Marjoram Ravioli with Asparagus, Ricotta and Lemon Zest

Jun 11, 2025

FOR THE PASTA DOUGH

  • 300g ‘00’ flour
  • 3 medium eggs (average weight 63 – 65 grams)
  • Handful of washed and chopped marjoram (the leaves are soft and so don’t need to be finely chopped. If they are very small, they can also be left whole.

FOR THE FILLING

  • 300g drained cow or sheep ricotta (or mixed)
  • 700g fresh asparagus
  • 2-3 small shallots
  • 200g finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana padano
  • 100g-120g breadcrumbs 
  • Lemon zest from one (or two) organic lemons 
  • 2 tbsps chopped marjoram 
  • Extra Virgin Olive oil (EVOO) 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper 

MAKING THE FILLING  

  1. Discard the hard part of the bottom of the asparagus stalk. 
  2. Peel half of the stalk taking away the hard exterior and rinse with water. 
  3. Chop the asparagus into thirds or quarters – whichever you prefer. 
  4. Put the tips aside.  
  5. Pour a little olive oil and add the finely chopped shallots in a pan and sauté until soft. 
  6. Add the two bottom pieces of the asparagus and sauté for about 7 minutes. 
  7. Add the tips to the main pan and sauté for a further 5 minutes. 
  8. Leave to cool. 
  9. In a food processor, mix in the cooked asparagus stalks (save the tips for serving) and Parmigiano Reggiano/Grana Padano. Transfer into a bowl and mix in the ricotta, breadcrumbs, chopped marjoram and lemon zest. Mix well with a fork and add salt and pepper to taste. The mixture has to be firm. If it isn’t firm enough, add either some breadcrumbs or grated Parmigiano or both. 
  10. Place in fridge until the pastry has been rolled out. 
  11. Make your ravioli by folding your pasta sheet in half, making a crease down the middle and opening it up. Then measure two fingers’ width from the crease and from the right- or left-hand edge. Place a nugget of filling. Then make a row (or column – depending on whether the crease is vertical or horizontal) of filling parallel with the crease. Once the row has been completed. Measure two fingers’ width vertically. Place filling in line with the first row but leaving a space to cut the ravioli. Continue in the same way in straight lines – ensuring that your rows and columns are all aligned.  
  12. Next, fold over your pasta dough and stretch it if necessary, to cover all the ravioli. From the crease and the most outside ravioli filling, pat down the dough to push out the air. Work starting from the first row, always patting out the air either with a ravioli brush or a pastry brush, taking care not to tear the dough. Work one row at a time, making sure that each single ravioli has no air.  
  13. Cut the Ravioli into squares and place on a cardboard tray or on a tray with a cotton tea towel.

COOKING THE RAVIOLI 

Bring a large pot of water with 2tbsps salt to the boil. 
Place ravioli in the water and once they rise to the surface boil for about  4 5 minutes until they are ‘al dente’. 
While the Ravioli are cooking, heat a pan with a little butter and extra virgin olive oil and then add the asparagus tips and any remaining stalks. 
Drain the ravioli and place in the pan with butter and olive oil. 
Serve the ravioli and asparagus with a dash of extra virgin olive oil, grated lemon zest and Parmigiano Reggiano.

STORAGE

If you want to keep the ravioli or freeze them, prepare a cold baking tray with some neutral oil such as rice or grapeseed or sunflower. Place them in boiling water, wait until they surface then, place them in the baking tray with oil and shake them. I then place them in rows on baking parchment in a box and either put them in the fridge for a maximum of three days, or in the freezer. They can be cooked directly from frozen. Just plop into some boiling water and cook a couple of minutes longer than you would if they were fresh.

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