Really Rustic Ravioli, writer Natalie Bielby

Due to the Covid-19 shelves in the supermarkets (Asda, Morrisons) are completely bare, people have been panic buying as if the world is going to end. Anyway, this is supposed to be a food blog not the news, but because of the "shelf situation" there was no pasta! So I had to think outside the box as I really wanted to eat some very tasty (for sure) ravioli, so I thought for a while and decided it cannot be that tricky to make, can it? So I looked It up and there it was, a two ingredient pasta recipe!

Everything I needed to make my dough...

It really wasn’t hard to make it at all, as thankfully, we had a load of eggs and some flour left in the house, there was no washing up to do either as you did it on the worktop (not as messy as you think) I got the right amount of flour poured it on to a clean surface made a well in the middle and then I tipped some fresh eggs in the middle as you can see.

Then I had to cover the eggs with flour and then knead the mixture for around 5 minutes:

Muddling the eggs with the flour, using only my hands, was fun and saved on washing up.

After I had spent about five minuets kneading, it still hadn’t all come together so I added a bit of water:

When I was finally happy with the dough (it needed to be smooth) I placed it in the fridge:

After the dough had rested in the fridge for at the least of half an hour I rolled it out to as thin as I could I then started cutting out two equal strips! Rolling the dough needed lots of strength as it kept on pinging back in.

I then picked one of the strips up and moved it in front of me so I could start adding my ravioli filling, there was no recipe for the filling, as I made it up my self. Due to an Italian holiday I had last year, I was inspired by a dish we were served at Natalie and Nick's wedding, where I was a flower girl, so I used: ricotta, a tiny bit of spinach chopped up chives and a few other herbs, but because I chef never gives away their secrets I can't tell you what herbs they were, (The truth Is I have forgotten, but that stays between you and me!) so you can add whatever you want or leave it at that!

When I made the filling I dotted a dessert spoon of it onto the pasta and then got the other sheet of the pasta so I could place it on the top! I had to carefully pat around the filling pockets, so when I came to putting the ravioli into the pan of boiling water for 4 minutes the filling would not spill out. (I nearly forgot to tell you, to cut in between each filling pocket to to form a square so they are not a long strip!) Finally, I had put the ravioli squares in the pan to boil, I served them up with a butter and seed sauce on the side to make them extra yummy and indulgent because it was Easter weekend.

Pasta Recipe

What you'll need. 3 cups (15oz/426g) all-purpose flour

4 large eggs* (or 5 small eggs)

Instructions

1. On a large flat clean surface place the flour in a mound.

2. Crack all 4 large eggs into the center of the mound of flour creating a well to hold the eggs.

3. Using a light hand, break the yolks of the egg and gently bring the flour into the center of the well using your fingertips.

4. Keep incorporating the flour into the eggs until all the flour has been absorbed. This will be a messy process, but it is well worth it! Once the dough starts to form, bring it together with your palms and knead into a smooth yellow dough. This will take roughly 5 minutes.

Note: if your dough is on the dry side you can add a little SLASH of water to bring it together.

5. When the dough forms a ball, cover tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow the dough the rest and the gluten to develop. No longer than 18 hours.

6. After resting, remove the dough from the fridge and cut into 4 equal pieces. Set aside and cover with a towel to stop it from drying out.

7. Flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll 1 ball of dough at a time into a large thin sheet. I don't give dimensions for this part as it varies but my one note would be to get it as thin humanly possible. Like paper thin.

Once the dough has been rolled out, fold it over itself several times. Cut the roll of pasta into strips roughly 1/4 inch thick depending on what pasta you are making. Then dust some flour over the sliced strips of dough and unravel them to reveal your fresh pasta! Repeat this process with the remaining dough.

Set cut pasta aside on a tray and leave out at room temperature to cook off or cover and place in the fridge to be cooked later.

To Cook Fresh Pasta

Place a medium pot over medium-high heat and boil 8 cups of water. Once the water is boiling salt it and place the fresh pasta in the water.

Add the pasta and allow to cook for roughly 2 minutes or until tender. When the pasta floats to the top of the pot it is ready.

Strain the water off the pasta and serve as desired.

How to Store Fresh Pasta

To store fresh pasta keep it covered on a tray in the fridge for up to 3 days. It also freezes really well for up to 4 weeks.

Now for the filling

Ricotta (a few tbsp depending on how much you're making)

Handful of spinach

1-2 Cloves Garlic

Chives (other herbs you might like to add)

Put it all in a bowl and mix it up!