Homemade Takeaway by Julie Goodwin ($39.99), published by Hachette Australia.
Photography – Steve Brown
RICOTTA AND SPINACH RAVIOLI WITH BURNT BUTTER AND SAGE
Full of flavour and so easy to make – you’ll think you’re in a real Italian trattoria when you eat this.
SERVES 4
PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES + RESTING TIME
COOKING TIME: 5–6 MINUTES
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 brown onion, finely diced
400 g ricotta
100 g baby spinach, finely chopped
⅓ cup pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup grated parmesan
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 quantity fresh pasta
125 g butter
½ bunch sage, leaves picked
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
Block of parmesan, to serve
1 Heat the olive oil in a small frypan over a medium-low heat. Sauté the garlic and onion until translucent, about 3–4 minutes, and then remove from the heat.
2 Place the garlic and onion in a large bowl, then add the ricotta, spinach, pine nuts, parmesan, salt and pepper and mix well.
3 Lay a long sheet of pasta on the bench and place tablespoons of the mixture at even intervals along the strip. Using a pastry brush, brush a little water around each mound of filling. Lay a second sheet on top and press closely around the filling, making sure not to leave any air trapped inside. Use a 6 cm cookie cutter to cut around the filling.
4 Melt the butter in the frypan over a medium-high heat and add the sage leaves. Cook until the milk solids in the butter turn brown and the sage leaves start to crisp up.
5 Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Cook the ravioli for around 2 minutes or until the pasta is cooked but still al dente. Using a slotted spoon, divide the ravioli among 4 bowls.
6 Add the lemon zest, juice and salt to the fried sage in the pan and stir, then spoon the burnt butter sauce over the ravioli and serve immediately. Put a block of parmesan and a fine grater on the table for everyone to help themselves.
Ricotta and spinach ravioli
BASIC PASTA DOUGH
This quantity of pasta is for four people, but a good rule of thumb is to use 100 g of flour and 1 egg for each person to be served.
SERVES 4
PREP TIME: ABOUT 20 MINUTES + RESTING TIME
400 g 00 flour (strong flour). Plain flour can be used if strong flour is not available.
4 eggs
1 Place the flour into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Start the mixer on the lowest speed. In a bowl, briefly whisk the eggs with a fork and add to the mixer. Knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is very firm. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.
2 Cut the dough into cricket ball–sized pieces and work with one piece at a time. Using a pasta machine, start at the thickest setting and put the pieces of dough through each setting twice until it is the desired thickness. Take the long strip of pasta and fold it in on itself until it is the right width to put back through the machine. Feed it through from the thickest setting again. Repeat this whole process one more time, so that you’ve run from the thickest setting to the desired thickness 3 times in total. Now you can cut the pasta into the desired shape and allow to air-dry, if you are not using it the same day. It can be frozen if you wish.
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