Pansotti

A signature pasta from Liguria, Recco in particular, pansotti are triangular parcels of pasta, their rotund shape giving rise to the name (pansotti – ‘big bellies’). Paradoxically for something called ‘fat’, they are also called ravioli di magro (lean ravioli) and in fact are always a ‘lean’ pasta: their filling never includes meat and is typically made with preboggion – wild herbs gathered from the hills – mixed with a local cheese (prescinseua) or ricotta, nutmeg and marjoram. This mixture of greens – borage, wild celery, chard and radicchio, dandelion and the like – is a restorative, and was used as a cure for Goffredo di Buglione, the great leader of the Crusades. Alternative fillings may rely simply on chard – the ancient name in Genoa for this pasta is ge in preixun – ‘chard in prison’ in local dialect. The dough is fairly white, containing little or no egg and often a dash of white wine, although outside of Liguria many prefer to use a richer egg dough.