Ravioli Pie
After years of making ravioli ‘lasagna’ I tried baking it in the form of a pie and the results were really surprising. This is my version of a ġbejniet and beef pie with a ravioli crust.
Ingredients:
1tsp Olitalia E/V Olive Oil
1 Carrot
1 Celery Stick
1 Onion
700g Minced Beef
1tsp Dry Thyme
400g Tomato Sauce
2tbsp Tomato Paste (kunserva)
1/2tsp Sugar
4 Ħanini Fresh Ġbejniet (or 200g irkotta)
200g Cooked Spinach (fresh or frozen)
1tbsp Chopped Parsley
50g Ħanini Pekorin Cheese
1 Fresh Egg
50g Flora Salted Butter
1kg Ricotta Ravioli (or ġbejniet filled)
1pkt Emborg Shredded Mozzarella
1 ready-made Round Puff Pastry Sheet
Directions:
Finely dice the onion, carrot, and celery for the soffritto.
Put the olive oil in a hot skillet and fry the onion until it starts to soften, then add the celery and carrot and continue to cook on a medium flame for about 4 minutes.
Add the minced beef and thyme, and season with salt and pepper.
Cook stirring frequently until the meat is nicely brown.
Add the tomato paste, sugar, and the tomato sauce.
Mix well and bring to a boil.
When it starts boiling, lower the flame to a minimum and cook for about 20 minutes.
If it dries too much add a little water. But we don’t want to obtain a runny sauce.
While it’s cooking let’s prepare the other fillings.
Drain well the ġbejniet. Ideally, you leave them draining in a sieve for at least an hour.
Place them in a bowl. Then add the chopped parsley and the cooked spinach (drained well)
Add some freshly grated Pekorin cheese, the egg, and season well with salt and pepper.
Mix everything well leaving some nice ġbejniet chunks intact.
Set aside and now it’s time to cook the ravioli.
Boil them in plenty of salted water until they start to float then drain them well.
Brush your pie dish with melted butter and for extra protection use some baking paper. This will guarantee that the ravioli won’t stick to the dish.
Start placing the ravioli covering the whole dish, sides included. Try to cover all the surface.
When the ravioli are ready, make a layer of the ġbejniet mixture followed by a good layer of shredded mozzarella.
Allow the meat sauce to cool down a little before using it on top of the mozzarella.
Cover everything with the round puff pastry.
Cut 3 holes at the top to allow the steam to escape.
Bake in a preheated 180°c oven for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is nicely turning brown.
Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool off for 5-10 minutes before handling it.
Carefully flip the pie on a round baking dish and remove the baking paper.
Turn the oven to 200°c and bake the pie for another 15-20 minutes or until it gets a nice crust.
Might look like a lot of work but trust me, the result is fantastic.
Enjoy!
