Egg Yolk Ravioli With Artichokes

This egg yolk ravioli recipe is for the passionate home chefs! It's a bit tricky, but it's totally worth the effort.

Course main

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours

Servings 4

* you will end up with some left over pasta dough, but making less is almost a shame. You can roll out the rest for lasagna or cut it into tagliatelle etc...
300 g pasta flour type 00 1⁄2 tsp salt
5 egg yolks
200 g water
a pinch of saffron

* We used frozen artichoke hearts as they are very good and relatively cheap, but possibly not super easy to find, you can use ones from a glass (in water not in oil), or fresh ones if you can spare the time and money.
6 artichoke hearts
2 shallots sliced thin lengthways
2 sprigs rosemary
1 pinch saffron
1 garlic clove crushed
1 small piece of fennel can be the stalks or outer layer reserved from another use
1 tbsp capers
2 anchovies
2 cl Pernot
100 ml white wine
olive oil to taste
salt
reserved saffron water from pasta

First, simmer the water and saffron, and let it infuse and reduce by half. Let it cool down, measure 60g for the pasta, and keep the rest for the sauce.
Make a mound of flour with a dent in the middle. Pour in the egg yolk, saffron reduction, and salt. Using a fork, slowly mix in the flour into the egg mix, when dough is starting to form, switch to kneading with your hands. The dough will be quite dry, that is a good thing! Continue working it for about 10 minutes, until fully combined and can be pressed into a disc. If the dough is still super dry, you can get the tips of your fingers wet and work that into the dough. Don’t be tempted to add much more water, it should be very firm.
Wrap it in cling film and let rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Saute the shallots, garlic, capers, anchovy, and rosemary in olive oil, until the shallots get blond and quite soft.
Add the artichoke and let them get some color, but be careful not to let the garlic of shallots get too brown.
Add Pernod and saffron and reduce. Add white wine and reduce by half. Give it a taste, if it still tastes too alcoholic or like ‘raw’ wine, let it reduce a ba bit longer.
Remove the artichokes and strain the braising liquid into a bowl. Reserve the braised liquid and set aside. Sear 2 artichokes in a medium pan, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the artichokes from the pan and cut them in 4-6 pieces.
Blend the other 4 with a splash of the braising liquid, until you get a smooth puree. That’s your ravioli filling! Let the puree cool down before filling the pasta.

Roll out dough thinly using a pasta machine or a rolling pin. Cut sheet into (roughly) 30cm long pieces.
Lay one sheet of pasta dough onto your worksurface and pipe or spoon the artichoke into circles (roughly egg yolk sized). Make sure to leave enough space between the circles. Carefully pour in the egg yolks into each circle, season each yolk with a bit of salt and pepper.
Wet the dough around the circles with your fingers. Place a second sheet of pasta on top, pressing down between the fillings. Cut into squares (alternatively, use a ring cutter to cut around each circle to form round ravioli...).

Depending on how big your pan is, you'll have to work in batches. Don't overcrowd the pan.
Add the butter and the reserved braising liquid to a pan, bring it all to a boil while swirling the pan so the butter will evenly melt into the liquid. Add the spinach into the pan and let it wilt.
At the same time, you can add the ravioli into a large pot of salted boiling water. Don’t let it boil hard as they are quite fragile. Use a slotted spoon to keep them from sticking to the bottom or to each other. Let boil for 3 minutes.
After your spinach has wilted, push it to the side of the pan, and add your ravioli. Let them swim in the sauce for an additional minute.
To plate, place one raviolo on each plate, 3-4 pieces of artichoke, some spinach, and a couple of spoonfuls of sauce.