Crossword Genius

Italian course is a fiddle, short­ened right at the start (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

ravioli

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'italian course' is the definition.
'ravioli' can be an answer for 'course' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'italian' bit.

'a fiddle shortened right at the start' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' is present in the answer.
'fiddle' could be 'viol' (I have seen 'Early fiddle ' mean 'viol' so perhaps 'fiddle' could also mean 'viol') and 'viol' is present in the answer.
'right' could be 'r' (common abbreviation) and 'r' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'i' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'is' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for ravioli that I've seen before include "Stuffed pasta squares" , "Filled pasta envelopes" , "created with Italian gut in mind" , "Paganini might have made a meal of this" , "Pasta with savoury stuffing" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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