Ravioli

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 400 g 00 flour
• olive oil
• 1 lemon
• 50 g grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 250 g ricotta
• 1 egg
• chopped leftover lobster legs, lobster tail, or minced crab

Method

Make the dough-making|pasta dough first. Heap the 00 flour on a clean counter and use your fingers to carve a well deep enough to hold all four eggs without spillage. Crack the eggs into the centre, add a pinch of salt and a small glug of olive oil, then use a fork to beat them together lightly. Begin drawing flour from the inner wall of the well with the fork, working in a circular motion to incorporate it gradually into the egg. Once the mixture turns shaggy and the eggs can no longer escape, abandon the fork and use your hands to pull the remaining flour into a rough mass. Knead for 8–10 minutes until the dough is smooth, supple, and no longer tacky. The gluten network needs this time to develop; you'll feel the dough shift from slack to elastic as you work. Wrap it in cling film and rest it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes — this relaxes the gluten so you can stretch it thin without tearing.

While the dough rests, make the filling. Combine the ricotta and whole egg in a bowl, then zest the lemon directly over it and squeeze in the juice. Fold through the grated Pecorino, then fold in the lobster or crab. Season to taste with salt and white pepper — black specks will read as grit against the pale filling. The acid from the lemon will brighten the richness of the seafood and ricotta; don't skip it.

Divide the rested dough into four pieces and cover three of them. Using a lamination|pasta machine, roll one piece through successively finer settings until you reach setting 2—3, where light can just pass through the sheet. You want it thin enough to be tender when cooked but strong enough to contain the filling without bursting. Lay the sheet on a floured surface. Using a teaspoon, place small mounds of filling 4 centimetres apart across the sheet, leaving a 3 centimetre border on all sides. Fold the sheet in half over the filling, pressing firmly around each mound to seal and expel any trapped air — this is critical; air pockets will cause ravioli to split violently in boiling water. Use a pasta cutter or a sharp knife to cut between the mounds, then seal the edges with firm fork pressure. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cook the ravioli in heavily salted boiling water. They'll float within 90 seconds of returning to the boil; let them sit there for another 30 seconds to ensure the filling is heated through. Finish with a light tomato sauce or brown butter and sage — the seafood is already rich, so don't overwhelm it.