Egg Yolk Ravioli in Herb Laminated Pasta

Pasta

1. Weigh out 180g of '00' flour and 20g of semolina flour.
2. Make mound of flour on work surface and make a well with the egg.
3. Crack 2 whole eggs into well
4. Gently mix egg mixture and slowly incorporate flour.
5. Once incorporated, knead for 15 minutes.
6. Cover in cling and place in fridge for 1 hour.
7. The herbs that are going to be laminated in the pasta need to be de-stemmed and inspected so that only the smaller and thinner ones are used. If they are too thick they can break through the pasta.

Filling

1. Place spinach in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes.
2. Remove from water, drain and press with a paper towel.
3. The spinach will still be quite wet; that’s okay. Finely chop and add to a mixing bowl along with the ricotta, lemon juice and zest, pepper, ground nutmeg and salt.
4. If you don’t have a piping bag, use a zip lock bag by folding one of the corners diagonally and using sticky tape to secure it.
5. Fill the bag with the ricotta filling and set aside in the fridge.

Putting It Together

1. Fill a large pot with water, add salt and bring to a gentle boil.
2. Remove pasta dough ball from fridge and cut in half.
3. Roll out dough with a rolling pin and pass it though a pasta machine until it’s at its lowest setting. Repeat with the other dough ball.
4. Lay out both sheets of pasta and arrange the herbs onto one of the sheets in a nice pattern.
5. Place the other sheet of pasta on top and gently roll over with a rolling pin.
6. Change pasta machine settings to 4 notches from the thinnest, and work sheet through.
7. After it has gone through once, cut sheet in half. One will be the top and the other will be the bottom
8. Work both through the machine again until you get to the thinnest setting.
9. Break 6 eggs into a bowl making sure that the yolks don’t break.
10. Take the ricotta filling out of the fridge. Cut the tip off the piping bag and pipe 6 circles of filling along one of the sheets. TIP: It helps to start at each end and work towards the middle so that you have even spacing
11. Using an "egg wash" brush, gently dip the brush into the bowl of eggs, using the whites to create a wash around each of the ricotta circles. You can use a finger if you don’t have a brush.
12. Gently pick up each egg yolk, leaving the whites to drain back into the bowl through your fingers and place one yolk into each of the ricotta circles.
13. Cover bowl of egg whites with cling film and put in fridge for an omelette tomorrow morning or for a meringue for dessert tonight.
14. Gently place second sheet of pasta over the one with the filling, and press down to ensure sheet has attached
15. Cut out each ravioli out with a cookie cutter and place on well dusted tray.
16. Without crowding the pot of boiling water, cook the ravioli for 3 minutes each or until your liking.
17. Finish with a drizzle of olive and parmesan.