This is a lovely recipe from Meredith Erickson’s book, Alpine Cooking, part glorious glimpse up into the bounty of the Alps and part travel guide for the culinarily curious. Have a read through whenever you’re in need of some inspiring escapism. And if you happen to find yourself deep into a long winter, craving a glimpse of spring like I did, this recipe of Meredith’s will lift your spirits with a comforting herbaceous hug and a bit of buttery encouragement. Ravioli meets pierogi in these rich and bright mezzalunas filled with alpine cheeses and herbs, wrapped in a handmade pasta that’s pan seared and drizzled with browned butter. Yum.
Meredith Erickson’s Alpine Cooking
Each ingredient plays an important role in the overall flavor and texture of this dish. The fresh oregano was a highlight for me, it’s hay-like pungent green notes nestling up to the assertive earthy tang of the Gruyere. Hand dipped whole milk ricotta has a soft, sweet, milky flavor and rich curd texture + body that overly processed varieties do not, so if you can, seek it out. Quark, like a slightly thicker creme fraiche, adds a touch of tang and silkiness, with the chives, parsley and spinach rounding out the chorus.
This recipe is a bit of project but when tackled in phases - and with a few extra hands if you’ve got them - the rewards are well worth it. If you start off by making the pasta dough first, which after mixing and kneading likes to rest for about an hour, you’ll have a nice window of time to make the filling before setting out to roll and fill the pasta.
With your dough resting, prepare the filling. Simple and easy, it requires a quick blanch and chop of the spinach before adding this to the pan with the just softened garlic. Mix the spinach and garlic in with the cheeses, herbs, S+P and it’s ready. I am not a fan of overly salty food but I do think it is important that this filling be sufficiently seasoned, so salt to taste and then maybe add just a pinch more.
Rolling out the pasta requires a bit of space planning and organization if you are like me and have very limited tabletop or counter space. You’ll want to get step up with the rolling machine, space for laying out the pasta sheets and assembling the mezzaluna, flour for sprinkling, your bowl of filling, a little bowl of water for sealing the mezzalunas, your pasta cutter, and trays for holding the ready to be cooked mezzalunas.
Here I rolled out all of my sheets of pasta first - but next time I will roll one, fill one. Roll one, fill one. Stacking and storing multiple sheets of delicate pasta was a fun challenge, but not one I’d wish on a fellow pasta making novice.
Once assembled, boil in salted water a few at a time. These cook ever so quickly, possibly only 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until they float. Seriously, it’s way faster than you think it will be. Have a towel lined plate or tray ready to catch them so they can dry and cool slightly before browning them in the waiting pan. Once you have a nice color on one side, plate the mezzaluna, drizzle the browned butter from the pan over the top, sprinkle with a few chopped herbs and you’re ready!
SPINACH + CHEESE MEZZALUNA
— from Alpine Cooking by Meredith Erickson (Ten Speed Press)
FILLING*
7 ounces (200g) spinach leaves
1/4 cup (55g) unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup (100g) quark cheese
1/2 cup (100g) ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons grated strong hard mountain cheese such Montasio, aged Gruyere, or Berner Alpkases
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs (a mix of parsley, chives, and oregano)
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
MEZZALUNA DOUGH*
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups (240g) semolina or rye flour, plus more for dusting
5 eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
TO SERVE
1/4 cup (55g) unsalted butter
Fresh herb leaves (a mix of parsley, chives, and oregano) for garnish
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for dusting
METHOD (Adapted)
* I found that quartering the amount of dough works perfectly for 2x the filling quantity above.
To make the dough, mix the flours together in a large bowl. Form a well in the center, pour in the eggs and oil. Whisk the eggs and oil together and slowly incorporate flour from the edge of the well until flour is fully incorporated. Knead the dough with your hand for 10 minutes or so until it is smooth, shiny, and springs back to the touch. Cover with plastic wrap or place in a lidded bowl and leave to rest in the fridge for 45-60 minutes.
To make the filling, blanch the washed spinach leaves briefly in boiling water. Squeeze to remove any excess water and roughly chop. Mix spinach with remaining filling ingredients, salt to taste.
To form the mezzaluna, divide dough into manageable portions (1/4 to 1/6 of dough). Roll out dough with a pasta machine according to pasta machine instructions. You want long sheets about 4-5 inches wide that are thin enough to see your hand through. Dust your work surface, lay out sheet of dough, and place tablespoon sized dollops of filling down the center of the sheet about 3-4 inches apart. Light brush the dough surrounding the filling with water. Fold dough over filling, aligning cut edges, pressing any air out around and between the filling mounds. Using your serrated pastry cutter, cut half moon shapes around each mound to form the mezzaluna. Transfer these mezzaluna to a floured sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap until ready to cook.
To cook mezzaluna, boil a large pot of salted water. When water comes to a boil, drop in 10-15 mezzaluna at a time. They are cooked as soon as they float to the top. This happens very quickly! Using a slotted spoon transfer them to a towel lined plate or tray.
In a large saute pan, over medium heat melt the butter. Add the mezzaluna and gently brown on one side. Transfer to serving plate, drizzle browned butter from pan over the mezzaluna, sprinkle with herbs, and a dusting of Parmigiano.
