Lamb Ravioli

Directions

1. For the pasta dough:
2. On a large, clean work surface, pile the flour in a mound. Add the salt and use your fingers or a fork to distribute it into the flour. Make a well in the center of the flour big enough to hold all the eggs. Crack the eggs into the well, then using a fork, whisk the eggs until uniformly beaten. Slowly increase the stirring circle, incorporating a little flour at a time into the eggs until a dough begins to form. (You can also use your fingers for this.) Continue pulling in flour a little at a time from the edges until the dough is too thick to work with the fork, then switch to your hands and knead the dough, adding flour until the dough no longer sticks to the work surface. (You may not need all the flour. If you add a little too much flour and the dough becomes crumbly, you can sprinkle the dough with water until it comes together.) You should have a somewhat ragged, rough ball of dough.
3. Scrape the work surface clean, dust it lightly with flour, and knead the dough until it’s super smooth, about 5 solid minutes of firm kneading (see Note). The dough should feel as soft as the skin on the inside of your forearm. Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. (You can also refrigerate the wrapped dough for up to 24 hours.)

1. For the ravioli:
2. To roll out the dough, prepare a pasta-rolling machine by lightly flouring the rolling mechanism. Prepare a large work surface or baking sheet by dusting it with flour, and have a stack of clean kitchen towels on hand for covering the rolled dough sheets (which will prevent them from drying out).
3. Unwrap the dough and cut it into four equal portions. Keep one piece out and cover the rest with the plastic. Flour the dough piece lightly and press one end of it flat so it is thin enough to enter the pasta rollers. With the pasta roller on the widest setting (“1” on many machines), pass the dough through the roller. (If you’re using a motor-powered machine, work on the lowest speed.)
4. Fold the dough in half lengthwise, lightly flour the outside, and send it through the machine again on the widest setting. Move to the next-smaller setting (“2” on many machines), lightly flour the dough if it seems sticky, and roll it through the machine. Continue working the dough through the machine on progressively thinner settings, ending with the “6” setting (the thinnest setting on many machines), flouring any sticky spots in the dough as needed. (If the dough sticks, tears, or wrinkles, fold the dough in half once or twice, go back to a thicker setting, lightly flour the dough, and roll it through all the settings again.)
5. When you’re finished, the sheet of dough should be about 5 inches wide (or as wide as the machine) and 4 feet long—and thin enough that when you hold the strip up to the light and put one hand behind it, you can see its shadow through the dough. Lightly flour the entire sheet on both sides, gently fold it into fourths, place it on the floured surface or baking sheet, and cover completely with a clean towel. Repeat with the remaining three dough portions. Once all the dough has been rolled out, it’s ready for ravioli.
6. Next, make the filling. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have softened and begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook and stir for another 2 minutes, until super fragrant. Add the spinach a few handfuls at a time, stirring as you go, until all the spinach has been added and starts to wilt. Season again with salt and pepper, then cook for another 5 minutes, or until the spinach is totally wilted and the mixture is dry, lowering the heat as needed if the onions begin to stick to the pan.
7. Transfer the mixture to a plate and set aside to cool for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to release any steam. When the mixture has cooled, stir in the lamb, eggs, Parmesan, panko, parsley, and chopped mint, and season with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper. (I like to fry up a little patty of the mixture in a pan to taste it for seasoning, then season the mixture more to taste if needed.) Set aside if you will fill the ravioli immediately, or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
8. Place one strip of the prepared pasta dough on a large lightly floured work surface. Fill a small bowl with cold water and set it nearby. Fold the dough in half end to end, mark the center of the dough at the fold, and unfold it. Working with only half the dough, use a pastry scraper or the dull side of a large knife to make a long mark lengthwise down the center of the strip of dough, indenting the dough without cutting through it. Next, make crosswise marks (across the dough the short way) at approximately 2 1⁄2-inch intervals so you have two long rows of approximately 2 1⁄2-inch squares marked down the entire length of the dough (18 to 20 squares total).
9. Scoop a scant tablespoon’s worth of the lamb filling into your hand, roll it into a ball, and place it in the center of a marked square. Repeat with the remaining squares, keeping the filling as neat and compact as possible, then pat down the filling mounds to flatten them slightly. Dip a few fingers into the water and moisten the dough lightly all around and between the piles and along the dough’s edges, dipping your fingers again if necessary. Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling. Using dry fingers, press the long sides of the dough to meet and seal the top and bottom sheets together along the entire length of the dough.
10. Next, press down on the dough around and between each pile of filling, pressing out any air bubbles you can see. (I like to cup my hands and use the rounded pinky sides of my hand to seal right around each mound of filling.) Using a knife or a wavy pasta cutter, cut the mounds into individual ravioli, trimming the long edges of the pasta strip too. Line a baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel, dust the towel lightly and evenly with flour, and arrange the ravioli on the towel. Dust the ravioli with flour anywhere they seem sticky, and top with another floured kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, flouring your work surface before laying down a new strip of dough each time, and stacking the additional ravioli right on top of the first batch as needed in layers, flouring each towel.
11. When you’re ready to cook the ravioli, bring two large pots of salted water to a boil. (You can do this in one pot, but it will take a lot longer to feed everyone!) Meanwhile, make the browned butter: Melt the butter in a light-colored large, heavy skillet over medium heat. (I use stainless steel or an enameled pan for this so I can see the butter brown as it cooks.) Continue cooking the butter until the solids begin to tan and it begins to smell nutty, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
12. Cook about a quarter of the ravioli at a time: Add about 10 ravioli to each pot of water, watch for the ravioli to float to the surface, then cook for 3 minutes, or until the lamb in the center is cooked through, turning all the ravioli once during cooking. Using a slotted spoon or a small strainer, remove the ravioli from both pots, let drain, and transfer to a serving bowl or deep platter with about 1⁄4 cup of the browned butter. Gently toss the ravioli with the butter, top with mint ribbons and Parmesan, shower with a little sea salt, and serve piping hot. Repeat with the remaining ravioli.
13. You can store uncooked ravioli for up to 24 hours in the fridge, or freeze the ravioli on a baking sheet until firm (in one layer), then transfer them to a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 1 month. Boil the ravioli directly from frozen, adding a minute to the cooking time.