Ricotta & Sundried Tomato Ravioli

Making use of another Christmas present here - my new ravioli press! I've been making occasional batches of fresh pasta for the past year using a pasta roller. The process takes a while, but it's very good fun working the pasta dough through the roller as it gets thinner and thinner. I still use a lot of dried pasta, but when I have the time it's very satisfying to make my own, and cut it to whatever shape/thickness I want. The basic recipe for pasta dough is very simple, involving only two ingredients - flour (tipo 00) and egg. Roughly 100g flour to one egg (multiplied as required), kneaded, rested and then rolled out. For ravioli, you want quite a thin pasta sheet - rolled out to setting 8 on your machine - as it will be doubled up when you assemble them. If you don't make your own pasta, then I'm sure you could still have good results if you buy sheets of fresh pasta to make ravioli with. Provided, of course, that you have a ravioli press!

Serves 2

For the Ravioli:

150g fresh pasta, thinly rolled out

100g ricotta cheese

50g sundried tomatoes, finely chopped

1 egg, beaten

parmesan

parsley, finely chopped

salt and black pepper

For the Sauce:

1 small glass of white wine

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

50g green olives

20g sundried tomatoes

2 tbsp double cream

parmesan

salt and black pepper

1) Arrange the pasta sheet on the ravioli press according to instructions. In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the filling, only adding as much egg as you need to bind it all together. Spoon the mixture into the ravioli, filling them completely to avoid any air bubbles forming.

2) Place the other half of the pasta sheet on top and roll over it with a rolling pin to seal. Turn the ravioli out.

3) Get a large pan of salted water boiling rapidly. Meanwhile, sweat the onion in a little oil until soft but not browned, add the garlic and fry for a minute then add the wine along with the olives, sundried tomatoes, a good sprinkle of grated parmesan and some salt and pepper. Allow the wine to bubble and reduce, then add the cream and heat through for a minute or so. Cook the ravioli in the boiling water - they should pop up to the surface after a minute or so. Cook them for a further couple of minutes then remove from the water and let them steam dry. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the cooking water, then serve with a grating of parmesan and a grinding of black pepper.