Hand rolled Coriander Ravioli with Leek and Chicken filling and Butter and Thyme white sauce

Pasta sheets:

• 2 ½ cups ‘00’ plain flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs, room temperature, plus one extra for ravioli
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Plain flour for dusting

Ravioli filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 leek, white only, finely sliced
• 40g baby spinach, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 tablespoon chicken stock
• 125g light cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup grated Four Cheese Blend
• 250g chicken mince

Sauce:

• 2 punnets baby roma tomatoes, halved lengthways
• 500g rock salt
• 200g thinly sliced pancetta, chopped
• 100g butter, chopped
• 10 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 500 ml milk

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

For pasta

• Sift flour and salt into a food processor and process for 10 seconds, until combined. Add eggs , coriander leaves and oil and process until mixture forms a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured bench top.
• Firmly knead dough using the heel of your hand to push down into it and then away from you. Lift the dough for 6-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
• Divide the dough into two equal portions and wrap each portion in plastic wrap. Set aside for 10 minutes to rest.

For ravioli filling

• Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat and cook leek, spinach, garlic, parsley and chicken stock until soft and the leek is translucent. Cool in refrigerator.
• In a large bowl, place cream cheese, egg, grated cheese, chicken mince, cooled vegetable mix and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and refrigerate mixture until ready to use.
• Attach pasta machine to the side of a workbench and adjust the machine's rollers to the widest setting.
• Unwrap a portion of dough and use the palm of your hands to flatten it into a rectangle. Dust the rollers with flour and roll the dough through. Dust again with flour and repeat on the same setting. Fold in the shorter sides of the dough to overlap in the centre to form a smaller rectangle, press firmly to flatten, turn 90° and feed through the machine again.
• Repeat 5-6 times or until smooth. Reduce the width between the rollers by one setting and roll the dough through. Repeat the process, reducing the setting each time until the dough is 1-1.5mm thick.
• To make the ravioli, lay out pasta sheets onto a flour dusted board. In a ramekin, add a little water and keep to the side.
• Place tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the pasta sheet down one side, a few centimetres apart and brush the edges of the pasta with water. Fold the pasta over the top and press gently around the filling, allowing any air to escape. Use a cookie cutter to cut into rounds.
• Press the edges of the ravioli with a fork.
• Cook ravioli in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 3-6 minutes. Once they rise to the top, drain well and set aside.

For sauce,

• Cook pancetta in a frying pan over medium heat until crispy. Remove pancetta from pan.
• In same pan over low to medium heat, melt the butter and add fresh thyme leaves as it melts. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add all pupose flour miz it well and add milk. Remove from heat just as the milk has warmed, ensuring it does not burn.
• Mix Milk well and re heat and bring to boil. Add salt pepper and parmesan cheese.
• To serve, spoon cooked ravioli down the centre of the plate. Place small roma tomatoes around the edge of the pasta and the crispy pancetta on top of the ravioli. Spoon some of thyme sauce over the pasta. Place a few thyme leaves on top of the ravioli and pancetta stack, drizzle with a little extra butter sauce and season with pepper.