National Ravioli Day is observed each year on March 20th. As one of the food holidays, it is very popular with pasta lovers.
Ravioli are a traditional type of Italian filled pasta, made up of a filling sealed between two layers of thin egg pasta dough. The ravioli are usually served in either a broth or with a pasta sauce. A variety of filling recipes are available from cheesy to meaty.
Served often as the main course, ravioli can also be a side dish or even an appetizer. Many popular recipes bake or deep fry the ravioli.
Add chocolate to the pasta or cream cheese stuffing and a caramel sauce, the dish quickly becomes a dessert!
- The first mentions of Ravioli was in the 14th century.
- The word ravioli is from an old Italian word riavvolgere (“to wrap”)
- Canned ravioli was pioneered by Chef Boyardee in the 1930’s
- St. Louis, Missouri is where the toasted ravioli got its start.
- “Fresh” packed ravioli lasts up for several week while fresh made lasts for just a few days.
- Ravioli nudi, or “naked ravioli”, refers to simply the filling without the pasta shell.
- In Rome, ravioli were already well-known when Bartolomeo Scappi served them with boiled chicken to the papal conclave of 1549
- Canned ravioli was pioneered by the Italian Army in the First World War
- Italian tradition is to serve vegetarian ravioli, particularly on Fridays. Meats is served as a side or later in the meal.
- Ravioli appears in India, as a popular dish called Gujiya. Similar to ravioli, however it is prepared sweet, with a filing of dry fruits, sugar and a mixture of sweet spices, then deep fried in vegetable oil.
- Jewish cuisine has a similar dish called Kreplach, a pocket of meat or other filling covered by egg pasta.
- In Turkey, Mantı which is similar to ravioli is a popular dish. It is stuffed with spiced meat and served with paprika sauce and yoghurt
- A similar Middle Eastern dish called shishbarak contains pasta filled with minced beef meat and cooked in hot yogurt.
- Ravioli are commonly encountered in the cooking of Nice, the broader Côte d’Azur, and the surrounding regions in the south of France.
Sources:
- National Day Calendar
- Foodimentary
- Wikipedia
