Tortelli of rocket and goat’s cheese with garlic, butter and lemon

Every year, Katie and I throw RoLo Fest, an evening of feasting to celebrate the birthdays of my sister-in-law Lois and her fiancé Rob. I spend the day in the kitchen lovingly putting together a four-course meal, before the evening arrives and we all sit in the (hopefully sunny) garden outside. A bottle or two is popped open and we all tuck in and catch up. 

 
Putting the menu together is both immensely fun yet immensely challenging. As it’s a family meal, I want to be out at the table with everyone else instead of stuck in the kitchen, so practicality and planning is key. Yet I also always want to do my best to spoil everyone rotten with impressive and elaborate food. In the past I’ve served up beef wellington, guinea fowl ravioli and fast-grilled leg of lamb. But on this occasion the centrepiece was an enormous piece of rolled porchetta, tender and herby in the middle with blistered golden crackling around the edge. I was overjoyed with how it turned out, a future recipe for this blog for sure.
 
Before the pork was served up, I made this pasta dish as a little primi. Rocket often seems to be used as an afterthought, chucked randomly to one side of a dish to add a splash of colour. But I wanted it to be the focus here, and I balanced the deep, bitter flavour with rich and tangy goat’s cheese. The little tortelli were served swimming in a little pool of garlicky melted butter, which is so simple but always a total crowd pleaser.
 
Making filled pasta is dead simple with a little practice, and once the basics have been mastered, the world is oyster with all of the different fillings and shapes that you can make. They’re also perfect for any kind of dinner party scenario, as they can be made and stored hours in advance, ready to be whipped up in a few minutes in front of your guests.
 
Serves 4
 
Ingredients:
 
For the tortelli:
 
300g ‘00’ grade pasta flour 
3 medium eggs 
3 large bunches of rocket, roots trimmed 
150g soft goat’s cheese 
200g ricotta 
4 tbsp pecorino romano, finely grated 
1 egg, for brushing
 
For the sauce:
 
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced 
4 tbsp unsalted butter 
1 bunch of rocket 
½ a lemon
 
To finish:
 
A few gratings of pecorino romano


Start by making the pasta dough. Tip the flour into a large bowl and mix with a generous pinch of fine salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs, and also pour in a good glug of olive oil. Using a fork, whisk the eggs, incorporating the flour at the same time until a dough is formed. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, until elastic in texture and not sticky. Wrap well with cling film and put in the fridge for an hour to rest. 

 
Fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add a good pinch of salt and the rocket leaves for the pasta filling. Blanche for 1 minute, then strain through a sieve and allow to cool. Squeeze out the excess water from the leaves then transfer to a food processor. Add the ricotta, goat’s cheese, pecorino and season well. Blend until the rocket is finely chopped and the filling is well combined. Tip into a bowl.
 
Use a pasta machine to roll the pasta dough to its thinnest setting, and lay the resulting long sheet onto a well-floured surface. Place tablespoonfuls of the filling mixture along the middle of the sheet, leaving gaps of about 8cm between each one. Break the remaining egg into a small bowl, and use a pastry brush to lightly coat the pasta around the filling. Carefully fold the long edges in over the filling, creating a seal with the other edge in the middle. Use your fingers to seal the pasta in between each bit of filling, making sure to disperse any air bubbles. Use a sharp knife to separate each square tortelli, and use your fingers to seal the pasta together one last time. Repeat until all of the tortelli have been made, rolling out more pasta if necessary.

 
Fill a large saucepan up with water and bring to the boil. Add a very good pinch of salt.
 
Melt the butter in a large frying pan and gently cook the sliced garlic for a minute or two, until lightly golden. Add the remaining bunch of rocket and wilt down.
 
When the water is boiling, drop in the tortelli and cook for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked pasta to the butter pan. Carefully toss the tortelli to coat with butter, then squeeze over the lemon juice.
 
To serve, arrange 3-5 tortelli onto each plate, along with some of the wilted rocket leaves. Spoon over a good amount of the butter and garlic. Finish with some additional gratings of pecorino cheese.

Ricotta and honey tortelli with pecorino, sage, almonds and butter

Continuing with last week’s theme of simple and quick Italian-based meals, it occurred to me that it had been far too long since I last dug the pasta machine out. I love the therapeutic nature of kneading smooth dough before rolling it into thin sheets and delicately shaping. And this is where the true beauty lies; once you have mastered the dough the options are limitless. On busy work nights simple, rough strips of pappardelle can be cut to be tossed through a swiftly made ragu. With a bit more time on your hands intricate and delightful little raviolis or tortellini can be made. Fresh pasta is always such a satisfying thing to make, and always tastes completely different to the shop bought stuff. 

 
This dish in particular was heavily inspired from a recent visit to one of my favourite Italian restaurants; Trullo in Highbury. Their simple ingredient and flavour-driven food never fails to be brilliantly satisfying. The starter that Katie had on that occasion was tortellini filled with ricotta and honey, a combination of salty and sweet that I had never experienced in pasta before. It was light and fresh yet carrying that sweet satisfaction and comfort of a good pudding. I was instantly inspired, and it wasn’t long before I was in the kitchen trying to make something along the same lines.
 
As with all simple Italian cooking, try and source the best quality ingredients possible. In Stoke Newington there are a couple of cracking little Italian delis that are like traditional treasure troves. Counters lined with rows of brilliant cheeses and cured meats, freshly made pasta and marinated antipasti. I could have stayed for a very long time.
 
Serves 2
 
Ingredients:
 
For the pasta:
 
200g ‘00’ grade pasta flour 
2 medium eggs 
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
A good pinch of salt
 
For the tortelli filling:
 
200g good ricotta cheese 
3 tbsp grated pecorino 
2 tbsp honey 
A sprinkle of dried chilli flakes 
A few gratings of nutmeg
 
For the sauce:
 
60g butter 
3 tbsp flaked almonds 
6 sage leaves
 
To finish:
 
Finely grated pecorino 
A few gratings of nutmeg 
Black pepper
 

To make the pasta, mix the flour and salt in a bowl and form a well in the middle. Crack in the eggs and drizzle in the olive oil. Combine well with a wooden spoon, then use your hands to knead really well for about 10 minutes, or until the dough is silky smooth and elastic in texture. Wrap with cling film and allow to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
 
While the pasta is resting make the tortelli filling. Spoon the ricotta into a bowl and mix well with the honey, nutmeg, chilli and pecorino. Season well and taste; you want just the right contrast of salty and sweet. Cover and set aside. 

 
Fill a large saucepan with water, add a good amount of salt and bring to the boil.
 
Roll out the rested dough in a pasta machine right down to the thinnest setting. Cut 3-4” squares out of the sheet and carefully spoon a heaped tablespoon of the ricotta filling into the middle. Lightly brush around the filling with water. Fold the pasta squares in half to form rectangles, using your fingers to seal all around the filling and expelling as much air from inside as possible. Repeat until all of the filling is used up. Dust the finished tortelli with a little flour and set aside while waiting for the water to boil.
 
Put a large, non-stick pan frying on a medium-high heat.
 
When the water is at a rolling boil, gently drop in the tortelli and cook for 2.5-3 minutes.
 
As soon as the pasta is cooking, melt the butter quickly in the hot pan. Add the almonds and the sage leaves and allow to crisp up as the butter turns a nut-brown colour. When the tortelli is ready, transfer to the butter pan with a slotted spoon. Carefully toss to cover with the butter on all sides.
 
To plate up, spoon three tortelli onto each plate. Sprinkle some of the sage leaves and almonds over the top and drizzle with a little of the butter sauce. Finish with more grated pecorino and nutmeg.