli con la
Ricotta
A Puglian specialty, pasta with a lemony ricotta
filling, served with a rich meat sauce.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make
the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Stuffed Snails: Lumachelle
Ripiene
Snail shells filled with ricotta, ham and other
goodies.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Tordelli
Rich meat-filled
pasta from the mountains overlooking Lucca, and a meat sauce to go with them.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the pasta. Moderate if you use
store-bought pasta.
Tortellini with Porcini, Bacon, Olives and
Marjoram: Tortellini con Porcini, Bacon, Olive e Maggiorana
Tortellini with a rich mushroomy sauce that gains grace and balance from
bacon.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Squash Tortelli: Tortelli di
Zucca
The traditional recipe from Mantova contains amaretti,
and is delightful with Recioto.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you make the
pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Potato Tortelli: Tortelli di Patata
Pasta stuffed with potatoes may be rustic, but it's also very good, and
will both surprise and delight your guests.
Difficulty: Intermediate if you
make the pasta. Moderate if you use store-bought pasta.
Testaroli
Some hold they're a
precursor of pasta. They're fantastic with pesto sauce.
Difficulty:
Intermediate
Tomato Pap: Pappa al Pomodoro
A perennial favorite with children of all ages. And an excellent use for stale
bread.
Difficulty: Easy
Sformato All'Emilaiana
An
extraordinarily rich, potatoey, cheesy wonder that's perfect for the keeping
the cold at bay.
Difficulty: Intermediate -- Advanced
Red radicchio Strudel: Strudel di Radicchio
Rosso
The bitterness of radicchio nicely complements this
first course dish.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Basil Strucolo with Calamari: Strudel di
Basilico con Zotoli
A basil strudel with a calamari sauce: an
unusual, tasty first course dish.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Asparagus Strudel with a Beet and Horseradish
Sauce: Strudel di Asparagi in Salsa di Bietole al Profumo di
Rafano
Both rich and delicate, and a very tasty first course.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Meat & Potato Strucolo: Strucolo di Patate e
Carne
The potatoes refer to the dough; the filling is made
with ground meat and tomato.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Potato Strucolo with Spinach : Strucolo di
Patate e Spinaci
The potatoes refer to the dough; the filling
is made with spinach and ricotta.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Strucolo from Istria: Strucolo
Istriano
A delicate meat-filled strucolo that's part of the
traditional wedding banquet in Istria.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Strucolo from the Karst Regions: Strucolo
Carsolino
An unusual sweet strudel from Friuli with which to
begin the meal.
Difficulty: Intermediate
If you haven't found
what you're looking for, please
ask!
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