The trouble with ravioli, or why most people go out for these kind of things...

I have made ravioli more than once.  Every time I do, after looking at the mess I make, the large pile of mistakes and the ten percent of adequate little pillows, I wonder why I keep trying.  Then I cook them, sauce them, plate them and finally eat one and I remember why the difficult process is worth it.  There is something magical when biting into something that took so long to make and that takes such a delicate touch to complete.

As no surprise to anyone that has traveled in Liguria, some of the best ravioli are found in this region.  They tend to be light, small and for the most part, machine made.  However, they are also sauced with the original pesto, a light, bright green and intensely flavored sauce that is just not able to be replicated back home.  That is I suppose unless your home happens to be in Liguria.

I attempted to recreate a similar plate this evening.  I made the ravioli with a recipe of my own making, but using as a basis a few published recipes.  The dough was a egg pasta, with one egg per  2 cups of flour.  The filling was with ricotta and parmigiano reggiano cheese, blanched baby spinach and fresh thyme, bound by 1 egg.

I made the pesto in a mortar with your basic Basil, Pine Nut, Garlic, salt, pepper and Parmigiano, bound with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  

I served these slightly defective efforts with a slightly aged Sancerre from Vincent Delaporte.  It was the 2005 "Chavignol" cuvee that I purchased a few years ago, and stuck it near the front of my cellar.  This was the 3rd of 4 bottles that I have been holding since.  The wine was perhaps a bit rich for this dish, which to my palate screams out for a vibrantly acidic and young fresh white wine.  Sancerre seems to be going the way of much of the world's wine, with fruit being the dominant characteristic.  However, this was a bone dry version that has the acidic backbone to age, but missed something in the end for me.  Maybe next time I'll look for some nice Vermentino from Cinque Terre that was so delicious while I was overlooking the Mediterranean that September.

The pesto, while good, just never achieves that lightness and bright, dancing flavor that I found in those lovely few weeks in 2004.  It did marry nicely with the rich filling.

I guess I will keep trying.... Ill get it right eventually, right??