Coastal Italy · Ravioli all'Astice
Lobster Ravioli
Delicate egg pasta parcels filled with sweet lobster, finished in a saffron butter.
90 min
60 min
30 min
4
The Story
Where it comes from
Lobster ravioli sits at the crossroads of northern technique and southern bounty. The dough is rich Emilian-style egg pasta, the filling is gently poached lobster bound with mascarpone and lemon zest, and the sauce is a saffron-laced beurre monté that perfumes the kitchen. It's a celebration dish — for anniversaries, Christmas Eve, or any meal that deserves an hour at the rolling pin.
Mise en Place
Ingredients
For 4 servings. Quantities are by weight where it matters — Italian cooking is a math of grams and minutes.
For the pasta
- 300 g
00 flour
- 2 large
Whole eggs
- 4 large
Egg yolks
- 1 tsp
Olive oil
- pinch
Fine sea salt
For the sauce
- 500 g
Live lobster (or cooked tail meat)
- 100 g
Mascarpone
- 1 lemon
Lemon zest
- 1 tbsp
Fresh chives, minced
- 20 g
Parmigiano Reggiano
finely grated
- to taste
Salt, white pepper
To finish
- 100 g
Unsalted butter
cold, cubed
- 1 generous pinch
Saffron threads
- 60 ml
Dry vermouth or white wine
- 30 ml
Heavy cream
- for stock
Reserved lobster shells
Equipment
The Method
Chef-led, step by step
- 1
Make the dough
40 minMound flour on a board. Make a well. Add eggs, yolks, oil, salt. Whisk with a fork, pulling in flour gradually until shaggy. Knead 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap and rest 30 minutes.
- 2
Cook and pick the lobster
12 minSteam lobster 7 minutes per 500 g. Cool, then crack and pick — save shells. Chop meat into 5 mm pieces.
- 3
Build a quick shellfish stock
20 minIn the same pot, sauté lobster shells in olive oil until red-fragrant. Add 500 ml water, bring to simmer. Reduce 20 minutes. Strain into a clean pan.
- 4
Mix the filling
17 minFold lobster meat with mascarpone, lemon zest, chives, parmigiano. Season carefully with salt and white pepper. Chill 15 minutes.
- 5
Roll the pasta
Cut dough into 4 pieces. Roll one through pasta machine, narrowing each pass, to setting 6 (about 1 mm thick). Lay on a floured board.
- 6
Shape the ravioli
Pipe or spoon 1 tsp filling at 6 cm intervals on half the sheet. Brush egg wash around each. Lay second sheet over. Press out air around each mound. Cut with a ring cutter or fluted wheel. Place on semolina-dusted tray.
Chef's note · Air pockets are the enemy — ravioli will burst in the water.
- 7
Build the saffron butter
8 minBloom saffron in vermouth for 5 minutes. Add to the reduced shellfish stock with cream. Bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk in cold butter cube by cube until glossy and emulsified.
- 8
Cook and dress
3 minSalt water lightly. Slip ravioli in — cook 3 minutes from fresh. Lift with a spider directly into the sauce. Toss gently. Plate 5–6 per portion. Garnish with chives and a thread of saffron.
Chef tips
- ·Bloom saffron in warm liquid for at least 5 minutes — it unlocks color and aroma.
- ·Keep finished ravioli on semolina, not flour — semolina won't gum the pasta.
- ·Mount the butter off direct heat — boiling breaks the emulsion.
Common mistakes
- ·Over-filling the ravioli — they'll split during cooking.
- ·Boiling the sauce — saffron butter must stay below a simmer.
- ·Skipping the shellfish stock — it's where the depth comes from.
The Cellar
Wine pairings
Franciacorta Brut
Lombardy
Italy's champagne — yeasty, mineral, an exquisite match for shellfish and butter.
Soave Classico Superiore
Veneto
Almond, white flower, and stone fruit — built for delicate seafood.
Vermentino di Sardegna
Sardinia
Coastal, saline, with the lift to balance saffron and cream.
Shopping List
What to bring home
- 00 flour300 g
- Whole eggs2 large
- Egg yolks4 large
- Olive oil1 tsp
- Fine sea saltpinch
- Live lobster (or cooked tail meat)500 g
- Mascarpone100 g
- Lemon zest1 lemon
- Fresh chives, minced1 tbsp
- Parmigiano Reggiano20 g
- Salt, white pepperto taste
- Unsalted butter100 g
- Saffron threads1 generous pinch
- Dry vermouth or white wine60 ml
- Heavy cream30 ml
- Reserved lobster shellsfor stock
Questions