Serves 6
Quantity of Fresh pasta made with 2
eggs and 200g ‘00’ flour
Semolina or plain flour, for dusting
For the filling:
250 g ricotta cheese
Finely grated zest of 1/2-1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
For the sauce:
125 g butter
1 tablespoon roughly chopped mint leaves
Start by making the filling. Drain the ricotta and then combine all the ingredients together in a bowl. Go easy on the lemon zest as it can be quite overpowering, but season to suit your taste.
This is important as you want the flavour to shine through the pasta and sauce, so slightly over-season rather than underseason. Bring a large pan of well-salted water two-thirds full to the boil.
To make the ravioli, roll out half the fresh pasta, keeping the other half wrapped in Clingfilm. Flour the work surface but don’t flour the top side of the pasta or it will be hard to seal. Roll out the pasta using a rolling pin or a pasta machine until you can see your hand through it. Set the machine to the setting before last - the last setting makes the thinnest pasta but this is too fragile for ravioli.
Cut the pasta into rectangles; roughly the length of a cook’s knife. Dot a heaped teaspoon of the filling at even intervals (two fingers’ width apart is ideal) onto a length of pasta. Cover with another length of pasta and press down around the filling to expel the air and seal the pasta sheets together. Using a pasta wheel or a sharp knife cut the ravioli into even 5 cm squares. Set the shapes aside on a surface dusted with flour or semolina (semolina is good as it doesn’t stick to the pasta).
Cook the pasta for 4 to 6 minutes, until al dente - test by sampling the edge of a ravioli.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by melting the butter in a large frying pan. When the ravioli is done, drain and add the butter to the pan with a little of the cooking water. Shake the pan to amalgamate the water and butter and add the chopped mint. Serve immediately in warmed bowls or plates. Garnish to suit.
Recipes by Katie and Giancarlo Caldes