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Papua New GuineaFlavors · St. Louis
Ravioli filled with meat, breaded and fried until crisp, served with grated Parmesan and a tomato sauce for dipping. It originated in the Italian restaurants of the The Hill neighborhood in St. Louis around the 1940s.
Traditional dish from St. Louis, Missouri
Also known as: T-ravs, St. Louis toasted ravioli
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Toasted ravioli — St. Louis, the United States
Despite the name, toasted ravioli is fried. They are ravioli, usually filled with meat, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried until golden. They arrive at the table crispy on the outside and tender inside, sprinkled with Parmesan and served with a bowl of tomato sauce for dipping. In St. Louis, it’s the most common appetizer at Italian restaurants and also appears in bars, diners and in grocery store freezers around the city.
The dish was born in The Hill, St. Louis’s Italian neighborhood, formed by immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. More than one restaurant in the neighborhood claims to have created it in the 1940s; the most told story describes a ravioli that accidentally fell into hot oil instead of into boiling water.
The Hill remains a neighborhood of Italian restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores, and many of its restaurants keep the dish on the menu, alongside pasta and family-style plates.
St. Louis, Missouri
Appetizer born in the Italian restaurants of The Hill neighborhood in St. Louis around the 1940s.
Meat-filled ravioli (sometimes cheese), egg, milk, breadcrumbs, frying oil, grated Parmesan, tomato sauce.
As an appetizer, eaten with the hands or with a fork, dipped in tomato sauce.
All year round, as an appetizer or snack.
Your questions
It’s fried. The ravioli are breaded in egg and breadcrumbs and fried until golden, despite the name.
In The Hill, the Italian neighborhood of St. Louis, around the 1940s. More than one neighborhood restaurant claims its creation.
Topped with grated Parmesan and served with tomato sauce for dipping, as an appetizer.
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