2018 Vasse Felix Chardonnay, $39
This signature modern Margaret River style is the perfect balance between elegance, power and restraint. This vintage has beautiful fruit ripeness and a succulent, linear palate structure, enhanced with fresh natural acidity. The finish is sweet and salty, making it a great pair for savoury/umami flavours.
To make the filling, place a medium, heavy- based pan over a medium-high heat. Add the butter, and when it’s melted and bubbling away, add the onion, celeriac and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring regularly, for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables have softened and begun to caramelise lightly, but don’t allow them to become too dark.
Finely chop half the sage, add this to the pan and stir well. Cook for a further couple of minutes, then pour in the stock or water. Place a lid on the pan and bring the liquid up to a simmer, then turn down the heat and cook gently for 15-20 minutes, or until the celeriac is very tender.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to a blender and whiz until you have a smooth, silky puree. If you need to add more liquid, do so gradually. Season the puree with salt and pepper, then spoon it into a bowl and cover and chill. Reserve any remaining cooking liquid for the sage and butter sauce.
To make the pasta, place the flour in a large bowl and add the salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs. Use a fork to whisk the eggs, incorporating the flour a little at a time. When you have a soft dough, tip it out, along with any loose flour, onto a clean work surface. Work the dough, stretching and folding it across your surface for 8-10 minutes, until it is smooth and silky. Wrap the dough in parchment and rest it in the fridge for 30-40 minutes. Divide the dough in half and work each into a flattish rectangle in your hands. You can roll out the pasta using a large rolling pin (it’s hard work, but you’ll get there – go as thin as you can), but it’s easier using a pasta machine. Take one rectangle and pass it through the machine on its thickest setting a couple of times. Fold the dough into three, as if folding a letter, and, still on the thickest setting, pass it through twice more (this gives the dough structure). Now, run the dough-half through all the settings on the machine, from thickest to thinnest. Dust both sides of the pasta lightly with flour each time you roll. When you’ve got down to the
The buttery ravioli here works fabulously with this acid-balanced, cool-climate chardonnay, which has been blessed with sweet French oak. This Heritage Estate Reserve Chardonnay has rich yet mild flavours that can be easily overwhelmed by strongly flavoured foods, so pair it with more subtle dishes such as the silky, creamy texture of this ravioli. thinnest setting, cut the pasta in half across the width. Lay the two sheets on a floured surface. Place heaped teaspoonfuls of the celeriac mixture at even intervals (6-8cm apart) along the middle of one of the pasta sheets, using no more than about half the filling altogether. You should be able to fit about 8-10 teaspoons along the length.
Dip a pastry brush in water and dampen the pasta around the filling. Now take the other length of pasta and carefully lay it over, encasing the spoonfuls of celeriac. Gently press down around the filling, easing out any air pockets as you go. Using a sharp knife, trim the pasta into even squares of ravioli, then lay them out on a tray dusted with plenty of flour. Roll out and fill the remaining pasta in the same way. Avoid piling the ravioli up on top of each other as they may stick.
When you’re ready to cook and serve the ravioli, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Set a large frying pan over a low heat. Add the 50g of butter to the frying pan with the remaining sage leaves. Cook the sage in the butter for 25- 30 seconds, then add a few tablespoons of the reserved cooking liquid from the celeriac.
Drop the ravioli into the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, lifting them out with a slotted spoon into the bubbling butter (if a little pasta water goes in the pan that’s fine, too). Season with salt and pepper, and turn carefully through the sage butter.
Divide the ravioli between four warmed plates and spoon over the sauce from the pan. Serve with freshly grated hard cheese.