Three Cheese Tortellini with Sage butter

You will need a pasta rolling machine and food processer for this recipe.

Serves 4-6

Pasta

225g Italian 00 Flour or Strong Plain
Pinch of Salt
2 Whole Eggs (Medium size)
3 Egg yolks
15mls Olive Oil

Method

Sift the flour and salt together, and then place in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and process until the mixture forms coarse crumbs.

Test the texture by pressing a small amount between your finger and thumb. If it cracks, then process for a few more seconds.

Tip the mixture on to a work surface and knead until you have a ball of smooth dough that feels soft but not sticky. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest for an hour or so.

Divide the dough into 4, dust with flour and feed through pasta machine, 4-5 times, dusting with flour and adjusting the setting until 1-2mm thick. Cover with clingfilm.

Filling

300g Ricotta Cheese (preferably buffalo)
Juice and zest of 2 lemons (unwashed)
50g Pecorino Cheese (Grated)
75g Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
50g Butter
1 Good handful of Sage Leaves

Method

With a fork mix together the ricotta, lemon zest, pecorino and 50g of the Parmesan Cheese and season carefully.

Fill your tortellini with a teaspoon of filling (see instructions below on shaping) and cook in salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes.

Heat a large frying pan, add the butter and sage and cook until the sage is crisp and the butter is foaming but not colouring. Spoon the Sage Butter over the Tortellini and squeeze over some of the lemon juice. Serve immediately and sprinkle generously with the remaining Parmesan Cheese.

Making Tortellini

Lay a sheet of pasta out on a flour-dusted surface. Cut into 10x10 cm squares. On each square, place a good teaspoon of filling just off-centre. With a clean pastry brush evenly brush a little water each mound of filling. Do this thoroughly to guarantee a good seal.

Fold each square in half from corner to corner, enclosing the filling – don’t worry if they look a bit uneven as we want them to look homemade! Tightly seal the tortellini together by cupping your hand around each mound of filling and pressing down. Make sure all the air is extracted.

With the flat edge of each tortellini facing you, roll them once towards the tip.

Bring the two side flaps into the centre and squeeze them together tightly where they meet. You can cook them straight away or keep them in the fridge on a flour-dusted tray for 3-4 hours if you want to eat them later.