Tortellini filled with Lamb Ragu 

More than a first course, these tortellini with cheese with lamb sauce, can be considered a real single dish, because the tortellini, stuffed with tasty cheese are served together with lamb stew, juicy and tasty. For this dish you will need a good meat broth. The classic format of Piedmontese stuffed pasta, in a version stuffed with lamb meat. Delicious and special, they are excellent to try both seasoned with butter and sage to enhance the flavor, and, as tradition dictates, blanched and dive into a bowl full of Barbera.

Today's dish is elegant and refined: lamb tortellini with Lamb Ragu. Needless to say, I thought it specifically for Easter lunch (I know, we live in uncertain times, but this does not mean we give up) and for all those people who do not give up the tradition of eating lamb dishes at Easter. 

Ingredients

400 g flour 

4 eggs of about 70 g each at room temperature

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

300 g ricotta cheese

50 g grated pecorino cheese

100 g taleggio cheese

50 g grated Grana Padano cheese

grated nutmeg to taste

a little egg white to seal

400 g chopped lamb pulp

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 onion

200 g tomato puree

100 ml white wine

200 ml meat broth

a few leaves of basil or parsley for garnish (optional)

olive oil to taste

salt to taste

Preparation

To prepare the tortellini with cheeses with lamb sauce, start by taking care of the ravioli dough: sift 400 g of flour and arrange it in a fountain on the work surface (wooden), then form a hollow in the center in which to break, one at a time, the 4 large eggs at room temperature, then add a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley. Starting from the center, gently mix the eggs with a fork, gradually taking the flour from the edges. Then incorporate the flour with your hands, starting from the outside and bringing it inwards, then knead everything vigorously for at least 10 minutes (if the dough is slightly hard, you can add one or two tablespoons of warm water). While kneading, beat the dough on the work surface from time to time: this will make it more elastic. Wrap the dough obtained in plastic wrap and let it rest for at least an hour, in a cool, dry place. In a bowl, mix 300 g of ricotta together with 50 g of grated pecorino cheese, 100 g of taleggio pieces, 50 g of grated Grana Padano cheese and a generous pinch of nutmeg, until the mixture is firm and homogeneous. After the rest time of the dough, take it back and divide it in half (keeping the other half packed, so it will not dry out), then roll out one of the two halves first with a rolling pin and then, to pull the dough very thin, use the machine to pull the dough, setting the roller so as to obtain a very thin sheet. Cut the dough into slices 20 centimeters long and about 8 centimeters wide, then distribute on one half of each dough 5 piles of cheese filling slightly smaller than a walnut and at a distance of 4 centimeters from each other. Brush the dough around the piles of filling with egg white, cover the piles with the other half of dough, folding it over the filling, then close the edges and spaces between one pile and the other by pressing the dough with your fingertips. Finally, cut the rectangles of dough with the filling in the center, using a serrated wheel (which will give it the classic zigzag contour) or, failing that, use a sharp knife. Proceed in this way until both dough balls and filling are exhausted, in this way you will get about 48-50 tortellini, enough for 4 people, although the number of ravioli may vary depending on the thickness of the dough and the size of the tortellini themselves. Keep your ravioli in the fridge until ready to cook them, putting them on floured trays and covering them with clean towels and in the meantime prepare the sauce. Peel the carrot and cut it into pieces, peel the onion and cut it into wedges, then cut the celery into pieces and put these vegetables in a mixer. Actuating it jerkily chops everything very finely. In a saucepan heat a little oil and as soon as it is hot brown 400 g of chopped lamb pulp, until it is well colored, then add the chopped carrot, onion and celery and cook for a few minutes. Deglaze the meat with 100 ml of dry white wine, let it evaporate completely, then add 200 g of tomato puree and 200 ml of meat broth, then continue cooking for at least an hour and a half or until the meat is well cooked and very tender. At this point you just have to cook the tortellini in a pot full of lightly salted water boiling for 3-4 minutes and when they are cooked you can drain them and season them with the lamb stew and its sauce, garnishing them if you want with a few basil leaves. Your cheese tortellini with lamb sauce are ready to be served!