Spinach and Goats' Cheese Ravioli Recipe

w&h prepare-ahead tip: Once assembled the pasta can be chilled in the fridge overnight and boiled just before serving. If you wanted to freeze the pasta at this stage, simply boil from frozen expecting the ravioli to take an extra minute to rise to the surface of the pan.

Ingredients

For the filling and ravioli

:

• 100g (4oz) goats cheese, crumbled
• 50g (2oz) ricotta
• juice 1 /2 lemon
• 200g spinach, wilted, squeezed of excess water and chopped
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
• Fresh shop bought pasta sheets

For the lemon and sage butter

:

• 6 sage leaves, finely chopped
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 50g (2oz) unsalted butter

Method

1. Put the fresh ravioli sheets in a bowl of freshly boiled water for 5 minutes to soften. To make the filling, combine the goats cheese, ricotta, lemon juice, spinach and nutmeg then season.

2. Assemble the ravioli by laying two of the softened pasta sheets on a work surface, then brush both with egg. Spoon 1tsp of the filling at 10cm (4in) intervals along one of the pasta sheets but don't be tempted to overfill as the filling will squeeze out. Lay the second pasta layer, wet side down on top of the little balls of filling. Gently press together to seal running your finger down between the rows of filling to create a grid shape. With a sharp knife, cut between the mounds of filling to make squares of ravioli. Repeat with the other layers of pasta and filling then leave the pasta to dry on kitchen paper for 1 hour. You may need to press the edges of the squares together again to seal once cut.

3. To make the lemon and sage butter, heat the butter in a small pan and once it has started to foam add the sage leaves. Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon juice and zest.

4. Heat a large pan of salted water until boiling then drop the ravioli into the water and after they rise to the surface (about 30 seconds) cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until cooked through with a slight bite. Serve 3 ravioli per person as a starter or 6 as a main and drizzle with the warm lemon and sage butter.