Celebrate the fresh produce of the spring season with a bright ravioli recipe that wraps sweet spring peas in fresh pasta dressed in a refreshing lemon butter sauce.
To make the pasta dough, combine the flour, salt and eggs in the bowl of your food processor and blitz for 10 seconds or until the mixture just comes together.
Turn out onto a work surface and gently knead, bringing it all together until you have a smooth, springy dough. Wrap in plastic and let rest at room temperature for an hour or so.
For the ricotta, combine the milk, cream and salt in a large saucepan and bring just to boiling point.
Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. Whisk so the mixture starts to curdle and leave for ten minutes, whisking every now and then. Pour through a sieve lined with one layer of muslin and leave to drip for an hour.
For the filling, combine all ingredients in the bowl of your food processor and blitz for a few seconds. Season to taste.
To make the ravioli, prepare a tray lined with paper for the finished ravioli, a little bowl of water, the ravioli filling, a couple of spoons, a ravioli cutter and a tea towel. Unwrap the dough and divide it into four pieces, keep one out and wrap the rest in plastic.
Lightly dust your pasta machine with flour, put it on the first/widest setting then flatten out with your palms to a thick disc. Feed this through your machine, fold pasta in half and repeat.
Now feed through the machine on the second setting, fold in half, return to the first setting and repeat.
Work the pasta through the first few settings by rolling it through, folding in half and going back a setting each time.
Once you get to about the fourth setting, just go for it. Gently feed the pasta through each setting until you have a lovely thin, silky smooth, long rectangle of pasta.
Place this on your work surface and gently fold in half (length ways) and then unfold (you just want to see the halfway mark).
Spoon a little of the filling on the top half of the pasta, about 4 cms apart and repeat all along the length of the pasta.
Spoon a little of the filling on the top half of the pasta, about 4 cms apart and repeat all along the length of the pasta.
Press out any air bubbles and use the moistened edge across the top to help seal the pasta together.
Grab your ravioli cutter and cut across the top, pressing down firmly to seal and cut at the same time, and down the sides to make individual pieces.
Place these on the tray lined with paper, cover with a tea towel and pop in the freezer.
Repeat process with remaining pasta and filling.
To cook ravioli, bring a pot of hot water to the boil. Add salt, then pour in the ravioli and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Pour the hot ravioli onto a platter and dress with parmesan cheese, basil and toasted pine nuts.