RE-ENVISION: European Stuffed Pasta

^{RE-ENVISION is an ongoing series of crossroads research memos produced by our associates at Appetite. We trace the cultural genealogies of food from around the world to challenge commonly held beliefs about origin and authenticity.}

Make dough. Prepare filling. Wrap dough around the filling. Cook. Serve.

This overly simplified recipe might immediately bring to mind a Chinese wonton, an Indian momo, or maybe even a Mexican tamale. The similarities between these tantalizing food items make it apparent that dumpling-style foods are ubiquitous across all cultures and gastronomic traditions; for Europeans, the most acclaimed of these variations is the Italian ravioli. As one of the most recognisable European dumplings, they are a good entryway into a crossroads reading of the world of stuffed pastas.

The origins of ravioli

Ravioli are small Italian dumplings made by encasing a filling of ground meat, cheese, vegetables and herbs between two thin layers of pasta. They are cooked by boiling, tossed in a sauce of varying compositions, and typically served with a light drizzle of oil. A single raviolo’s ingredients may vary from region to region in Italy. In the small village of Scapoli in Molise, Italy, ravioli is filled with boiled and chopped chard, roasted ground meat, sausage, eggs, ricotta, and young pecorino cheese¹. Similarly, in Campania, Ravioli di ricotta di Pecora (sheep’s cheese ravioli) is the specialty. 

The first recorded ravioli, described in a letter sent by the 14th-century merchant Francesco di Marco Datini, was filled with pork, eggs, cheese, parsley, and sugar². Eurasian trade was already commonplace at the time of Datini’s correspondence, and the ingredients found in his description can still be found in the ravioli of today. For example, today’s ravioli filling typically includes ricotta, egg, spinach, nutmeg, and black pepper. These ingredients have all ancient and diverse histories and are believed to have originated in the Italian peninsula in 2000 BCE³, Southeast Asia and Indian Subcontinent before 7500 BCE⁴, Ancient Persia during the first century BCE⁵, the Banda Islands of Indonesia in 1500 BCE⁶, and India around 2000 BCE respectively⁷.

The sauces that accompany ravioli also host well-traveled ingredients. For instance, the tomato sauce that often blankets the stuffed Italian staple wouldn’t have been possible without the transfer of the tomato from the New World to the Old World during the Columbian Exchange in 15th century CE⁹. The ingredients that constitute the ravioli’s filling and its sauce denote the dishes’ undeniable intercultural makeup. 

The disputed origins of pasta dough

However, there is contention around the origins of one fundamental ingredient of Italian stuffed pasta: the dough. The outer layer of the dumpling— the pasta dough holding together all ingredients— is itself an item of significant intrigue. This essential component of ravioli and all other pasta dishes is conventionally made from semolina flour, which is milled from durum wheat⁹. Durum wheat was initially found in the Levant and the Ethiopian Highlands around 7000 BCE and is believed to be one of the first domesticated crops^{10 11}. Yet, despite knowing the roots of a basic element of pasta, historians and pasta lovers still debate the origins of the Italian delicacy. 

There are several theories that pasta connoisseurs staunchly abide by, the first of which is that pasta dough is an invention of Italian origin. They cite their claims with the existence of proto lasagna-type pasta dating back to 400 BCE¹². The excavation of an Etruscan tomb found ancient pasta-making tools, signifying that pasta was enjoyed by the Etruscans and the Romans alike. However, findings indicate that these early pastas were more likely to have been baked rather than boiled like conventional variations of the dough¹³.

Alternatively, reputable scholars, such as prominent food writer Charles Perry and food historians Alan Davidson and Professor Barbara Santich, link the origins of pasta dough to Central Asia^{14 15 16}. They note that Arabs brought itriyah, dried dough of flour and water cut into strips, to Italy through the conquest of Sicily and Southern Italy during the 9th century CE¹⁷. Unlike the Etruscan pasta, itriyah required boiling to be made palatable, indicating that itriyah’s cooking process is akin to that of modern pasta dough^{18 19}. The Middle Eastern analogue is referenced in the Talmud as having been consumed in Jerusalem and by Arab traders along the Silk Road during the 5th century. Moreover, the word itriyah is believed to be derived from the Ancient Greek phrase itrion, which refers to a ceremonial flatbread²⁰. Today, Sicilians use the term tria to refer to various pastas, showing there is, at least, some connection between the early Arab pasta and its modern counterpart^{21 22}. 

The question of Marco Polo and China

Another theory concerning the origins of pasta dough strings the development of the Italian staple to Chinese noodles. This popular myth purports that pasta was brought to Italy by the Venician merchant Marco Polo in 1292 CE²³. However, the foremost problem with this theory is that, in The Travels of Marco Polo, Polo makes note of lagana, a lasagna-esque dish, which would suggest that pasta existed before his travels²⁴. We also do not know whether Marco Polo really did venture into China and serve in the court Mongol emperor, Kublai Khan²⁵. 

It should be noted that “dumpling” style foods did exist in Italy long before Polo’s ostensible travels. The first century CE Roman Cookery text, the Apicius, describes a dumpling style recipe²⁶. There is also a fresco that dates to the first decade of the 13th century known as mangiatrice di canederli (dumpling eater) in the chapel of Castel d’Appiano in Northern Italy²⁷. However, these proto-stuffed pastas were more akin to a gnocchi-like dish. They were boiled balls of dough with mixed ingredients such as roasted pheasant, milk, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper²⁸.

The first documented evidence of Italian dumplings in 1295 may have less to do with Polo’s travels and more to do with Venice becoming a dominant port for Mediterranean and Asiatic commerce²⁹. Foodstuffs were exchanged throughout the cities of Trebizond (Trabzon, Turkey), Constantinople (Istanbul), Asiatic Tripoli (Lebanon), Antioch (Turkey), Beirut (Lebanon), and Alexandria (Egypt), influencing the culinary composition of Italy and the rest of Europe³⁰. 14th and 15th century trade throughout the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, and Mediterranean likely also brought dishes like Central Asian manti, Indian momos , and Chinese wontons into Italy, leading to the stuffed pasta-dumplings (ravioli) of Renaissance Italy³¹. 

Ravioli would even make its way into the kitchens of King Richard II of England³². This is evidenced by his chef’s cookbooks which contained recipes for ravioli as “rauioles.” It is also believed that the inception of Italian stuffed pasta lead to the development of food items like Polish pierogi³³. Although Marco Polo should not be credited for the rise of pasta in Italy, it is inarguable that after his journeys, stuffed pasta began their final stages of development. 

Central Asian and Mongol influence in other European dumplings

While nothing should dampen the Italian pride revolving around their stuffed pasta such as tortellini and ravioli, it is nearly undeniable that Central Asian and Mongol influence is present in other European dumplings. For instance, a Polish kreplach is a Jewish dumpling filled with meat and mashed potatoes, made by boiling the pocket of dough in soup. Although the cooking techniques allude to a comparable background with the ravioli, this dish’s origins more likely lie with Mongols and the Turkic manti ^{34 35}. (The manti is a dumpling consisting of a ground or chopped meat, wrapped in a pasta or wonton like dough, and either boiled or steamed³⁶.) 

During the 13th century CE, interactions between the Mongols and the Armenian people introduced Chinese dumplings like bao and mantou to the West. From that point on, Turkic and Mongol migration along the Silk Road brought the dumpling into Anatolia, eventually making the manti known to the Ottoman Empire³⁷. Time and cultural exchange led to its manifestation in kreplach and related dumpling dishes like Bosnian Klepe. 

Similarly, the Russian pel’meni is also believed to have Mongol influences³⁸. It is credited to the people of Siberia and the Ural Mountains, yet there are theories that propose the Mongols carried knowledge of dumplings, like the Chinese jiaozi, into these regions and eventually to Eastern Europe³⁹. Ultimately, these analogues support the theory that European dumplings have taken many forms due to a myriad of cultural influences.

Ravioli, as the most recognisable of European dumplings, is a good entryway into the world of stuffed pastas. The source of its invention, like so many of its counterparts, is interlaced and muddled, showing that stuffed pastas are undoubtedly influenced by interactions throughout Eurasia. Regardless of which dumpling is the antecedent, stuffed pastas are an ever-evolving and continually popular dish, bursting with the intersecting histories of cultures around the globe.

For further reading, check out our previous research memo, RE-ENVISION: Dumplings.