The idea for this meal came from a recent vacation my wife and I took. We flew into Milan, hopped a train to Venice, and caught a bus from there to Cortina d’Ampezzo…which likely won’t surprise anyone who knows us because that’s where the mountains are! On our first full day, we did a little warmup hike around Tres Cimes before resting up for the big hike that would start the next day.
On Day 2, we woke up, caught a couple of busses (which was a LOT harder than I’m making it sound here), and headed to Lago di Braies to begin our hut to hut trek along the Alta Via 1! The lake was where we had our last good sandwiches for the next 8 days, and my wife’s sandwich will inspire a re-creation recipe here once my batch of homemade sauerkraut is ready to go. Then, we were on trail, starting with an immediate and unrelenting incline to our first hut.
Along the entire route, we had some breathtaking views, incredible sunsets, met a lot of really cool people from around the world, and had some awesome food. The best single food item we had on the trail was at Rifugio Bruto Carestiato, which was one of the rifugios towards the end of our journey. We had a pretty long hike to get to it, and we caught a glimpse of it after emerging from a forcella a mile and a half away…so the last leg of the walk was tantalizing! When we finally arrived, we were absolutely famished and needed to order something before dinner would be served several hours later. So, we each ordered a beer and settled in to read their menu. Once we got to the housemade beet ravioli, we stopped reading and were ready to order…the rest of the menu didn’t matter at that point. Let me tell you, that ravioli was transformative and immediately became something we wanted to recreate at home…and here it is! We hope you enjoy!
This one is time consuming and a labor of love, but very worth it!
Time: 2.5 Hours (although you can make the components a day ahead of time, which helps)
Ingredients:
- For your pasta:
- 1 Cup Flour. We used Semolina, which gave a heartier/coarser pasta…for a smoother one, you can use all purpose flour.
- 2 Large Eggs
- A half teaspoon of salt
- Cold water as necessary
- For your filling:
- 1 large Beet
- A sprinkle of Salt
- Dried Sage
- Olive Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Ricotta
- To serve with:
- Cheese. We used a hard goat gouda, but a parmesan would be good too.
- Olive Oil
- Dried Sage
- Black Pepper
Method:
- Your beets take the longest time, so start with them.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Peel and dice your beet, and place the cubes into a baking pan.
- Toss with a little olive oil, sage, and salt.
- Roast for 60-70 minutes until the beets are soft.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool, and pulse in a blender to chop finely.
- As your beets roast, make your pasta dough.
- Place your flour and salt in a bowl.
- Beat your eggs, and add to the flour.
- Stir to combine until smooth.
- If you need more moisture, add a little water as you stir. We were using farm fresh eggs, which were smaller than large store bought, so we needed a little water.
- Wrap your dough ball in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for an hour or so to hydrate.
- When it’s time to assemble:
- Combine your finely chopped beets with your ricotta, and set aside in a bowl.
- Cut your pasta into quarters. Working one at a time, roll each thinly on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut your pasta into rounds.
- Scoop a little spoonful of your beet/ricotta mixture onto each round, and fold. Cinch to close.
- Roll out the rest of your pasta dough, and continue as above until all of your ravioli are made.
- Boil a pot of water with a little olive oil and salt.
- Place your ravioli into your boiling water, and cook for 5-7 minutes until they all float and become tender.
- Drain the water.
- Plate:
- Drizzle a little olive oil on your plate, and sprinkle your sage, black pepper, and salt atop the oil.
- Arrange your ravioli on your plate.
- Use a microplane grater to grate your cheese over your ravioli.
- Devour, and enjoy!
