Mushroom ravioli

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Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter

Preparation time: 1 hour
Resting time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes hands

Ingredients
200g 00 pasta flour 
1 tbsp water 
5g sea salt 
2 medium eggs 
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

Filling 
15g unsalted butter 
½ medium shallot, peeled and finely chopped 
300g mushrooms, field mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and cut into very small dice 
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper  
1 tsp lemon juice lemon 

Sauce 
10g hazelnuts  
10g pine nuts 
40g unsalted butter 
2–3 mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and sliced 
4 sage leaves, finely chopped 
50ml chicken stock 

Freshly grated Parmesan

Method
Put all of the pasta ingredients in a food mixer with a dough hook and knead the dough in the machine for 5 minutes until smooth. You can bring it all together in a food processor until the dough is just coming together, or by hand.  Then turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until perfectly smooth which will take 5-10 minutes.  Shape into a ball and flatten, do not however make this wider than your pasta machine.  Wrap in cling film and put into the fridge for half an hour.  

While the dough is resting melt the butter over a low heat, add the shallot and cook gently until softened and translucent (around 2 minutes). Add the mushrooms and cook over a high heat, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with salt, pepper and a dash of lemon juice to taste. Put into the fridge.  

Get a sheet of clingfilm on your workspace - when you roll out your dough you do not want it to try out so cover any pasta you are not using to stop that. 

Flatten the dough with a rolling pin to the width of your pasta machine. Cut it in half lengthways, put half back under the clingfilm.  Roll the other piece through the machine on the thickest setting.  Keep passing your pasta through the pasta machine, gradually narrowing the setting until you reach the thinnest setting for ravioli on your machine.  My pasta machine goes to 9 and I would stop at 7.  If the pasta starts to stick put a very, very light dusting of flour or semolina over it.  If the pasta gets too long for you to feel comfortable passing it through the machine then cut it in halfway lengthways again making sure you cover with clingfilm.  I usually pass my dough through on a setting 2 or 3 times.  

Repeat with process with the other piece, cover with clingfilm. 

Lay one pasta sheet on a clean surface. Put teaspoonfuls of the filling in mounds at 6cm intervals along the middle of the sheet. Ensure that a gap of 3cm is maintained between each mound. I like to seal the two sides with a very very light amount of water so I dip my finger into water, shake it off and run around the circle of my ravioli.  I know the original recipe does not do this but I feel safer knowing that my raviolis are sealed.  Take another sheet of pasta and drape it loosely over, pressing around the mounds of filling with the side of your hand to seal and expel any air bubbles. Cut out the ravioli with a 8cm round cutter. Place on a large cling film lined plate that is covered with a light dusting of flour or semolina.  

Preheat the oven to 170c. Put the hazelnuts and pine nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Lightly crush the hazelnuts. 

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the ravioli for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, for the sauce, heat the butter until it is a hazelnut brown colour and quickly sauté the sliced mushrooms for a couple of minutes until softened. Add the chopped sage, toasted nuts and chicken stock to create a lovely sauce. 

Drain the ravioli and add to the sauce.  Serve with grated Parmesan.

- Original recipe by Raymond Blanc and taken from Kitchen Secrets