Today’s recipe comes from Barbetta, a new restaurant in Sydney’s Paddington. The Cipri family were food-obsessed long before Barbetta. A close-knit clan from Palmi, Reggio Calabria in the south of Italy, they have been sharing their love of their culture and cuisine with Sydneysiders for over 30 years, particularly through their nearby fine dining restaurant Cipri Italian. Still feel a little intimidated by this recipe? Why not attend one of their fun cooking workshops and let them show you how?
BASIC PASTA RECIPE
What you’ll need:
• 100g flour per person (plus extra flour for dusting) • 1 large egg per person
Throw it together:
1. Mound the flour in a bowl or on your kitchen bench
2. Make a well in the centre of your flour and add the eggs
3. Using a fork, beat the eggs together and then slowly start to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well
4. As you mix, the well will expand. Keep pushing the flour up to retain the well shape
5. When half of the flour is used, the dough will begin to come together. Fold the dough in on itself a few times and then start to knead by hand on the bench for around 3 minutes
6. Rub your hands together to clean your hands of all dried dough. The dough will still be a little sticky
7. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a tea towel or table cloth to rest at room temperature for around 15 minutes before rolling out
SPINACH & RICOTTA FILLING
Serves 4 (makes approx. 30-40 ravioli – multiply basic pasta dough x 3)
What you’ll need:
• 300g Ricotta
• 200g Baby spinach
• 1 clove garlic
• 50g Parmesan, grated
• Pinch grated nutmeg
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Throw it together:
1. Pan fry spinach with oil and garlic
2. Once cooked, strain well. Finely chop and allow to cool 3. Combine all ingredients together. Mix well
4. Spoon mixture into pasta shapes
RAVIOLI PREPA
Prepare pasta dough as per our pasta dough recipe above.
1. Cut dough in half and roll each half of the dough out on a floured bench, into a very thin sheet (about 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick).
2. FILLING THE RAVIOLI: Drop about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon fuls of spinach & ricotta mixture about 1 1/2 inches apart all along the dough.
3. When the sheet of dough is fully dotted with dabs of filling mixture, lightly brush egg wash around the edge of filling mixture to act a seal.
4. Cover filling with other sheet of dough.
5. Using your fingers, gently press dough between each dab of filling to seal it.
6. Cut ravioli into squares with a (zig-zag edged) pastry cutter, or very sharp knife.
7. DRYING THE RAVIOLI: Allow ravioli to dry for one hour before cooking.
8. COOKING THE RAVIOLI: Drop ravioli into 6 litres of boiling, salted water and cook for about 8 minutes, or until dough is tender.
9. Remove cooked ravioli from pot carefully with a skimmer or a large slotted spoon, and drain well.
10. Best served with Barbetta’s Salsa Napoletana (Napoli sauce) or Burnt butter & sage sauce (as per our recipe)
BURNT BUTTER & SAGE SAUCE
Serves 2
What you’ll need:
• 100g salted butter
• 15 sage leaves, torn
• 20g grated parmesan
• Freshly ground black pepper & salt to taste
Throw it together:
1. Over low heat, melt the butter with the sage in a small saucepan until the butter is lightly golden. Remove sage and set aside for later
2. Continue to cook until the butter is golden brown. Add 150ml of boiling salted water from your pasta
3. Remove from heat and stir through a small pinch of sea salt, or to taste. Add your cooked pasta to the sauce and stir through. Add parmesan and garnish with sage to serve.
