Pasta Candies with Spinach and Ricotta Filling in Sage Butter

Mix hard wheat semolina with the eggs and salt using a fork until a crumbly mixture is formed. Then pour the mixture onto a smooth surface and continue to knead with your hands. Add olive oil drop by drop if you like and if necessary. The dough has to be kneadable (a bit difficult), but still elastic and can shine a little due to the oil. The hands must not drip, however, so handle the oil carefully. If the dough is still too brittle despite the oil, simply hold your hands under water while kneading, shake it out a little, but do not dry it off and continue kneading with your slightly wet hands. You can do this until the dough has the desired consistency. So elastic, smooth, without any not kneaded particles, slightly shiny and not brittle. This process can take 20 minutes, but it pays off. The longer you knead, the smoother the pasta dough becomes.

Shape the dough into a ball and wrap it in foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. Longer does not hurt either, it just mustn't dry out.

In the meantime, peel the onion and cut it into very small cubes. Peel garlic and chop finely. Rinse off the spinach, spin dry, clean if necessary.

In a pan in a little oil, sauté the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the washed spinach, pepper and salt everything, reduce the heat and cook while stirring until the spinach is soft. Remove from heat and let cool down a little.

Put the cooled spinach in a taller container and puree with the hand blender. Add the ricotta and egg yolks (but really only a small one, otherwise divide with a spoon and only take half) and mix everything up again. Season to taste and, if necessary, add seasoning.

Fill the mixture into a piping bag, close the bag and store in the refrigerator until it is used.

Divide the pasta dough into 3 portions and process. Wrap the rest of the dough over and over again. Roll out the first portion very thinly. With the pasta machine several times in finer and finer stages. The last one should be level With the rolling pin so thin that the dough is approx. 1 mm thick.

Cut out circles of at least 10 - 12 cm DM out of the dough. Knead the leftover dough again and roll out again.

Now use a piping bag to squirt cherry-sized dots of the ricotta mixture into the middle of the pastry. But there must still be enough edge to be able to twist the edges together at the top (like a bag). Place the finished "sweets" on a surface (do not cover, you can now dry out a bit). Now gradually process the other 2 servings of pasta dough. The amount of dough was about 45 pieces.

Bring well-salted water to the boil in a tall saucepan and cook the "candies" in it. They're ready instantly once they rise to the surface. Fish out with a slotted spoon and place on a mat until they are all cooked.

Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the washed, dried sage leaves in it until crispy. Pay attention to the heat that not everything burns. But it can take on a little color. Then add the pasta, toss everything well and heat.

Arrange on the plate with the butter and the crispy sage leaves, coarsely grate the Parmesan and just let it taste .........

On the photo with the ingredients for the pasta dough you can see larger quantities than stated in the recipe. I had twice the amount of batter as I needed it for another dish.