Spinach and Ricotta Cappelletti with a Butter and Sage sauce

Make use of that wilted bunch of spinach sitting at the back of your fridge and turn it into a beautifully green and vibrant pasta dough, paired with a classic ricotta filling. Stuffed pasta is a bit of a labour of love, but is so worth it if you have the time. A simple butter and sage sauce is the perfect accompaniment that doesn’t detract from the wonder that is this cappelletti, and can be made extremely quickly while the pasta cooks (which kind of makes up for the time spent shaping those little mouthfuls of joy!).  

 Serves four (makes around 80 cappelletti - extras can be frozen)   

 Ingredients  

 Pasta dough  

• 175g soft wheat flour tipo 00  
• 175g durum wheat semolina flour  
• 125g eggs (approx two large whole eggs and one yolk)  
• 1 large bunch of English spinach (roughly 100g) - yielding 75g puree  
• Fine semolina (for dusting the cappelletti)  

Filling  

• 375g buffalo ricotta, but any firm ricotta will do 
• 25g grated Parmigiano Reggiano  

Sauce 

• 100g unsalted butter  
• 50ml dry white wine  
• Handful of sage leaves  

 Extra grated Parmigiano Reggiano to serve  

Method  

Spinach puree  

1. Remove the spinach leaves from their stems and blanche in boiling water for about 30-45 seconds 
2. Transfer to an ice bath to cool and keep vibrant 
3. Once cool, squeeze excess water from the spinach leaves before transferring to a blender 
4. Blend until you have a smooth puree. If you need to, add a dash of water to help bind the spinach into a puree 
5. Press the puree through fine mesh sieve into a bowl and set aside - you should have at least 75g of puree 

 Pasta dough  

1. Put the flours into a large bowl and make a well in the centre  
2. Add your eggs and spinach puree and begin to whisk to incorporate flour from the walls of the well. Keep going until your flour comes together as a shaggy dough before tipping out onto a work surface and kneading for a good 10 minutes until the dough is springy and elastic, and not sticking to your hands at all 
3. If you find the dough is a little too hydrated while kneading, simply add a pinch of flour and knead - as needed - to incorporate until the dough is no longer sticking to your hands or work surface  
4. Cover and rest for 30 minutes while you make the filling 

Filling  

1. Combine the ricotta and grated parmesan in a large bowl and season with a good pinch of salt and pepper 
2. Using a whisk, whip the ricotta for a minute or so until it’s smooth and creamy 
3. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use  

Shaping the cappelletti 

1. Divide the dough into four pieces. Work with one at a time - flatten the piece with your hand or a rolling pin before passing it through the thickest setting on your pasta machine. Fold the edges in to create a neat rectangle that fits the width of your pasta machine, and run it through the thickest setting again until your dough is uniform in shape 
2. Continue passing your dough through the machine, working through each thickness setting until it’s 1/16” thick, typically the third to last setting on most machines  
3. Cut the pasta sheet into two or three pieces so it’s easier to work with, then using a 3 inch circle cutter, cut the sheet into circles. Roll the scraps back into a ball ready and keep covered with the rest of the unused dough 
4. Place a dollop of the ricotta filling in the centre of each circle, leaving around 1cm around the edges 
5. Fold one side of the circle over to create a semi-circle, using your fingers to press around the filling to seal and to remove as much air as possible 
6. Make a small dimple into the middle of the filling side of the semi-circle, then take the two bottom corner edges, bring them together so they just overlap, and press to seal  
7. Continue with the rest of the dough, using as much of the cuttings/pasta sheet scraps as possible to reduce any waste  
8. Place each cappelletti on a baking tray lined with a clean tea towel of dusted with fine semolina  

Finishing touches 

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil 
2. At the same time start to melt the butter in a large frying pan, whirling occasionally  
3. Throw the cappelletti into the pot once boiling - they will take about 2 minutes while you finish your sauce  
4. Back to the butter - add the wine, and a handful of sage leaves, cooking and whirling until you have a buttery emulsion and the sage leaves are crisp  
5. Scoop the cappelletti out with a slotted spoon and add directly to the butter sauce - toss to coat in all of that goodness  
6. Divide between four bowls, spooning over the extra sauce and crispy sage leaves  
7. Serve with a dusting of grated Parmigiano Reggiano  

Notes  

• you will need a pasta machine to roll out the dough, unless you fancy yourself a bit of a pastaia/o and want to have a crack rolling your sfoglia with a mattarello - a long rolling pin traditionally used to roll pasta  
• you will also need a round cookie cutter to make the cappelletti  
• generally speaking, allow 14 cappelletti per serve  
• if you don’t plan on cooking the cappelletti on the same day you can freeze them. Flash freeze them on a tray for 20 minutes, before transferring to a freezer bag or suitable tupperware. They will keep well for several weeks and can be cooked directly from frozen for around 3 minutes  

This recipe was created by Gabriella from @_noregrettispaghetti, check out Gabriella's instagram page here or website here. 

Gabriella is a Londoner born to Armenian/Canadian parents, with a love of all things Italian, especially pasta. She fell in love with food between the pages of her mum’s Reader’s Digest cookbooks, and at the table of her grandmother’s Cypriot kitchen, watching dolma be rolled and lahmajun made. 

When she’s not making her favourite carb, she can be found sharing some of her recipes on her blog, drinking far too much coffee, or hanging out with her dog, Gordon.