richard On 14th February I became the privileged owner of this ‘Imperia Raviolamp 12’ ravioli mould. It’s made from lightweight anodised aluminium with an enameled steel base and stands on four non-slip rubber feet. It comes complete with a miniaturised rolling pin turned from the finest Italian beechwood. This weekend I took her out for a test drive.
Preparation time: 30 minutes (plus 1 hour chilling)
Cooking time: 3-4 minutes
Skill level: Medium to tricky
Ingredients
For the pasta
- pasta flour – 250g
- 1 egg
- olive oil
- salt – 1/4tsp
- water – 2tbsp
For the filling
- cooked spinach – 50g
- ricotta – 50g
- butter – 25g
- parmesan – 50g – grated
- 1 egg yolk
- grated nutmeg
Start by making the pasta dough.
Put the flour in a bowl, make a little crater in the middle, add the egg yolk and olive oil and mix together. Add enough water for a dough.
Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes.
Wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for an hour (dough could be frozen at this stage).
To make the filling, melt the butter in a pan and gently sauté the cooked, chopped spinach.
Allow to cool, put in a bowl, add the ricotta, egg yolk and parmesan and mix together. Season with s & p and nutmeg.
Divide the pasta dough in two and roll each piece as thinly as you dare on a floured surface.
Dust one sheet with flour and place flour-side down on the ravioli mould. Spoon a small amount of filling into each indentation being careful not to use too much as it will spill out at the next stage.
Drape the other pasta sheet over the top and press down firmly to flatten and remove any air. Using the roller, start in the centre and roll to each end being careful not to crimp the pasta. Hopefully the ravioli should be cut into shape and easily turned out. In practice it is a lot trickier than this and you’ll probably swear and have to scrape around with a knife to release the ravioli.
Place in a pan with plenty of boiling salted water and cook for about 5 minutes.
Drizzle with a good olive oil and serve with a crisp green salad.
Verdict: Spinach and ricotta is a classic combination and freshly made pasta cannot be beaten. It’s a faff to make, but worth the effort.
Drink: A crafty gin and a bottle of rioja.
Entertainment: Sadly we have now seen all six episodes of ‘Still Game’ and so have moved on to ‘Chewin’ the Fat’ – a comedy sketch show starring Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill and the birth place of Jack and Victor. It’s a little patchy although worth pursuing. Simultaneously we are also watching the first series of ‘The Adam & Joe Show’. On top of this we have the recently purchased ‘Grange Hill’ box set and season 1 of ‘The Wire’ to schedule into our evening viewing … it’s all go here.
Footnote: We didn’t pursue ‘Chewin’ the Fat’ – it was rubbish.
