Potato Dumpling with Seasonal Vegetables and White Sauce

Serves 7

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 800 g (1.7 lb) potatoes (not early, the best are the yellow flesh ones)
• 300 g (10.5 oz or 2 ½ cups) plain flour
• 40 g (1.5 oz or 1/3 cup) breadcrumbs
• 60 g (2 oz or 2/3 cup) grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pinch of white pepper
• 1 pinch of salt

For the stuffing

• 80 g (3 oz or ~ 1) Parmesan cheese
• 150 g (5 oz) light-green zucchini
• 60 g (2 oz) carrots
• 50 g (1.7 oz) shallots
• 10 g (0.3 oz) fresh thyme
• 10 g (0.3 oz) parsley
• Salt
• White pepper

Preparation

Prepare a vegetable broth with fresh vegetables (an onion, two sticks of celery, and a carrot). Mash the potatoes, add the flour and Parmesan, salt, and pepper until you get a solid paste. Let it rest for 30 minutes wrapped in cling film.

In the meantime, prepare the filling: boil the vegetables, remove them, and sauté them with oil, adding salt, herbs, and white pepper. Add the Parmesan, blend, and set aside.

Take the dough, and roll it with a rolling pin up to a thickness of 4 mm (0.15 inch), sprinkling with a little flour so that it does not stick to the work surface. Form 8 cm (3 inches) diameter circles, place the filling in the center, close them forming a semicircle, and secure them well with the tip of the fork.

Cook in the vegetable broth for 6-8 minutes. In a pan, prepare oil and parsley. Strain the ravioli and put them in the saucepan, add a couple of tablespoons of the cooking broth and mix everything together.

* This recipe is included in Valter Longo’s Foundation AT LONGEVITY’S TABLE (p. 266). 

Proceeds go to research and non-profit projects of the Valter Longo Foundation for schools, families, and patients in critical health and economic conditions.