red, tomato based sauce, the sauces are as varied as the fillings. Pesto, broth based and cream based sauces are also common.
Additionally, other ravioli varieties, like Chocolate Ravioli, have appeared to fill a dessert role. Toasted ravioli is a notable dish in the St. Louis, Missouri, area.
The word ravioli derives from ravvolgere, the verb meaning "to wrap." Stuffed pasta was probably introduced in the Medieval period in Europe through silk road, along with Pasta, from China. Pasta was stuffed with meat, fish and vegetables, and could include a creamy cheese like ricotta. Tomato sauce would not have been used, since tomatoes were not introduced in Europe until the 15th century.
In Italy, most regions have their own versions of ravioli, and some of the earliest mentions of the dish come from the personal letters of Francisco di Marco, a merchant of Prato in the 14th century. Though the dish is of Italian origin the oldest known recipe is an Anglo-Norman vellum manuscript from the 1290s.
Today one can find packed refrigerated or frozen ravioli across the world, especially where Italian communities have a certain relief. Ravioli are made in special industrial lines supplied, all over the world, by Italian companies such as Arienti & Cattaneo, Ima, Ostoni, Zamboni, etc.; "fresh" packed ravioli have usually seven weeks of shelf-life.
In Lebanon and Palestine, this dish is called Shish Barak(Shishbarak), the same pasta filled with minced beef meat and cooked in hot yogurt.
Other cultures have parallels to ravioli. The Chinese jiaozi or wonton (indeed in Chinese ravioli and tortellini collectively are called "Italian jiaozi" or "Italian wonton")the Russian pelmeni, the Ukrainian varenyky, the Tibetan momo and Jewish kreplachs are a few examples.
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