A delicious recipe for rocket ravioli with garlic and goat's cheese. Ideal as a starter or vegetarian main course.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 150g rocket
- 340g strong `00` flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
Filling
- 225g hard mature goats cheese, grated
- 1 egg
- 55g fresh white bread crumbs
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
Garnish
- 6 tomatoes skinned, de-seeded & diced
- 30g hard goats cheese, grated
- Fresh rocket leaves
Optional: Butter sauce, delicious with or without the crayfish (omit for a vegetarian option)
- 200g cooked crayfish tails in brine, drained
- 100g shallots, finely diced
- 250ml white wine
- 400g butter
- Juice of 1 lemon
Method
Chop or liquidise the rocket for the pasta. Sift the flour with 5g of salt onto a board, make a well in the centre, and put the eggs and rocket into the well. Using the fingertips of one hand, mix the eggs and rocket together, gradually drawing in the flour to make stiff dough. Knead until smooth and elastic - this will take about 15 minutes. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to relax in a cool place for 30 minutes before using.
When ready, roll out the pasta as thinly as you can: if using a pasta machine pass it through on the finest setting. Cut and lay out four 8cm wide strips on the table top, two 35cm in length and two 38cm. Cover with a cloth to prevent drying out. Mix all the filling ingredients together and season with a little salt and plenty of pepper. Using a 7cm round cutter make 4 shallow impressions along each of the shorter sheets of pasta. Fill the circles with ravioli filling, using a 5cm cutter in the centre of each ring to help prevent over-filling. In turn, cut out 7cm rings from the shorter lengths and, brushing the edges of the cut disks with a little water, carefully seal the tops, being careful not to break the pasta. Finally, cut out the ravioli with a 7cm cutter and leave to dry on a large tray lightly sprinkled with flour. Turn them over every 10 minutes to prevent them from sticking to the tray.
For the sauce, roughly chop the crayfish tails. Reduce the wine and shallots with 250ml water in a thick bottomed pan to 4 tablespoons, then allow to cool slightly. Gradually whisk in the butter in small amounts, whisking until the sauce becomes creamy. Whisk in the lemon juice and stir in the crayfish (if using): warm through gently but thoroughly.
To serve, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the ravioli and simmer very gently for about 5 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Drain, toss with the olive oil and season with plenty of pepper. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and, if using, pour a little sauce over then dress with the grated goat's cheese, tomato, and rocket. Also ideal as a vegetarian main course.
