Braised Lamb 

• Heat a medium cast iron fry pan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Place stock in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
• Season lamb all over with salt and ground pepper.
• When red hot, add lamb to fry pan to sear, turning to brown on all sides, for approximately 6 minutes.
• Preheat pressure cooker on medium high heat.

Homemade Ricotta

• Meanwhile for the Homemade Ricotta, in large heavy based saucepan, combine milk, cream and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until mixture has reached 88°C, approximately 5 minutes.

Braised Lamb (Contd.)

• Meanwhile, add a drizzle of olive oil, onion and carrot to pre-heated pressure cooker and sauté, turning occasionally.
• Add tomato paste to coat lamb and toast for approximately 1 minute, then tip lamb into pressure cooker.
• Then add wine, stock, garlic and herb sprigs.
• Lock pressure cooker lid in place and cook for 35 minutes. When the pressure cooker releases it’s first whistle of steam (stabilizing), reduce heat to medium.

Homemade Ricotta (Contd.)

• Remove saucepan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Cover saucepan and leave to sit 10 mins.

Pasta Dough

• For the Pasta Dough, crack and separate eggs, add ‘00’ flour to pasta board and make a well for the liquid ingredients.
• Add separated eggs, oil and salt into well of flour, blending to combine with a fork.
• Gradually mix flour into egg-mix to form a shaggy dough.
• Continue to knead pasta for about 5 minutes until smooth and semi-soft.
• Cover ball of dough with plastic and leave at room temp.
• Place a wide saucepan filled with water on high heat to boil. Season generously with fine salt.

Homemade Ricotta (Contd.)

Line a large fine-mesh sieve with a double layer of cheesecloth and set over a bowl.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer curds to the cheesecloth-lined sieve. Gather ends of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen string. Hang ricotta for 10 mins in refrigerator, hanging it above a bowl to allow ricotta to drain its excess liquid (whey) into bowl.

If a firmer texture is desired, gently squeeze cheese cloth to remove additional liquid from ricotta.

Remove ricotta from cheesecloth, transfer to airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Crispy Breadcrumbs

• Place oil in a small frypan and heat over medium heat. Meanwhile, dice bread into 3mm dice.
• Add bread to oil, and stir frequently to toast for 5-6 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
• Transfer to drain on paper towel in a small bowl. Season with salt.

Toasted Pistachios

Place pistachios in a small frypan over medium heat and toast until browned, then set aside in a small bowl.

Herb Sauce

• For the Herb Sauce, pick coriander, parsley and mint, then finely chop.
• In a medium bowl, mix sauce by adding oil, lemon zest, minced garlic and paprika to chopped herbs.
• When breadcrumbs are crisp and well drained, stir 2 tbs into sauce. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer to a piping bag and set herb sauce aside at room temperature.   Homemade Ricotta Filling
• Season homemade ricotta with salt and pepper, transfer to a piping bag and set aside at room temperature.

Herb Garnish

• Pick herbs for the final plate garnish. Set aside at room temperature.

Pasta Dough (Contd.)

• Cut rested pasta dough in half. Take one piece, flatten into a rectangle and dust with flour. Run dough through widest setting of pasta maker. Fold into thirds and repeat rolling and folding approximately 4 times, dusting folded dough piece with flour as needed, before running it through the machine each time.
• Reduce space between rollers one setting at a time until reaching last setting on the pasta maker. The dough will be 1 to 2mm thick.
• Lay sheet of dough on lightly floured work surface.
• Cut pasta sheet crossways in 2 pieces, making one slightly larger than the other.
• Working with shorter pasta sheet, forming a ‘well’ in each, pipe 2 mounds of ¼ cup ricotta about 12cm apart.
• Spoon 1 tablespoon of herb sauce into each ‘well’ in the ricotta.
• Lightly brush water over the pasta dough that surrounds filling.
• Top with longer pasta sheet, pressing edges around filling together. Then, turn cutter upside down to the soft side, place over mound and gently roll over to seal pieces together.
• Using 10cm ring cutter, cut pasta into rounds. Place ravioli on a small tray lined with baking paper and lightly dusted with flour and leave at room temperature.Braised Lamb  (Contd.)
• Set a small metal rack over a small baking tray.
• Once lamb has finished cooking, release the pressure valve from the pressure cooker.
• Unlock pressure cooker and remove lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape. Remove lamb and set aside to cool slightly on the metal rack.
• Strain braising liquid from the pressure cooker into a cast iron fry pan. Place the saucepan over high heat to bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Using a fork, pick the lamb meat from shanks into a bowl, then discard bones and cartilage.
• Add pulled lamb pieces to sauce. Simmer lamb and sauce until sauce has thickened and coats meat. Season with salt and pepper.

To Assemble The Dish:

• While the sauce reduces around the lamb, coarsely chop or crush the pistachios for the herb salad garnish.
• In small bowl, tear the picked coriander, mint, parsley. Combine with the pistachios, a squeeze of lemon and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Bring wide saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add 2 ravioli. Cook ravioli for approximately 2 minutes, or until pasta is cooked through.
• Using slotted spoon, remove ravioli and transfer to medium frypan with a little of it’s pasta water over medium heat. Drizzle ravioli with 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and squeeze approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon juice over ravioli. Allow pasta water sauce to reduce slightly.
• On a serving plate, place 7cm ring cutter into centre of plate.
• Spoon braised lamb and sauce into ring cutter, lightly packing it. Top with one raviolo and spoon some oil mixture from pan over.
• Top with a tablespoon of the pistachio herb salad.
• Drizzle some extra sauce around the top of the dish and the plate.