Ricotta and nutmeg ravioli with sage butter sauce

Method

1. To make the filling, mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Place the mixture into a piping bag and chill in the fridge.

2. To make the pasta dough, place the flour on a clean work surface and make a well in the centre. Add the egg yolks and whole egg to the well in the flour. Using your fingers, slowly stir the eggs round, bringing in a little more flour from the edges each time. Continue until it is too hard to stir.

3. Using a pastry scraper, fold the rest of the flour in and chop it through, mixing wet into dry until it forms a rough dough. Knead the pasta dough on a wooden chopping board to draw out the moisture for 20 minutes until smooth and leathery.

4. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 1–2 hours.

5. Roll the dough through a pasta machine from level 10 to about level 7, running the pasta through twice each time. Working from left to right, fold the pasta back on itself, like folding a tea towel. Take the setting back up to 10, dust with semolina and work through each level twice, making sure to dust with semolina every now and then.

6. Roll the pasta through the machine all the way down to level 2. If the sheet is too long for the work surface, fold the pasta – just let it fall naturally on itself, making sure there is semolina on any bits of pasta that are touching.

7. Pipe 16 x 25g/1oz balls of filling just above the centre along the pasta sheet, leaving a four-finger gap between each one.

8. Using a spray bottle filled with water, spray the pasta to help it stick together. Lift the bottom edge of the pasta and fold it upwards, again letting the pasta fall naturally. If some of the pasta is creased, straighten the pasta so that it is all level.

9. Working from left to right, push the left-hand side of the pasta down to trap the filling. With your other hand, give the sheet of pasta a little tug to release any air. The idea is to secure the pasta without retaining any air in the filling. Work around each piece slowly. If you find that the pasta is creased over the filling, give it a gentle pull from the top. Seal all the filling down first, then push down the remaining pasta.

10. Cut the pasta into 16 squares with a fluted pasta cutter, trimming a little off the top.

11. Bring a saucepan of heavily salted water to the boil and cook the ravioli for 2 minutes until they float to the surface. Reserve a ladle of the pasta cooking water for the sauce and drain the ravioli.

12. To make the sage butter, melt the butter in a large frying pan until it slowly starts to foam, then add the sage leaves.

13. When the sage perfumes the air and starts to soften with no colour, add the ladleful of the reserved pasta water. Turn up the heat so that the buttery sauce emulsifies.

14. Add the cooked ravioli to the sauce in the pan and swirl until the butter thickens.

15. Serve four ravioli per person and garnish with extra sage leaves. Grate over some more Parmesan and serve.