Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna Pasta with Lemon Dill Butter

Smoked Salmon Mousse ravioli -like filled pasta served with lemon dill butter – it certainly can’t get much better! The final result is a restaurant-quality, delicate but extremely tasty plate of Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna Pasta drizzled with lemon dill butter. It’s a show-stopper, to say the least!

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My First Experience with Mezzaluna Pasta

My most vivid memory of Mezzaluna pasta is from a restaurant in Malta. We’ve only spent two days there, but I can honestly say that Valetta is the No. 1 on the list of the most beautiful European capitals. Apart from the memories of beautiful nature, architecture and warm people, I have one very specific Mezzalune related memory.

It was the first time I had to (absolutely had to) leave food on my plate. Let me back up a little. I was brought up with a very strong rule of finishing everything on my plate. There was no wasting of food in my family and well… no leftovers either. You simply ate what was served. And whilst it may not be the best rule to follow in terms of weight management, it is now ingrained in my behaviour. After all, I plate my own food most of the time, so I got pretty good at getting it just right.

Back to Malta! I ordered prosciutto mezzalune with cream and fig sauce (sounds intriguing, right?). It was divine! The only issue was that I got served a portion that could have easily served six (and that’s not at all an exaggeration!). Here I was, with a plate the size of my mixing bowl, full of mezzaluna pasta swimming in cream and fig sauce. I felt sooo bad when the waiter asked me if I didn’t like it when he saw about half of it still on my plate…

What is Mezzaluna Pasta?

Half-moon-shaped filled pasta is native to Tyrol. Similarly to ravioli, mezzalune are filled with both vegetarian or meaty fillings and served with a variety of sauces including pesto, tomato or butter sauce. To make a Mezzaluna shape, cut rounds of thinly rolled-out pasta dough. Pipe/ spoon the filling in the centre. Fold the dough over to create a half-circle and seal the edge with your fingers. Finally, press the edge down with the fork to create indents.

If you are wondering why I use Mezzalune and Mezzaluna Pasta interchangeably, the former is popular and the latter is singular in Italian (just like ravioli and raviolo).

Read more about Filled Pasta and various different shapes and types of dough that you can make at home on our dedicated Homemade Filled Pasta article.

Tonight I’m sharing my recipe for Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna Pasta with Lemony Dill Butter Sauce. The portions won’t be as big as in Malta, but good things often come in smaller quantities. These Mezzalune (similar to smoked salmon ravioli) are really rather rich and filling, so you don’t need too much anyway.

Ingredients

Seven ingredients – that’s all you need to make a restaurant-quality smoked salmon-filled pasta!

• 00 flour: 00 flour is perfect for pasta, but if you have to, substitute it with strong white bread flour. Alternatively, you can make Pasta Bianca (made with semolina and water only) as an eggless option.
• eggs: we used two medium eggs (UK), or two large eggs (US) for 200g of flour.
• smoked salmon: this recipe uses cold smoked salmon, but hot-smoked salmon should work well too.
• cream cheese: also known as soft cheese, like Philadelphia. You may use ricotta in this recipe too.
• dill (fresh or frozen): will be used in the smoked salmon pasta filling as well as in the sauce.
• lemon: choose a fresh juicy lemon.
• butter: unsalted, as the salmon in this recipe adds enough salt already.

Method

Pasta Dough

Place the 00 flour onto a kitchen surface and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into it and gradually mix with your hands. Knead the dough until the dough is soft, elastic and pliable. This will take about 10 minutes. If your dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of water. If it’s too wet and sticky, add a bit of flour. Wrap a ball of dough in clingfilm and leave the pasta to rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.

Smoked Salmon Filling for Pasta

In the meantime, make the filling. Place the smoked salmon and cream cheese in a food processor (we love Kenwood) and whizz until combined. Stir in 2 tablespoon of the dill and half the lemon juice. Season with black pepper (no salt needed, as smoked salmon is quite salty itself).

Filling The Pasta

Divide the pasta dough into 4. Using a pasta machine (we use Mercato Atlas) One piece at a time (keeping other pieces wrapped to avoid drying out) roll out the pasta into a long thin strip about 1mm in thickness. Cut the strip in half to make it more manageable. Using an atomiser, spray the dough with water very lightly to prevent the dough from drying out.

Using a round cookie cutter, a pastry ring or a round ravioli stamp, cut rounds of pasta dough out. We used 7.6cm pastry rings and got 36 rounds which was just enough to use up all the filling.

Spoon/ pipe teaspoons (or tablespoons if you’re making very large Mezzaluna) of the salmon filling onto each round. Fold the dough over to create half circles and seal the edge with your fingers. Try and squeeze out any air bubbles and press down to seal.

Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Drop the Mezzaluna into the water and cook for approx two minutes after they float to the top (it may take less or more time depending on how thinly you rolled out your pasta). Drain.

Lemon Dill Butter Sauce

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and add the remaining half of the lemon juice and the dill. Season (don’t add too much salt though) and spoon over the Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna.

Want To Make Smoked Salmon Ravioli Instead?

If you prefer to make smoked salmon ravioli, you absolutely can! All you need to do is shape the pasta differently.

Roll the pasta dough into two thin sheets. Pipe the filling, leaving 3-4 cm in between. Carefully place the other pasta sheet on top draping it down in between piles of filling to avoid air being trapped. Press around each mound to seal well pressing outward toward the edges, pushing out any air pockets. Using a sharp knife, a ravioli stamp or a cutter, cut out even squares of ravioli. And here you go, instead of mezzalune, you have smoked salmon ravioli!

What To Serve With Smoked Salmon Pasta?

For a true homemade pasta feast, enhance this mezzaluna pasta recipe with some delicious side dishes. Don’t go crazy with the flavours through, as they may overshadow the star of the dish – smoked salmon filling. We recommend trying some of the following to pair with this smoked salmon ravioli-style pasta:

• Lemon and Garlic Tenderstem Broccoli (Broccolini)
• Slices of Crusty Sourdough Bread (perfect for mopping up the lemon dill butter at the end)
• Pan-Fried Asparagus

Other Homemade Pasta Recipes

Did you enjoy our Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna Pasta? If you’d like to read more about filled pasta and the various shapes you can make, here’s our article: Filled Pasta Basics: How to Make Ravioli, Tortelloni, Agnielotti etc?. For other filled pasta ideas, have a look at some of our favourites below:

• Spinach & Cream Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Butter
• Butternut Squash Cappalletti with Sage Butter
• Mushroom Agnolotti

Recipe Card

Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna Pasta with Lemon Dill Butter

Smoked Salmon Mousse filled pasta served with lemon dill butter – it certainly can't get much better. The final result is a delicate but extremely tasty plate of Smoked Salmon Mezzaluna Pasta drizzled with lemon dill butter. It’s a show stopper.

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 35 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Chilling Time: 30 mins

Total Time 1 hr 10 mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 3 portions

Calories 672 kcal

Equipment

• Pasta Machine
• Food Proccessor

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

For the Pasta Dough:

• 200 g 00 flour
• 2 eggs medium

For the Filling:

• 120 g smoked salmon
• 150 g cream cheese
• 2 tablespoon dill (fresh or frozen) finely chopped

For the Butter Sauce:

• 1 lemon juiced
• 25 g butter
• 1 tablespoon dill (fresh or frozen) finely chopped

Instructions

 

• Place the flour onto a kitchen surface and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into it and gradually mix with your hands. Knead the dough until the dough is soft, elastic and pliable. This will take about 10 minutes. If your dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of water. If it's too wet and sticky, add a bit of flour. Wrap a ball of dough in clingfilm and leave the pasta to rest for 30-60 minutes at room temperature.
• In the meantime, make the filling. Place the smoked salmon and cream cheese in a food processor and whizz until combined. Stir in 2 tablespoon of the dill and half the lemon juice. Season with black pepper (no salt needed, as smoked salmon is quite salty itself).
• Divide the pasta dough into 4. One piece at a time (keeping other pieces wrapped to avoid drying out) roll out the pasta into a long thin strip about 1mm in thickness. Cut the strip in half to make it more manageable. Using an atomiser, spray the dough with water very lightly to prevent the dough from drying out.
• Using a round cookie cutter, a pastry ring or a round ravioli stamp, cut rounds of pasta dough out. We used 7.6cm pastry rings and got 36 rounds that we just enough to use up all the filling.
• Spoon/ pipe teaspoons (or tablespoons if you're making very large Mezzaluna) of the salmon filling onto each round. Fold the dough over to create half circles and seal the edge with your fingers. Try and squeeze out any air bubbles and press down to seal.
• Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Drop the Mezzaluna into the water and cook for approx two minutes after they float to the top (it may take less or more time depending on how thinly you rolled out your pasta). Drain.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan, add the remaining half of the lemon juice and the dill. Season (don't add too much salt though) and spoon over the Mezzaluna.

Notes

For serving suggestions, have a look at the “What to Serve With Smoked Salmon Pasta” section above. 

Want To Make Salmon Ravioli Instead Of Mezzalune?

If you prefer to make smoked salmon ravioli, you absolutely can! All you need to do is shape the pasta differently. After rolling the pasta dough and spooning/piping the filling on the thin sheets of pasta, carefully place the other pasta sheet on top draping it down in between piles of filling to avoid air being trapped. Press around each mound to seal well pressing outward toward the edges, pushing out any air pockets. Using a sharp knife, a ravioli stamp or a cutter, cut out even squares of ravioli. And here you go, instead of mezzalune, you have smoked salmon ravioli!

Nutrition

Calories: 672kcalCarbohydrates: 88gProtein: 34gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 219mgSodium: 902mgPotassium: 555mgFiber: 4gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 798IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 187mgIron: 6mg

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