Ravioli con mozzarella e prosciutto

Preparation - Medium
Serves 6

Stuffing:
5 ozs ricotta
3/4 lb mozzarella
1/4 lb prosciutto crudo, a bit on the fat side, cut very thin by machine and then cut by hand into very narrow strips
1 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 T finely chopped parsley
1 egg
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
1/4 lb butter
1/4 lb freshly grated Parmesan cheese
white pepper

PASS the ricotta through a sieve into a bowl. Dice the mozzarella fairly finely, and add this, the ham, the 1 oz of grated Parmesan, the chopped parsley, the egg, and salt and pepper to the ingredients in the bowl.

MIX the contents of the bowl carefully until you have a smooth homogeneous paste. Use this for stuffing the ravioli which you can make following the instructions in Spinach and ricotta with butter and sage or Toasted ravioli.

COOK the ravioli in abundant boiling salted water for 4 or 5 minutes, tasting one at the end of this time to check if they are properly cooked.

WHILE they are cooking melt the butter, but don't let it color.

WHEN the ravioli are cooked put a layer in the bottom of a heated serving dish, using a perforated ladle to transfer them.

SPRINKLE this layer with some of the grated Parmesan, pepper and pour a little of the melted butter on top. Repeat this process until all the ravioli, cheese and butter are used up.

SERVE.

Adapted from:
The Complete Book of Pasta
Enrica and Vernon Jarratt
Michael Joseph Ltd.