Raviolo Aperto al Cervo Brasato al Cannonau, Crema di Porcini, Cioccolato Fondente e Tartufo Nero (Italian Open Raviolo with Cannonau Braised Venison, Porcini Cream, Dark Chocolate and Black Truffle)

Italian Open Raviolo with Cannonau Braised Venison, Porcini Cream, Dark Chocolate and Black Truffle

Story of the Dish

This open raviolo is built around the deep flavors of Sardinian game cooking. Venison is slowly braised in Cannonau until tender, then paired with porcini, a restrained touch of dark chocolate and black truffle. The format is intentionally open: thin pasta sheets are layered rather than sealed so every component remains visible and the textures stay distinct.

Cannonau contributes ripe fruit, spice and enough acidity to balance the natural intensity of venison. Porcini bring forest depth, while dark chocolate is used in a very small quantity to round the braising sauce rather than make it taste sweet. Black truffle is added only at service because heat quickly destroys its aroma.

The dish should feel luxurious but disciplined. The venison must stay moist, the porcini cream should be silky rather than heavy, the pasta must be thin and tender, and the chocolate should be almost impossible to identify as an ingredient. The final impression should be game, wine, mushroom and truffle in that order.

Recipe Information

Region: Sardinia inspired

Difficulty: Advanced

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 3 1/2 hours

Total Time: About 5 hours including braising and resting

Ingredients

Fresh Pasta

2 cups Italian 00 flour

3 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Pinch fine sea salt

Cannonau Braised Venison

1 lb venison shoulder or neck, cut into large pieces

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups Cannonau di Sardegna

2 cups light game or veal stock

2 thyme sprigs

1 rosemary sprig

1 bay leaf

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Porcini Cream

1 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1 cup hot water

6 oz fresh porcini or cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 small shallot

1 tbsp butter

1/2 cup light cream

Fine sea salt

Finish

1 oz 70% dark chocolate, finely grated, use only as needed

Fresh black truffle

2 tbsp cold unsalted butter

Extra virgin olive oil

Chives, finely sliced, optional

Preparation

1. Season the venison with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven and brown the meat deeply on all sides. Remove and reserve.

2. Add onion, carrot and celery to the pot and cook until lightly caramelized. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook 2 minutes. Deglaze with Cannonau and reduce by about half.

3. Return the venison, add stock and herbs, cover and braise gently at 300°F for about 3 hours or until the meat pulls apart easily. Remove the meat, strain the liquid and reduce it until glossy. Shred the venison by hand and moisten with enough reduced sauce to keep it succulent.

4. Soak dried porcini in hot water 20 minutes. Strain the liquid carefully. Sauté shallot and fresh mushrooms in butter until deeply aromatic. Add the soaked porcini and a small amount of soaking liquid, reduce, then add cream and simmer briefly. Blend until smooth and pass through a fine sieve.

5. Prepare fresh pasta, knead until smooth and rest 30 minutes. Roll very thin and cut twelve neat squares approximately 4 inches wide. Keep covered until cooking.

6. Bring salted water to a boil and cook the pasta sheets 60 to 90 seconds. Transfer directly into a wide pan with a little butter and a spoonful of braising liquid so they remain glossy and do not stick.

7. Warm the shredded venison gently in its sauce. Add only a small pinch of finely grated dark chocolate to the sauce, taste and stop as soon as the bitterness rounds the wine and game. The chocolate must not become a recognizable sweet flavor.

8. Place a spoonful of porcini cream on each warm plate. Add one pasta sheet, a portion of venison, then a second sheet and another smaller layer of venison. Finish with the third sheet. Spoon reduced Cannonau sauce around the raviolo, shave black truffle over the top and serve immediately.

Professional Technique

The braise must remain gentle so the venison becomes tender without drying. Reduce the strained cooking liquid separately after the meat is done; this gives concentration without overcooking the venison. Dark chocolate should be added in minute amounts and tasted continuously. Fresh pasta is cooked only briefly and then glossed in butter and sauce. Truffle is never cooked into the preparation; it is shaved over the completed hot dish so the rising heat releases its aroma.

Chef Tips

Use shoulder or neck rather than a lean venison loin. Brown the meat deeply before braising. Strain porcini soaking liquid through a coffee filter if it contains grit. Add chocolate by pinches, not by weight all at once. Warm plates before assembly and shave truffle at the last moment.

Mistakes to Avoid

Do not substitute beef and keep the venison title. Do not use Barolo when the dish is built around Cannonau. Avoid sweet chocolate flavor, thick mushroom purée, overcooked pasta sheets, dry shredded meat or truffle exposed to prolonged heat.

Wine Pairing

Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva: the natural first choice, echoing the braising wine and matching the game.

Carignano del Sulcis Superiore: dark fruit and savory structure stand up to venison and porcini.

Monica di Sardegna Superiore: softer tannin works well when the dish is served with more mushroom than sauce.

Brunello di Montalcino: structured Sangiovese complements game and black truffle without excessive sweetness.

Etna Rosso: mineral acidity offers a fresher, more elegant contrast to the richness of the braise.

Sardinian Game Context

Venison and Cannonau belong naturally together because the wine has enough fruit, alcohol and savory spice to stand beside game. The dish is not a traditional Sardinian raviolo, but it uses a regional logic: game, structured red wine, woodland mushrooms and a restrained bitter element. The open format keeps the filling visible and avoids enclosing rich venison inside a heavy sealed pasta parcel.

Venison Braising and Sauce Reduction

Use a braising cut with connective tissue rather than tender loin. Shoulder and neck become succulent after long cooking and provide enough gelatin to enrich the sauce. Once the meat is tender, remove it before reducing the liquid. Reducing with the venison still submerged can dry the fibers. The final sauce should be glossy and concentrated enough to coat the meat without becoming sticky.

Porcini, Chocolate and Truffle Balance

Porcini should create earthy depth but the cream must remain light enough to contrast with the braise. Dark chocolate is a seasoning, not a flavor theme; add it in tiny amounts until it softens bitterness and amplifies the Cannonau. Black truffle belongs at the very end. Shaving it over the hot completed plate releases aroma without exposing it to destructive prolonged heat.

Open Raviolo Assembly and Service

Cook the pasta sheets immediately before assembly. Keep them thin, supple and lightly glossed so they do not stick. Build the layers low rather than tall, keeping venison portions controlled between the sheets. Warm plates are essential. Once the final sheet is placed, sauce and truffle should follow immediately so the pasta reaches the table hot and tender.

Final Balance and Plating Check

Taste the venison, porcini cream and reduced Cannonau sauce together before assembly. The game should remain the dominant flavor, the mushroom should broaden the earthiness, and the chocolate should register only as a darker finish. The pasta sheets should be tender enough to cut cleanly with the side of a fork but not so soft that the layers collapse. Use a warm wide plate, keep the stack low and centered, and shave truffle generously only after the sauce is in place so the aroma remains the final impression.

Nutrition per Serving

Calories: approximately 690 kcal

Protein: 42 g

Carbohydrates: 56 g

Fat: 28 g

Saturated Fat: 12 g

Fiber: 4 g

Sugars: 7 g

Sodium: approximately 760 mg

Cholesterol: approximately 165 mg

Storage and Reheating

Store the venison and sauce separately from the pasta for up to 3 days refrigerated. Porcini cream keeps up to 2 days. Fresh pasta sheets can be refrigerated for several hours or frozen between parchment. Reheat venison gently with a splash of stock. Cook fresh pasta only at service and add truffle after reheating.

Chef Gianluca