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20th December 2016
12:18am GMT
I'll be up front with you: there are quite a few steps to this one, but there are very few ingredients, and more importantly you’ll be impressing the shite out of whoever you’re cooking for.
So if you want to kick things up a gear, and make your friends and family think you're better than you actually are, then make your own pasta – you’ll be beating them off with a big friggin’ stick!
Season up a wide frying pan and wilt down the spinach.
Cool the spinach right down then lay out in a cloth and roll it up – you're gonna wring the water out of the spinach.
Squeeze all the liquid you can out of the spinach - the drier the better.
Next run a big fuck off knife through the spinach, because there's nothing worse than stringy Ravioli... gets friggin everywhere, and the great impression you just made on your people will be undone as you gracelessly try to devour your way through.
Add the cheeses to a stainless steel bowl, then add in the spinach – at this stage start seasoning till you're happy.
To finish the filling, sling in one egg yolk and combine well with a fork.
Combine the egg yolks and '00' flour in a big-arsed bowl and bring together to form a tight dough. You can do this in a food processor but where's the fun in that?
Turn the dough out on your worktop and get serious with it – that is to say, beat the crap out of it until it forms a smooth ball.
Do not stop working the dough until it's silky smooth and there are no grainy bits.
Cling the pasta dough then sling it into the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Be patie... HEY, GET AWAY FROM THAT DOUGH!
Next, make the pasta – you'll need a pasta machine (or someone dopey enough to roll your dough for about four hours), cut the pasta in two and form a rectangle that will go through the rollers.
Run the pasta through the machine, slowly moving down through the settings until you have pasta that you can almost see through. If you don't have your own machine, just roll it out with a rolling pin as best you can 'til it's nice and thin (and even too).
Lay the pasta sheets out flat, and make sure you flour them well.
Take a pastry cutter and cut out 10 discs of dough per person - one top and one bottom of the ravioli.
Carefully spoon some of the filling onto the centre of each disc, brush lightly with water around the edge of the disc.
Set the top disc on, sealing all the way around to form your ravioli.
Get a deep pot of boiling water on the roll and salt it well – no need for oil, that's just bollocks by the way.
The ravioli will float when cooked; lift them out and straight into another frying pan.
This is a simple basil and butter finish option but it really sets these little gems off! Coat well with the butter, then serve with a scattering of fresh basil (this is optional, mind).Bob's yer uncle. And he's mightily impressed.
