Ravioli with Ricotta and Spinach

Stuffed pastas appeared in Italian cookbooks by the 14th century — Boccaccio's Decameron (1353) describes the land of Bengodi, where on a mountain of grated Parmesan people make macaroni and ravioli, cook them in capon broth, and roll them down the slope (Day 8, Story 3). The ricotta-spinach pairing is Emilian and Tuscan farmhouse food: ricotta was the cheap whey byproduct of harder cheeses, spinach grew in winter gardens. In Tuscany the same filling stuffed into bigger triangles is called tordelli; cross the Apennines and it's ravioli.

Emilian magro («lean») filling — ricotta, blanched spinach, nutmeg, Parmigiano. Eaten on Fridays under Catholic abstinence rules. The pasta sheet should be thin enough to read newsprint through.

Square or half-moon parcels of yellow egg pasta, edges crimped, filled with pale green ricotta-spinach. The pasta should give under the tooth without snapping. Inside: fresh ricotta, wilted spinach squeezed nearly dry, a grating of nutmeg. Usually dressed in butter browned with sage leaves, parmesan over the top. If filling leaks at the seal, the dough was rolled too thick.

Spinach must be squeezed in a tea towel until it's a dry brick — wet filling steams the dough from inside and the parcel splits in the boil. Ricotta should be drained overnight in cheesecloth; supermarket tubs run too wet. Roll dough to setting 6 or 7 on a hand-cranked machine — you should be able to read newsprint through it.