I’ve finally got to grips with pasta. Having bought a machine some years ago but rarely used it, lockdown has given me the opportunity to crank it into action. It’s not a hugely time-consuming process either, yet is strangely therapeutic. Early on, I had a go at ravioli… a rustic attempt, lacking a little – ok, much – finesse, so I invested in a set of ravioli stamps which do the job so much better. The set also came with a pasta wheel for cutting serrated edges for fancy pappardelle. This is my favourite ravioli filling so far. Quarantine quantities (i.e. for one person!)
Ingredients:
For the pasta:
- 100g 00 pasta flour
- 1 egg (plus an extra yolk)
- A pinch of salt
For the filling:
- 100g crabmeat
- 50g ricotta
- Lemon zest
- Black pepper
For the sauce:
- A splash of double cream, no more
- Juice of half a lemon
- Basil leaves, torn
Method:
- To make the pasta, pour the flour into a bowl and make a “well” into which drop in one egg, plus an extra yolk. You’ll see many people make their pasta on a wooden board, but for me this has only ended in egg escaping everywhere. Perhaps it works better if you’re making larger quantities.
- Using a fork, start to stir the eggs, gradually drawing in flour from the edges of the “well” to make the dough. As larger lumps form, go in with your hand and bring it into a dough. I’ve found it’s not necessary to knead it for more than a minute or two… all you’re doing is “waking up” the gluten. Wrap in cling film and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Now make the filling by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and bring them together with a fork to make a good, firm mixture.
- Then bring the pasta out from the fridge and, on a floured wooden board, press it into a round disc ready to start feeding it through the pasta machine. Start on the widest setting. After the first squeeze, it can need a sprinkle of flour and then I fold the sheet in half before wheeling it through again. After a couple of times through on the widest setting, tighten the machine up a notch and pass the pasta through once before moving up to the next notch. You may find it easier to handle if you cut your dough in half here (or you end up with a very long strip which is tricky to accommodate on your work surface. I don’t go as far as the thinnest setting, which I think is too fragile for ravioli. You will end up with two long, thin sheets.
- Now place teaspoonfuls of the filling onto one of your sheets, socially distanced(!) to leave enough room to cut your ravioli parcels. Then lift the second sheet over the first, gradually lowering it and shaping around the filling, trying to minimise air pockets. Gently press to seal around the filling and use your ravioli stamps to cut the parcels.
- Scoop up the remaining pasta, press it down with your hand and pass it through your machine again (starting on the widest setting) to repeat the process to use up the rest of the crabmeat filling. Depending on the size of the stamp and how much filling is used, you could make anything from six to fifteen ravioli (the photo of 22 at the top was from a bigger batch of pasta with the idea of keeping half the ravioli in the fridge for the next day… a doomed experiment as the remaining parcels concealed into a big lump overnight).
- Lower the ravioli into boiling (salted) water for 3-4 minutes whilst preparing the basil and lemon cream by popping all the ingredients in a small saucepan and heating very gently for a minute or two.
