Wild mushroom ravioli

Method

• step 1

  To make the pasta dough, put the flour in a bowl with 1 tsp of fine sea salt and make a well in the middle. Break in the eggs and add the yolks, then whisk gently with a fork, gradually bringing in more flour from the edges as you do. Once the dough starts to clump, bring it together with your hands into a rough dough – add 1 tsp of water at a time if it feels too dry to come together. Once the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl, knead on a lightly floured worksurface for 10 minutes until really smooth and elastic. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

• step 2

  To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and tip in the mushrooms along with a pinch of salt. Fry for 10 minutes until all of the moisture has evaporated and the mushrooms are beginning to caramelise. Add the shallots and cook for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Tip in the thyme leaves, then scrape everything into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until completely smooth, adding 1 tbsp of water at a time until you have a thick, smooth purée. Scrape into a bowl, fold in the ricotta and season.

• step 3

  Cut the pasta dough into two equal pieces and run both through a pasta machine, starting on the widest setting. Run the dough through twice on each setting until you reach the second-to-last setting. At this point it is easier to halve it again, giving you four pieces of pasta.

• step 4

  Spoon egg-yolk-sized rounds of the filling onto two of the pasta sheets, leaving a 5-6cm gap between each – you should get six ravioli on each pasta sheet. Dip your finger in some water and run it over the pasta around the filling – this will help the pasta sheets stick together.

• step 5

  Lift the other two sheets of pasta over the filled pasta sheets and gently press around the fillings to seal, trying to expel any air inside as you do. Use a 10cm round cutter to stamp out the ravioli. Heavily dust a baking tray with semolina and put the ravioli on the tray, dusting with a little more semolina as you do. Leave at room temperature for 1 hour to dry slightly. If making ahead, transfer to containers or freezer bags, ensuring they are well coated in semolina, and freeze for up to three months.

• step 6

  Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat until it is smelling nutty and has darkened. Cook the mushrooms for a few minutes until starting to caramelise, then remove from the heat and keep warm.

• step 7

  Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes from fresh or 4-5 minutes if frozen. Drain well, then divide between four plates. Spoon over the buttery mushrooms, then grate over the lemon zest and squeeze over some lemon juice. Sprinkle with the black pepper, parsley and grated parmesan, if using.