& DRINK My grandfather taught me to keep food simple C

400g ‘00’ grade pasta flour, plus extra for dusting; ½tsp fine salt; 2tsp very finely ground black pepper; 2 egg yolks; 3 medium eggs, lightly beaten; 230ml extra virgin olive oil; 8 large (or 16 medium) fresh sage leaves; ½tsp grated lemon zest, to serve

750g ricotta cheese; grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons; 250g cooked king prawns, peeled and finely chopped; 3tbsp chopped fresh chives; 2 medium eggs, lightly beaten; salt least 15 minutes.

Unwrap the dough, dust it lightly with flour and cut into two even-sized pieces. Roll out each to about 2mm thick, either using a pasta machine or a rolling pin. Dust frequently with flour or the dough can become sticky.

Lay one piece of dough on a well-dusted work surface. Place a tablespoonful of the filling at 5cm intervals over half the sheet only. Lightly brush the spaces around the filling with the beaten egg. Fold over the dough to cover the filling. Press gently around each spoonful of filling to expel the air. Using a 5.5cm round ravioli stamp cutter, cut out the ravioli. Cover with a tea towel and repeat with the other piece of dough.

Cook the ravioli in a large pan of boiling, salted water for three minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sage. As soon as it starts to sizzle, transfer the ravioli using a slotted spoon to the pan with the sage. Gently toss to coat. To serve, sprinkle with a little lemon zest HARISMATIC TV chef and restaurateur, Gino D’Acampo, reveals that he emulated one of his food heroes for his latest TV show.

“One of my favourite chefs is [the late] Keith Floyd,” he explains. “We did a few cooking shows together. For me, Keith Floyd’s shows are what I do now when I go to Italy.

“When I’m doing Gino’s Italian Escape, I always have him in mind. I go round the region, finding an ingredient, meeting the local people, then I build my kitchen and I start to cook.”

Gino, 41, originally from Torre del Greco, Naples, has travelled along “the most famous coast in Europe”, discovering the local specialities and authentic ingredients associated with Italy’s west coast for his ITV show and accompanying cookbook.

The book takes influence from kitchens in Rome, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, and the islands of Sicily and Elba. It’s not just about eating well either, Gino also believes he has “a responsibility to make sure people understand where their ingredients come from”, which actually led to him uncovering a few culinary surprises. “You would never associate liquorice with Italian food,” says Gino, who discovered a taste for Calabrian liquorice while researching the book. “The more I travel, I always learn something new and exciting.”

One of his favourite dishes he stumbled upon, and adapted, is ndunderi (pronounced ‘dune-der-ee’), which he found while exploring the Amalfi Coast. “It’s like gnocchi but instead of potato, they use ricotta. This is another thing which I had no idea they did,” he explains. “It’s so delicate, light and beautiful. Delicious!”

The chef believes overcomplicating is what most people get wrong when attempting to cook Italian food. “The most important thing my grandfather taught me, when I was a little boy, was that Italian food must be kept simple. Spend more time getting the right ingredients and less time in the kitchen – this is the secret.”

From his grandfather’s influence, to his parents’ recipes in the new cookbook (including his mother’s meatballs), it’s clear family is very important. He hopes to pass on his love of cooking to his three children. His eldest, Luciano, is already “a huge foodie – he spends all his pocket money in restaurants and he’s got a great understanding of food”.

Gino and his family spend half the year at his Italian home in Sardinia, and the other six months in England. He hopes his next journey will take him to the Adriatic Coast, “the coast that goes from Venice to Puglia that is not as well-known as Amalfi, but is just as amazing”.

He says: “My kitchen is wherever I am, it could be on the beach, it could be on top of the mountain, or in somebody’s house. That’s the style of cooking I like.”

Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape, by Gino D’Acampo, is published by Hodder & Stoughton, £20

Gino’s Italian Coastal Escape is on ITV, Wednesdays at 8pm