Spinach, ricotta and pine nut ravioli with sage butter

MAKING RAVIOLI IS TRULY SATISFYING and fun – especially if you get others involved. In Italy, this typically happens, with the matriarch in charge of quality control. You should have enough filling here for about 20 ravioli. Any pasta dough that isn’t used can be re-rolled into thin sheets and cut into thick strips to make pappardelle or tagliatelle.

SERVES 4-5

Pasta dough:

pinch of saffron strands
1 tbsp boiling water
550g Italian ’00’ flour
¼tsp fine sea salt
4 medium eggs, plus 6 egg yolks
2 tbsp olive oil

Filling:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
500g spinach leaves
15g butter
1A tsp freshly grated nutmeg
sea salt and black pepper
150g ricotta cheese
75g Parmesan, freshly grated
75g pine nuts, lightly toasted squeeze of lemon juice, to taste beaten egg, for brushing

Sage butter:
75g unsalted butter, diced
2 tbsp double cream
6 sage sprigs, leaves shredded

To serve:
Parmesan, for grating

For the pasta, lightly crush the saffron in a bowl, pour on the boiling water and leave to infuse until cooled. Put the rest of the ingredients into a food processor, add the saffron water and whiz until the mix resembles coarse crumbs; add a little more water if needed. Tip into a bowl and press into a ball with your hands. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. The dough should be soft but not sticky; if it feels too wet, knead in a little more flour. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.

To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the garlic until lightly golden. Add the spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes until the liquid released has been absorbed. Increase the heat slightly and stir in the butter, nutmeg and seasoning. Drain and roughly chop the spinach. In a large bowl, beat together the ricotta, Parmesan and toasted pine nuts. Stir in the spinach and a touch of lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, then cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Cut the pasta into 8 pieces, roll into balls and keep each wrapped until needed. Using a pasta machine, roll each ball into a long sheet, about 80 x 13cm, passing it repeatedly through the rollers and narrowing the setting gradually until you reach the thinnest setting. Cover with a damp tea towel. To shape the ravioli, follow my guide (on the preceding pages).

For the sage butter, melt the butter in a saucepan and heat until it begins to brown. Take off the heat and let stand for 1 minute, then strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Heat slowly, then stir in the cream and sage.

Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the ravioli and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain well and toss with the sage butter. Grate over a little extra Parmesan and serve at once.