Spicy "Bacon" and Leek Ravioli

Basic Pasta Dough
(adapted from Mary Berry's Complete Cookbook)

Ingredients
300g Strong white flour (bread flour)
3 eggs, whisked
1tsp salt
1 tbsp ollive oil

Method
1. Sift the flour into a mound on your work surface, make a well in the middle and add the rest of the ingredients.

2. Gradually bring the flour into the egg mixture using your fingers. You will have to be alert, as some of the egg mixture is likely to escape, but bear with it. When you have brought all of the flour into the mixture, you should be left with a sticky ball of dough.

3. Lightly flour the work surface and your hands, and knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and no longer sticks to the work surface,

4. Shape the dough into a ball and put it into an oiled plastic bag. Leave to rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

5. Lightly flour the work surface again and roll out the dough as thinly as possible. The mixture is very strong, and will have a tendency to 'spring back' as you are rolling. Make sure that you keep rolling it patiently, rather than 'stretching' the mixture with the pin. The dough should roll out to about 35cm square.

6. Leave the pasta uncovered for about 20 mins to dry out slightly.


Whilst you are waiting at stage 4 or 6, you can get on with making the filling.


Spicy"Bacon" and Leek filling

Ingredients
4 tblsp Dried fake bacon pieces
Boiled water to rehydrate
About 5cm of a fat leek, chopped quite small
1 des. spoon paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
pinch salt

Method
1. Put the fake bacon in a small bowl and gradually add about 1-2 tblsp hot water. Eventually all the water should be absorbed, but without any excess being left.

2. Whilst you are waiting for the fake bacon to rehydrate, gently fry off the leek, paprika, pepper and salt in a little oilve oil.

3. Add the fake bacon to the pan, and fry gently until heated through.

4. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until it is time to fill the pasta.

Filling the pasta

1. Cut your pasta square in half. On one side, place 18 spoonfulls of the filling at regular intervals. Lightly brush the grid between the filling with water, and around the outside of that piece of pasta.

2. Roll the remaining pasta around a rolling pin and unroll over the filling. Press this pasta down around the edge, and along the gridlines so that it sticks.

3. Use a knife or a pizza wheel to cut down the gridlines into individual ravioli. Leave for about 30 minutes, turning after about halfway, until the ravioli have dried out.

4. Cook the ravioli in a large pan of lightly salted, boiling water for about 5 minutes until just tender and serve immediately.

I served these with a delicious Vegetarian Puttanesca sauce.