Our pasta machine doesn’t see the light of day as often as it should, but its always worth the effort when it does. Making the dough and rolling it out is a bit of a faff, let’s be honest – so I tend to make a job-lot of dough and freeze it in batches wrapped in cling film. If you don’t have a pasta machine it will be easier to make little balls of dough and then roll them very thinly individually – otherwise you need some serious muscles to get a huge ball of dough thin enough for these delicate little beauties.
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Creamy Cheese and Lemon Ravioli
Ingredients
For the Dough (makes about 35 ravioli)
350g flour (ideally 00 pasta flour, but I used strong white bread flour which worked well) 3 eggs 3 tbsp olive oil Zest of 3 lemons Black pepperFilling
300g soft cheese – I used 100g St Agur and 200g Philadelphia, but any combinations of creamy and grated cheeses would work well Salt and black pepper 1 egg (white only)To Serve
Knob butter Lemons (a quarter per person is ample) Handful rocket, finely chopped Parmesan-style cheese, gratedMethod
1. In a food processor, whizz together all the dough ingredients to a crumbly dough. You may have to add a touch more oil or flour to get the right consistency. Work by hand until the dough is smooth, then roll into four sausage shapes, wrap in cling film and chill for at least half an hour.
2. Flour each ‘sausage’ of dough well, and process through your pasta machine starting on the widest setting and gradually working down to the thinnest. Keep the rolled sheets moist under a damp tea towel whilst you’re rolling the rest.
3. Cut circles from each sheet (about 7-8cm, using a pastry cutter or cutting around a glass), keeping them moist under the damp tea towel. Pull together all the ‘offcuts’ into another ball of dough, and roll and cut this too.
4. Whisk together your choice of cheeses and season well with salt and black pepper.
5. Take one circle, brush the edges with egg white, and place a teaspoon of cheesy filling in the centre. Place a second circle on top and pinch the edges firmly together leaving a ‘rim’ of about 1cm.
6. Sprinkle a tray or baking sheet with semolina and place the ravioli on it as they are ready. (At this point they can be covered in cling film and refrigerated for up to a day)
7. When ready to cook, bring a very large pan of water to the boil, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
8. Drain, return to the empty pan and toss in the butter and rocket. Divide between plates and grate over the parmesan-style cheese and serve with a lemon wedge to be squeezed over at the table.
