Crayfish, Lemon & Chilli Ravioli

I treated myself to the KitchenAid mixer and it was love at first sight! It is on the pricey side but to me, it's an investment as I will be using it very often.

I purchased mine in red and it's beyond beautiful! It's a dream to use and easy to clean....which is a bonus as who wants to spend ages cleaning fiddly parts, especially after slaving away in the kitchen for hours??!! Not me!!

So, for my first use of my new toy, I decided to make pasta! I was laying in bed one evening, unable to sleep and conjured up the idea for this recipe.

It's light, flavoursome and fresh. If you're throwing a dinner party or wanting to cook a special meal for someone, then this would be a perfect starter! Or create a bigger portion (as I did) and have as a main meal. It's so yummy and I can't wait to make this for my parents when they are next visiting.

I used scotch bonnet as I can no longer stand normal chilli....it literally does nothing for me anymore! My English pallet has evolved and I can now handle my spice!! If you cannot handle anything too spicy then use half a scotch bonnet or a normal red chilli will be fine.


Recipe:
For the pasta dough:

• 250g semolina
• 250g 00 flour
• 8 whole eggs
• 10ml extra virgin olive oil
• 5g salt

For the filling:

• 2 packs of crayfish
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 scotch bonnet, cut very finely
• 2 garlic cloves
• olive oil
• freshly grinded sea salt & pepper

For the sauce:

• juice of half a lemon
• 25g butter
• 8 sage leaves
• Parmesan & black pepper to serve

Place the flour, semolina, salt, eggs and olive oil in a mixture and blend on a medium speed until it forms a ball.


Take the dough out of the mixer and onto a well floured work surface. Knead until a nice dough forms that isn't too sticky. Wrap in cling film and rest on the counter for at least 20 minutes.
After the dough has rested, run through a pasta machine (or with a rolling pin until you reach your desired thickness). You want the pasta thin, as if it is too thick, your pasta will take a long time to cook and be quite stodgy.


Once you have your pasta sheets, ensure they are put on a floured work surface or they will stick! Now comes the fun part....using a pastry cutter (the size you want your ravioli to be) cut out the shapes from the pasta. Once you have the desired quantity, leave on the counter until you are ready to use.

Ravioli all ready to cook

To make the pasta filling, put the crayfish in a food processor along with the chilli, lemon rind and some salt and pepper and blitz.


Put some olive oil in a pan and once heated, add the garlic. Once lightly cooked through, add to the crayfish mixture and ensure it is well incorporated. Have a taste and add more seasoning/chilli/garlic/lemon if required.


Once you are happy with the taste, start to form small balls to place in the middle of a ravioli. You don't want to be stingy with the filling but you do need to leave a rim of pasta so when you place another ravioli piece on top, there is an edge for them to bind together. Once the filling is in place, put your finger in a bowl of water and carefully wet the edge (not too much water or it will turn to mush!). Then place the second ravioli piece on top and pinch them together to secure.


Continue this process until you have created all of your ravioli.


Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Carefully put the ravioli in the pan and cook for several minutes until cooked through.


Whilst the ravioli is cooking, put a pan on the hob and heat up the butter and oil. Once it starts to foam, add the sage leaves then take off of the heat. Add the lemon juice and mix well.


Once the pasta is cooked, drain but save some of the water to add to your sauce.


Put the sauce back on the heat then take the sage leaves out. Add the ravioli and toss through.


Serve the pasta and carefully arrange a few of the sage leaves to garnish. Add some fresh black peper and parmesan.


Et voila!! Your ravioli is ready to demolish!!