Nettle Ravioli

A bit of fancy for spring's first fresh greens. Stinging nettles are full of nutrients and blah blah blah. Most importantly, they are tasty! For seasonal cooking, what's left in your stores that can go with the first of the year's fresh food? I came up with this earthy, grounding recipe that's also a li'l bit fancy. The pine nuts can be replaced by other locally grown nuts like walnuts or hazelnuts. As with many substitutions, you may have to adjust the quantity a bit to balance the flavors to your liking.

Pasta dough

2 cups flour (or try 3 oz flour per egg)

3 eggs

pinch salt

Filling

50g by weight stinging nettle leaves, tough stems removed

1 clove garlic

25g by weight of pine nuts

1 egg

salt and pepper

a little oil

Sauce

1/4 cup (2oz/58gr) butter per 16 ravioli (for dairy free, substitute with olive oil)

1 clove garlic, pressed

1 Tbsp snipped fresh sage, oregano, Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, and/or chives or 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Garnish

Ground black pepper

Grated parmesan

Pasta - part 1

1. On a board or the counter, make a mound of flour, sprinkle on the salt, create a bowl in the centre of the flour mound, crack in the eggs and start combining with your fingers. You should end up with a very dry dough, almost cracking. Cover and allow to rest for 1 hour. 

Filling

1. Simmer all the nettles in a little water for ten minutes then drain. 
2. Put the nettle on a strong paper towel or tea towel, fold the towel to make a bag around the nettle, and twist to squeeze out the excess water. The nettle should be a little clump of just moist, pressed material when you're done. Chop finely.
3. Roughly grind the pine nuts.
4. In a small bowl whisk the egg. Mix in the chopped nettles, pressed garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper.
5. Heat a small non-stick pan, add a little oil, and dump in the egg and nettle mixture. Cook just until the egg starts to solidify.
6. Set aside while rolling out the pasta.

Pasta - part 2

1. After the hour of rest, knead the dough for about 10 minutes before rolling out the pasta.
2. Divide the dough into two balls and roll as thin as you can (1/8" or thinner) or run through the pasta machine up to the thinnest setting. If the dough is sticky when you're rolling it, there isn't enough flour, so sprinkle some on, fold, and run it through again until it becomes a nice smooth sheet.
3. To stuff the ravioli: lay out one sheet of pasta on a floured surface. Evenly space out small lumps of the filling allowing plenty of room of virgin dough to make a good seal. Brush around the filling with water.
4. Lay the second sheet of pasta on top, smoothing out and pressing gently to make the two sheets touch around the stuffing and seal with the help of the dampened bottom sheet (this last bit can also be done after cutting the shapes).
5. Cut out the ravioli in circles or squares with a knife or pasta cutter. Press out any remaining air bubbles and be OCD about pressing the edges a lot.
6. While bringing a large pot of salted water to a simmer, prepare the sauce.

The Sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter to a froth and cook about 4-5 minutes. 
2. Add the pressed garlic and continue cooking and stirring over medium heat until the butter is lightly browned, another 2-4 minutes. 
3. Remove from heat and stir in the herb(s).

The Big Finish

1. Reduce the heat under the boiling water and let it slow to a gentle simmer. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook until they rise to the surface and puff up (3-4 minutes). 
2. With a slotted spoon remove the ravioli and put directly in the sauce, covering each of them with the butter sauce before dropping in the next one.
3. Plate the ravioli, drizzle any remaining sauce on top, and garnish with fresh ground pepper and parmesan.