Wild Boar Ravioli

Ravioli are one of my favorite foods of all time.  I understand (and sympathize) if you have Celiac's, but you just can't trust someone who doesn't enjoy a well-prepared dish of pasta-- especially pasta that's been stuffed full of homemade ricotta and mouthwatering wild boar.  

Sus scrofa, as it's known in Latin, is a widely diffused ancestor of the domesticated pig you'd find on a farm.  As a citizen of the southern United States, it's hard to not imagine hogs and hog hunting as an American thing.  But the truth is these highly palatable and pugnacious critters are a foreign import from the "Old World" where they freely roam Europe, North Africa, and vast expanses of Asia.

The Italians call them cinghiale, and boy, do they know how to cook them.  Prized for their sweet and

nutty flavor, wild boar find their way onto menus during the hunting season in the form of stews and roasts (depending on the age of the animal mostly).  Their meat is a much darker red than their domesticated cousin and typically leaner to boot.  

If you can't go out and bag one yourself, and you might not want to even if you could (considering they can weigh well over 200 lbs and put up a hell of a fight), check a gourmet grocery or butcher shop.  As is the case with most anything, wild boar meat is also readily available on the internet. 

I happened to come across wild boar sausages in the freezer aisle of a meat market and decided to use those.  That made doing the filling a lot faster.  Meat that isn't already in sausage form, would require braising (slow), or grinding and cooking like the sausage in the recipe (fast).

A lot of recipes for ravioli fillings will call for an egg or egg yolk to form a "glue" of sorts as well as add some richness.  I usually add one, but due to the thickness of my homemade ricotta cheese, I thought that part was unnecessary.  Additionally, you'll notice the recipe calls for Thai basil.  Why is the Thai variety preferable to sweet basil like you'd find in Italian cooking?  Thai basil, as opposed to sweet basil, has a much stronger anisette or licorice note reminiscent of fennel.  Fennel and pork are a natural flavor pairing, hence the Thai basil.  Oh, and I also have one of those growing out back. 

While the filling is easy and quick to make, if it's the middle of the workweek you might not have time to make your own pasta, and understandably so.  The wonton wrappers in the grocery store make (semi)scratch wild boar ravioli a realistic weeknight dinner!  Of course, I can't guarantee the results will be as good with the store-bought wraps.

If you're committed to making the pasta (like a good boy or girl), I suggest starting the filling once the kneaded dough is set aside to rest.  That takes an hour, and you'll have more than enough time to make the filling and clean up before the dough is ready to roll.

Give these ravioli a try and you won't regret the extra effort it took to find wild boar.  In fact, you'll probably be upset it's not more readily available.  Heck, you might even buy a gun and go searching for the furry fellas yourself. 

Ingredients:
Filling - Enough for 18-20 ravioli (about 1 teaspoon per raviolo)

1 T olive oil
8 oz wild boar sausage, casing removed
1 T butter
1/2 of a shallot, diced
1 clove garlic, chopped finely or minced
4 oz  homemade ricotta cheese
2 t Thai basil or sweet basil, chiffonade
pinch of salt

Fresh Pasta Recipe

To be safe, do 3 eggs/300 g flour.  You can just cut the extra pasta into linguine or tagliatelle and save it for later.

Quick Creamy Tomato Sauce (pictured above)

1 T butter or olive oil
4-5 capers (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 of shallot, diced
14 oz crushed tomatoes
1 T heavy cream
1/4 t red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley for garnish
parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano to finish

-Heat fat over medium to medium-high heat.
-Add capers and mash them with a spoon into the butter/oil.
-Put heat to medium and add shallots.  Cook until beginning to color.
-Throw in minced garlic and stir until fragrant.
-Add in crushed tomatoes and raise heat.
-Add in heavy cream and red pepper flakes.  Stir.
-Let sauce come to a boil and then reduce to simmer.
-Allow to simmer at least 20 minutes (if you're in a rush), but ideally 45 minutes.
-Raise heat and toss drained ravioli in sauce.
-Garnish with grated cheese and parsley before serving.

Need metric?

Source:

Scheggi, Massimo. La Bestia Nera: Caccia al Cinghiale fra Mito, Storia e Attualità, 1999.