avocado uova di raviolo

i’m declaring this the new avocado toast! breakfast and brunch places have long caught on to the trend, but upscale places could adopt this new dish and i think it’d be a huge hit.

start with a soft pasta dough, subbing avocado for one of the eggs (yay fatty omega-3s). roll it out thin, cut out circles, and pipe on fluffy ricotta barricades. an unbroken yolk gets slipped into each cavity, held snugly into place by each ring of cheese. the ravioli is gently boiled until the dough is cooked and the yolk is still runny.

uova di raviolo simply means ‘egg in ravioli’ in italian. these are really big, so serve them one apiece as an appetizer or two apiece as an entrée. by dressing each one up with sriracha, red chile flakes, and shaved parmesan, the yolk gets to be the star of the show. however, these would be amazing served with a lemony pancetta sauce or even hollandaise (avocado benedict uova di raviolo??).

ingredients

pasta dough (recipe from the kitchen mouse)

• 1/2 ripe avocado, mashed well
• 1 1/4 cup flour, plus more for kneading
• 1 egg
• salt

ravioli (recipe from serious eats)

• 5 oz ricotta
• 1 oz freshly grated parmesan
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 10 large eggs

assembly

• sriracha
• red chile flakes
• shaved parmesan

for the dough, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until they come together. turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for five minutes, adding more flour frequently to keep it from sticking. form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for half an hour.

meanwhile, make the filling. line a rimmed baking sheet with a triple-layer of paper towels, and spread the ricotta out over them. cover with another triple-layer of paper towels. press down with your hands to allow the extra liquid to be absorbed (this keeps the filling firm). peel the ricotta off the towels and transfer to a bowl. stir in the parmesan, nutmeg, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch tip or a ziplock bag with a 1/4-inch hole cut from one corner. refrigerate.

divide dough into halves. take one half and keep the other one covered. pass it through a pasta machine or roll out manually until it is 1/16-inch thick. cut the sheet in half to make 2 long pieces of dough. place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with a large floured sheet of parchment paper. using a 3 1/2 inch cookie cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. cover half of them with a kitchen towel. use the pastry bag to squeeze rings of filling 1 1/2-inches in diameter onto the other half. top with a second ring (see pictures above). working with one at a time, separate yolks from whites and slip into the opening. uncover the other rounds and lightly wet their edges with your finger. pressing and stretching to fit, set dough rounds atop each raviolo, moistened side down. seal the edges by gently pressing them down. cover with a kitchen towel. repeat process with the other half of dough.

bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. when it boils, gently slide the ravioli into the pot (you will probably have to do two or three batches). boil for two minutes – no more, or the yolks will cook! remove to a plate.

serve in shallow bowls drizzled with sriracha, topping the ravioli with chile flakes and parmesan.