Ravioli with asparagus

For the homemade pasta dough

• Place the flour on your working surface and make a well in its center. Add in the eggs, lightly beaten, the olive oil, and the salt. 
• Mix with a fork, incorporating a little flour at a time. When the dough starts forming and you aren’t able to continue mixing with the fork, start kneading with your hands. 
• Firstly, the dough will stick to your fingers but if you knead it constantly for at least 10 minutes, you will see it thickening and getting the desired consistency. If you want, you can make the dough in the mixer, too. 
• When it’s ready (it will have a velvety texture and it won’t stick to your hands anymore), wrap it in plastic wrap so that it doesn’t dry, and let it rest for 30-60 minutes. 

For the stuffing

• In a frying pan over medium heat, add half of the olive oil. Add half of the asparagus cut into 3 pieces, half of the spring onions, and sauté them for 3 minutes.
• Add 60 g water, lower the heat, and cover the pan with a lid. 
• Simmer for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus, checking regularly that the water is not evaporated. 
• As soon as the asparagus is completely boiled, remove it from the frying pan, add into a bowl and let it cool.
• Then, in the bowl with the asparagus, add the remaining ingredients for the stuffing, and mix well.
• Set it aside until needed.

For the ravioli

• Cut the dough into four pieces.
• Shape one of the pieces into a strip. 
• Dust your working surface with flour, place the strip, and lightly press it with your fingers. 
• Add flour and roll out the dough with a rolling pin, until you get a very thin and wide sheet. 
• Cut its edges with a knife to straighten all the sides. 
• Fold it in half and set it aside, covering it with a tea towel so that it doesn’t dry. Follow the same process for the remaining dough pieces.
• Spread one of the sheets on your working surface. 
• Use a spoon to take a little of the stuffing and place it over half of the dough, leaving a 2 cm gap between each spoonful of stuffing. 
• With a pastry brush, spread the egg wash over the dough, around the stuffing.
• Cover the stuffing with the other “half” of the empty dough (like folding it). 
• Lightly press the filling, so that there is no air left inside, and then press the dough well to stick together. 
• With a round 4-5 cm cookie cutter, cut the ravioli into round pieces. At this point, if you don’t want to cook them right away, add them to a baking pan lined with parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer where you can store them for 1 month. 
• Place a pot with water over medium heat. 
• As soon as the water starts boiling, add salt and the ravioli. 
• As soon as they start rising to the surface (in about 2-3 minutes), they are ready; so, remove them from the pot and drain. Put aside 80 g of the water where the ravioli boiled for the sauce.
• Add the remaining asparagus to the pan -cut into 3 pieces- along with the rest of the spring onions, the olive oil, and the butter. 
• Sauté for 2 minutes, add the 80 g of water that you put aside, and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add the boiled and drained ravioli into the pan with the butter, the olive oil, and sauté them for a few minutes. 
• Serve the ravioli warm, sprinkling them with a little finely chopped mint and pepper.