Barbagiuai: the sweet of the pumpkin meets the strong taste of brussu.

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

600 g of flour

½ glass of extra virgin olive oil

salt and water

FOR THE STUFFING

1 kg of pumpkin

150 g of rice

1 egg

1 glass of milk

1 tablespoon of brussu*

100 g of grated Parmesan cheese

1 clove of garlic

a sprig of marjoram

½ glass of extra virgin olive oil

½ glass of milk

salt and pepper

oil for frying

Directions

Knead the flour, water, oil and salt on the cutting board, work them well with your hands, letting the dough rest for a while; peel the pumpkin, cut it into small pieces and put it to fry very gently in the oil.

In the meantime, bring a liter of water and the glass of milk to the boil and cook the rice, draining it “al dente”. In a bowl, mix the rice, the brussu, the grated Parmesan, the pumpkin (which you have crushed with the prongs of a fork), the salt, the pepper, the egg and the finely chopped marjoram.

Stir thoroughly.

Take the dough and roll out a very thin sheet, then with a toothed wheel-cutter cut it into squares of about 6 cm for each side.

Place the pumpkin mixture inside and close the dough to form a large ravioli.

Heat the oil and fry the Barbagiuai until they are crispy and golden.

Allow the excess oil to be absorbed on a sheet of absorbent kitchen paper before serving.

You can accompany them with a mixed salad.

It seems that the name of this particular dish from Val Nervia (which later entered into the common use of the whole Ligurian west) originates from the fact that it was an uncle, who was very good at cooking, to expertly dose the sweet of the pumpkin with the strong flavor of brussu.

In the Ligurian dialect, the uncle is called “barba” and the uncle's name was Giovanni-Giuan, thus this specialty took the name of Barbagiuai.

*It is a goat ricotta fermented with the addition of grappa, left to rest for a while until the strong flavor appears.