Ricotta, egg and herb dumplings

Rabaton, perhaps a dish of nomad origin, traces its roots back to the Fraschetta Plain, mainly to the villages of Mandrogne, Cascinagrossa and Litta. Shepherds would head down the Apennines as far as the city gates to spend the winter, bringing their sheep and rams with them. They certainly had plenty of ricotta at hand, but it was highly unlikely that they found spinach or chard growing in vegetable gardens. They probably used wild greens, like nettle tips, dandelion and vertis (tips of wild asparagus) to prepare their food. These shepherds had plenty of tasty, salty, matured cheeses, as well as hard, stale bread. Beef broth was not available so we presume they used the water they had boiled the greens in, flavoured with dried mutton. A plate of rabaton was a wholesome one-dish meal. This recipe is allegedly the original one from the Fraschetta shepherds; this recipe uses easier-to-find ingredients.