Ravioli ricotta e spinaci al sugo di pomodoro

I like this recipe because you can take away the different elements and make other dishes. The pasta recipe is universal. The tomato sauce works with various Italian dishes and beyond. The spinach and ricotta filling would not be out of place inside a Polish-style pancake.

So, here are 3 recipes in one, really.

Serves: 4
Cost per person: 2.63 zl (48 UK pence, 61 Euro cents, 24 Thai Baht)

First, the sauce:

You'll need:

- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- splash of olive oil
- 1 crushed dried red chilli
- salt to taste
- 1 glass of white wine
- a handful of basil chopped

1. Pan on medium heat. Olive oil. Onion in. Sauté for around 10 minutes till translucent. Garlic in. Sauté for a further 5 minutes.

2. White wine. Reduce to burn off the alcohol. That's not because of Ramadan; it's just to avoid too much acidity and to intensify the flavour.

3. Tomatoes in.

4. Basil in

5. Chilli in

6. Cover and cook on low for another 5 minutes. Check the seasoning - salt to taste.

7. Blend and pass through a sieve. We want this sauce to be extra fine.

8. Ok. So now the sauce is ready.

Now let's make the ravioli filling. 

We'll need:

- 250g of spinach
- around 125g of ricotta
- a pinch of nutmeg
- black pepper
- a pinch of salt

1. We'll steam the spinach. Why? We want the spinach to be just cooked and as dry as possible. I don't have a steamer so I put the spinach in a colander resting in a pan with a little water boiling in the bottom and the lid on. 10 minutes should do the trick, or until the spinach is wilted.

2. Chop up the spinach

3. Mix the ricotta with a pinch of salt, a dash of grated nutmeg (be careful!) and a grind or 3 of black pepper corns.

4. Stir in the spinach - filling done!

Ok. Now for the hard bit - the pasta. I've got a pasta bike but you could just use a rolling pin.

You'll need:

- around 8 tablespoons of plain flour
- 2 large eggs
- a dash of olive oil
- a pinch of salt

1. Beat the eggs. Flour in. Splash in a little olive oil and add a pinch of salt.

2. Mix well with your hands to form a stiff dough - this should be as firm as it possibly can be without crumbling. Regulate by adding more flour if necessary. 

3. Put in the fridge to rest for an hour or so. Roll out as thin as you can. If you're using a pasta bike, work it through the numbers as thin as you can control it without ripping the pasta. Takes practice. Don't worry if you don't get it very thin first time. Make at least 2 separate sheets.

4. Lay one sheet on a floured surface. Spoon small amounts of the filling onto the sheet with at least 4 cm between them.

5. Put the second sheet on top and press around the filling so that there's no air trapped and without ripping the pasta. Again, this takes some practice so don't worry if you balls it up first time.

6. Make sure the pasta around the filling is pressed tightly. Cut out with a glass.

7. Scrunch up the edges of the ravioli.

8. Boil some water in a pan - add a chef's pinch (3 fingers) of salt. Add the Ravioli and cook for around 4 minutes. 

9. Scoop out the ravioli and serve with the tomato sauce and some grated parmesan.

10. E tutto!

Cost:

- tomatoes: 2 zl
- spinach: 2 zl
- ricotta: 2.50 zl
- eggs: 1.60 zl
- the rest: 2.40 zl

Total: 10 zl
Serves: 4
Per person: 2.63 zl