If you follow me on Instagram then you’ll already know that I’ve been busy making my own pasta today! It’s one of those things that I’ve wanted to do for ages and we got a pasta machine with some vouchers that we were given for our wedding. So today I used it for the first time and ticked making pasta off my recipe bucket list! I have to admit that at various points I wondered if it would ever come together, but it’s probably one of those things (a bit like bread) that’s worth spending bit of time to perfect.

The recipe I used is from Gino D’Acampo’s ‘Gino’s Pasta‘ – this is for the pasta and the ravioli filling. I served it with some homemade tomato sauce and it worked really well – you can find the original recipe for the sauce here.

Ingredients

For the pasta (makes about 400g)

300g white flour type ’00’, plus extra for dusting
3 medium eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

For the ravioli filling

5 tablespoons olive oil
300g chorizo, finely chopped
3 medium hot red chillies, halved, deseeded and finely chopped
750g ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley (I actually used basil instead – not a parsley fan!)
Salt and pepper to taste
One egg, beaten

Method

1.Sift the flour onto your work surface. Make a well in the centre and break in the eggs, before adding in the salt and oil.

2. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, mix the flour into the eggs, working from the centre outwards. Once you have a crumbly texture, gather the mixture together with your hands and start to knead until you have a soft dough.

3. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for about 8 minutes, exactly as though you were kneading bread.

4. Roll the dough into a ball, cover in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

5. As the pasta dough chills, make the filling. Heat some of the olive oil in a pan and fry the chorizo and chilli over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

6. Place the cooled chorizo and chilli in a large bowl with the ricotta and parsley (or basil) mix everything together with a fork and season. Cover and leave to chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.

7. After 20 minutes, remove the dough from the fridge and flatten it with your fingers so that it fits through the pasta machine. Flour the pasta lightly on both sides and work it though the machine from the thickest to the thinnest setting – keep the pasta floured so that it doesn’t stick.

8. Lay the sheets on a well-floured surface. Put teaspoons of filling at 4cm intervals, and then brush beaten egg between the gaps. Cover with the other half of the pasta and press down between the filling.

9. Use a pastry wheel or sharp knife to cut the pasta into squares between the fillings. Cook the ravioli in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain and serve with a little salt, olive oil and ground black pepper, or with sauce of your choice.

You could use a ravioli tray to shape your pasta – I tried with my starry ravioli tray first but they were a little bit small for the size of the filling. They look quite pretty though! I’ll definitely be having another go at making pasta soon!

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