Ravioli al burro e salvia (ravioli with butter and sage)

For the filling, heat the butter and oil in a pot and sauté the onion, carrot, celery and veal for about 20 minutes.

Mix in the rice and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 30 minutes.

Add the spinach and mix well. Remove the pot from the heat and mix in the eggs, Parmesan, nutmeg and seasoning. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

For the pasta, place the flour on a clean surface and make a well in the centre. Place the eggs and salt in the well and quickly work to form a dough. Add a little water only if necessary to help bring the dough together.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and cut into strips. Roll these several times through a pasta machine, starting on the first notch and ending on the last notch. Cover the rolled-out pasta strips with plastic wrap as you move on to the next one.

Once the filling has cooled, spoon it into a food processor and blend until almost smooth, then transfer to a large piping bag.

Place a pasta strip on a clean surface and brush with the egg. Pipe a strip of filling along the bottom of the pasta. Fold the pasta over to enclose the filling, and with your fingers press down at intervals to squash the filling into little parcels. Separate the parcels using a zigzag cutter (see Helpful Hints on page 89). Brush the edges with egg and squeeze with your fingers to seal.

Cook the ravioli in plenty of salted boiling water until they come to the surface. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and drain.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan until it just starts to brown. Add the sage leaves, stir until crisp and season.

Serve the ravioli hot, topped with the sage butter and Parmesan.