Raviolo al Uovo is, hands-down, one of the most decadent and indulgent of all the Italian pasta dishes. This egg yolk filled ravioli coated in a brown butter sauce is sure to impress!
If there's one thing that I can predict with 100% certainty, it's that if Ravioli al Uovo is on the menu, I absolutely will be ordering it. It's actually pretty hard to find this dish in a restaurant, as it can be difficult to produce en masse.
Thankfully, you have me to share my recipe for making this egg yolk ravioli at home! Ravioli al uovo consists of a raw egg yolk surrounded by a ricotta cheese mixture, all tucked in between two sheets of fresh pasta.
The tricky part of this dish is the risk of overcooking. Of course, you want the yolk to be warmed through, so that it isn't completely raw when eating. But, you also don't want the yolk to coagulate – at all. Don't worry, I'll walk you through all of it!
Recipe Origin
While this recipe is right up my alley, I certainly cannot take credit for the invention of ravioli al uovo. The dish originated at Ristorante San Domenico in Imola, Italy, which is in the Emilia-Romagna region near Bologna, Italy. This is a 2 Michelin star restaurant, and it was featured on the hit show, No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (may he rest).
I am, of course, dying to get to Italy and try the original dish. However, in the mean time, I had a wonderful rendition of raviolo al uovo at the 1 Michelin star restaurant in NYC, Rezdora. Though, it will be much cheaper to make it at home!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Decadent - The runny egg yolk adds so much flavor and richness to this dish.
- Impressive - I'm always impressed when I see someone make raviolo al uovo!
- Surprisingly Easy - While there's a good bit of work involved in this recipe, it really isn't as difficult as it may seem!
What you need for this recipe
Ingredients and Substitutions:
- Pasta Sheets - Make your own using this vegan pasta dough recipe or buy some pre-made. If possible, try to use a softer dough, rather than a firm dough. My vegan dough recipe works great for this.
- Whole Egg - In an effort to reduce excess waste, this recipe uses both the egg and the egg white, but separately. I highly recommend using the best quality egg you can find, with the richest color yolk. I love using the Heritage Eggs from Happy Egg Co.
- Ricotta Cheese - Whole milk ricotta is the best choice for the base of the cheese mixture. Though I don't recommend substituting ricotta, using a skim milk ricotta should still be okay.
- Parmesan Cheese - Fresh grated parmesan is the best option here. However, pre-grated will work in a pinch and you can substitute with pecorino romano cheese. Just please do not use the "cheese" that comes in the green cylinder.
- Herbs - I used fresh chopped parsley in the cheese mixture and on the garnish. However, chives would work very well here too. I do not recommend a strong herb like dill or cilantro or basil.
- Butter - This butter is used only in the browned butter sauce, so I recommend using a high-quality butter such as Kerrygold or similar. Using ghee or a vegan butter will not work as a substitute.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients
If necessary, make pasta dough and roll into sheets. You shouldn't need much more than about 18 inches of rolled out dough.
The dough should be thin enough to see shadows through, but not so thin that it will easily tear. If using a rolling machine, a 3 or 4 setting is ideal.
Separate the egg white from the yolk, being very careful to keep the yolk intact.
In a mixing bowl, add ricotta, parmesan, chopped parsley, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Thoroughly mix together until combined.
Add cheese mixture to a piping bag (OR into the corner of a plastic ziploc bag). Place in fridge or freezer while preparing pasta.
Step 2: Assemble the Pasta
Roll out one sheet of pasta (or roll the whole thing, then fold in half later). Make sure there is no excess flour on the top side of the pasta sheet.
Remove the cheese mixture from the fridge and, if using a ziploc bag, cut a small hole in the corner.
Take a 5-6 inch diameter round ravioli stamp, cookie cutter, or upside-down bowl and gently press into the pasta dough, to set your center.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg white and gently brush over the circle, covering it entirely.
In the center of the circle, pipe the cheese mixture into a spiral-circle about 2 inches wide. Then, pipe a "fence" around the edge of the circle by layering the cheese mixture.
This is so that the yolk stays in place.
Very carefully, add the yolk to the center of the cheese circle.
Gently take the second pasta sheet and place on top of the circle, making sure the entirety of the pressed circle is covered.
Use your fingers to press all of the air out as you press the pasta sheets together to seal.
If you have a large ravioli stamp or circular cookie cutter, go ahead and cut out the raviolo.
If you are using a bowl, press the bowl down (upside down) to create a tight seal around the edge.
Then, use a knife or a ridged pasta cutter to cut around the edge of the bowl.
Step 3: Cook the Pasta
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
While waiting for it to boil, heat 2 tablespoons of salted butter in a pan over medium-low heat.
Slowly bring the heat up and continue to stir until the butter begins to foam and eventually starts to brown and smell sweet.
Once browned, immediately remove from the heat to prevent burning. Add another tablespoon of cold butter into the pan off the heat and stir to emulsify.
Gently lower the raviolo into the salted boiling water.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the entire ravioli floats.
Remove from boiling water using a spider or a spatula and add to the brown butter sauce.
Gently toss and coat the raviolo in sauce.
Serve on a plate while still warm, spoon extra sauce over, and garnish with parsley or chives.
Cut into it, let that yolk run, and enjoy your raviolo al uovo!
Expert Tips & Tricks:
- Use the orangest egg yolks you can find! I love the Heritage Eggs from Happy Egg Co. Vital Farms eggs are good as well, and local farmers market eggs are great!
- The key to making this dish work is to cook it long enough that the pasta is soft, but the yolk doesn't begin to cook. The yolk should cook similarly to a poached egg.
- While I used a homemade egg-based pasta dough for this recipe, I actually recommend using a softer pasta dough. One that is lighter in color will work very well. You can make your own using my vegan pasta recipe, or purchase some from a local pasta shop or you may be able to fins pasta sheets at a grocery store.
Recipe FAQs
Raviolo al uovo needs to be used or frozen immediately. Do not store raviolo in the fridge, as the yolk will make the pasta soggy. Coat raviolo in semolina flour and store individually before freezing. However, I don't recommend freezing if you can avoid it.
In the US, we usually have ravioli, which is typically a plate of multiple stuffed pastas. A raviolo is typically one large stuffed pasta, like this egg yolk ravioli.
While I love to do a simple brown butter sauce with raviolo al uovo, a light cream, truffle, or even a light pesto sauce would go well. If it is autumn, you can experiment with adding squash to the cheese filling, then adding fried sage to the sauce.
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📖 Recipe
Ravioli al Uovo (Egg Yolk Ravioli)
Equipment
- 1 5 - 6 inch diameter bowl, cookie cutter, or ravioli cutter
- 1 pasta/pastry cutter or knife
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 Pan
- 1 basting or pastry brush
- 1 pasta spider or spatula
Ingredients
- 2 sheets pasta dough *see notes*
- ⅓ cup Whole milk ricotta
- ¼ cup Parmigiano Reggiano freshly grated
- 1 Whole egg separated
- 1 ½ tablespoon Parsley chopped
- 3 tablespoon Butter
- ¼ teaspoon Salt plus more for sauce
Instructions
- If necessary, make pasta dough and roll into sheets. You shouldn't need much more than about 18 inches of rolled out dough.
- The dough should be thin enough to see shadows through, but not so thin that it will easily tear. If using a rolling machine, a 4 setting is ideal.
- Separate the egg white from the yolk, being very careful to keep the yolk intact.
- In a mixing bowl, add ricotta, parmesan, chopped parsley, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- Thoroughly mix together until combined.
- Add cheese mixture to a piping bag (OR into the corner of a plastic ziploc bag). Place in fridge or freezer while preparing pasta.
- Roll out one sheet of pasta (or roll the whole thing, then fold in half later). Make sure there is no excess flour on the top side of the pasta sheet.
- Remove the cheese mixture from the fridge and, if using a ziploc bag, cut a small hole in the corner.
- Take a 5-6 inch diameter round ravioli stamp, cookie cutter, or upside-down bowl and gently press into the pasta dough, to set your center.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg white and gently brush over the circle, covering it entirely.
- In the center of the circle, pipe the cheese mixture into a spiral-circle about 2 inches wide. Then, pipe a "fence" around the edge of the circle by layering the cheese mixture.
- This is so that the yolk stays in place.
- Very carefully, add the yolk to the center of the cheese circle.
- Gently take the second pasta sheet and place on top of the circle, making sure the entirety of the pressed circle is covered. Use your fingers to press all of the air out as you press the pasta sheets together to seal.
- If you have a large ravioli stamp or circular cookie cutter, go ahead and cut out the raviolo.
- If you are using a bowl, press the bowl down (upside down) to create a tight seal around the edge.
- Then, use a knife or a ridged pasta cutter to cut around the edge of the bowl.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil.
- While waiting for it to boil, heat 2 tablespoons of salted butter in a pan over medium-low heat.
- Slowly bring the heat up and continue to stir until the butter begins to foam and eventually starts to brown and smell sweet.
- Once browned, immediately remove from the heat to prevent burning. Add another tablespoon of cold butter into the pan off the heat and stir to emulsify.
- Gently lower the raviolo into the salted boiling water.
- Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the entire ravioli floats.
- Remove from boiling water using a spider or a spatula and add to the brown butter sauce.
- Gently toss and coat the raviolo in sauce.
- Serve on a plate while still warm, spoon extra sauce over, and garnish with parsley or chives.
- Cut into it, let that yolk run, and enjoy!
Notes
- Use the orangest egg yolks you can find! I love the Heritage Eggs from Happy Egg Co. Vital Farms eggs are good as well, and local farmers market eggs are great!
- The key to making this dish work is to cook it long enough that the pasta is soft, but the yolk doesn't begin to cook. The yolk should cook similarly to a poached egg.
- While I used a homemade egg-based pasta dough for this recipe, I actually recommend using a softer pasta dough. One that is lighter in color will work very well. You can make your own using my vegan pasta recipe, or purchase some from a local pasta shop or you may be able to fins pasta sheets at a grocery store.
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