Photo: Courtesy of ©Stefano Delia
Raviolo Melitta, Honey Infusion and Helichrysum Oil
All purpose flour: 10 g
Butter: 10 g
Milk: 100 ml
Blue cheese: 115 g
All purpose flour: 100 g
Semolina flour: 25 g
Bee pollen: 10 g
Eggs: 1
Egg yolks: 1
Water: 500 ml
Dried figs: 2/3 pieces
Honey: 30 g
Salt: to taste
Apple cider vinegar: to taste
Red vermouth: to taste
Grape seed oil: 50 g
Helichrysum leaf: 2 sprigs,
The trio of central ingredients, honey, cheese and dried fig, remind Tonioni of his childhood, but it's a dish that can be enjoyed by anyone on any occasion at any time of the year. "It is definitely a dish worth sharing with someone you love," he says.
Tonioni expresses the growing plight of bees by showcasing honey and raw pollen in his dish. Honey is a natural ingredient, which has connected cultures around the world since ancient times. "It's a symbol of the well-being of the planet and an index of change at the environmental level. It's a raw ingredient which chefs should support more," he says.
As such, Tonioni feels his dish has combined impact - the environmental message it carries being equal to its incredible taste.
Have a go at making Tommaso Tonioni's incredible stuffed pasta dish following the steps below.
Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan and incorporate the sifted flour, little by little. Once all the flour is incorporated, cook the roux well and then add the milk.
Once you have a béchamel sauce, add the cheese while the sauce is still hot.
Blend everything together, insert the mixture into a piping pag and let the mixture cool in iced water in order to speed up the cooling process.
Combine the semola and flour together in a bowl. On a wooden board, create a mound with the flour mix.
In another bowl blend the pollen with the eggs and combine everything inside a well in the centre of the mound.
Start working the dough with a fork, making the flour fall into the well.
Once all liquid is incorporated into the flour, start working the dough by hand.
Then let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Combine the water and dried figs and start cooking the broth. The infusion should never boil, check the temperature. After 40 minutes of infusing, add the honey, vermouth and vinegar, then filter the mixture.
Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the helichrysum leaves, remove from the heat and leave to infuse for at least 20 minutes.
After the pasta has rested divide it into equal balls and start working them one at a time.
Flour the dough and pass it through a pasta making machine. Start from the largest hole until you get to the penultimate setting to get a 2-3 millimetre thick sheet.
Place the strip of dough obtained on the work surface, cut it in half to obtain two of the same length. Dose the filling on the first half.
Place the other part of the pastry on the filling and, using a mould or with your hands, seal the individual ravioli. Separate them and flour them slightly while waiting to cook them.
Cook the ravioli in boiling water for two to three minutes depending on the thickness of the pastry. Be careful not to break the ravioli during cooking by using a skimmer.
Serve the ravioli with the infusion of honey, and season with a drizzle of helichrysum oil.
