We’ve been whipping through filled pastas in all kinds of shapes this summer, so we’re going to share with you today another one of our projects. Mezzelune means “half moons” in Italian, and it’s a pretty accurate description of these folded and stuffed pastas. They’re ridiculously easy to make – probably the simplest shape we’ve tried so far. We also came up with our own stuffing, and then used some of the leftovers to craft a sauce to pair with our mezzelune. In the end we got some pasta that looked cool and tasted great, so here’s how you can have some homemade mezzelune of your own.
You’ll need:
- 00 flour
- 5 eggs
- Semolina flour
- Ricotta
- A 5-ounce package of arugula
- A shallot
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic
- Pine nuts
- Olive oil
- Heavy cream
- Butter
You can make the filling first: finely chop a shallot and cook with a teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, until it’s softened but not browned. Add in a large handful of arugula and stir around in the pan just until it’s wilted, then take off the heat.
In a bowl mix 1 cup of ricotta with 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. When the arugula is cooled, stir that in as well, then cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge.
Now onto the pasta dough: follow the first three steps here, except when you’re rolling the dough out, roll it only to the 5 setting and send it through that setting twice. Lay the pasta sheets onto parchment paper that’s been dusted with 00 flour, and sprinkle more 00 flour on top of each sheet as well. When all the sheets have been rolled out, take one and place it on your work surface, then use a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter to cut out circles in the dough.
Now scrape your filling into a gallon-sized zipper bag, seal it closed, push all the filling to the bottom of the bag, and cut a half-inch slit in one corner. Pipe a thumb-sized portion of filling into the middle of each circle.
Once you’ve placed filling onto each circle, spritz the circles with water from a spray bottle. Then take one circle, hold it in the palm of your hand, and fold it neatly in half. Use your fingers to firmly pinch it closed, making sure all the filling is sealed in, then go around again to pinch it a second time.
Repeat this process for every circle and each sheet of pasta. Lay the mezzelune on baking sheets lined with parchment paper sprinkled with semolina. When you’re finished shaping all the dough, scatter more semolina on top of the pasta and stick the sheets in the fridge for an hour.
To make the sauce, take the rest of your arugula and place it into a food processor along with 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan, and a pinch of salt. Measure out 1/3 cup of pine nuts and toast in a small skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until they’re browned but not burned, then take them off the heat. Once they’ve cooled off, add them to the food processor, then pulse everything together until you have a smooth pesto.
Next, in a saucepan measure out a cup of cream and warm over medium heat until it just begins to bubble. Add in 3 tablespoons of butter, plus the pesto sauce and more salt. Turn the heat down to low and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until everything is melded together. Grate in 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese and stir until it’s blended in, then keep the sauce warmed over very low heat while you cook the pasta.
To finish the mezzelune, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add in the pasta and turn the heat down so the water is only simmering. Cook for about 4 minutes, until the mezzelune is tender along the seam where you pinched them closed.
Use a spider strainer to fish the mezzelune out of the water, and divide them up among plates. Spoon sauce on top and add on some more grated Parmesan.
See? Simple! We’ve now gotten the hang of making and rolling out the dough, and from there forming the mezzelune was only a matter of cutting circles, piping some filling, and folding each piece in half. The filling itself is easy, too, and the sauce is a delicious combination of pesto and cream. We think these half moons look good with some arugula shining through and then more added to the pesto on top – all in all, it’s a very green pasta. We’ll be trying a few more filled shapes coming up, so be on the lookout for more of our pasta experiments.