Jock Zonfrillo's Sicilian Pesto and Spring Vegetables with Spinach and Feta Ravioli -

Try this delicious Sicilian Pesto and Spring Vegetable Ravioli dish by MasterChef presenter and former Chef, Jock Zonfrillo.

Jock’s Sicilian Pesto and Spring Vegetable Ravioli is a beautiful example of how traditional Italian cuisine can be adapted and reinvented with fresh, seasonal ingredients. This dish is sure to impress anyone who loves the complex flavors and textures of Italian cuisine and is looking for a new and interesting way to experience them, packed full of goodness and fresh greens.

Ingredients (Serves: 2-4)

1 x packet 25 Degrees South Baby Spinach & Victorian Feta Ravioli
120g blanched fresh peas
120g blanched asparagus spears, cut in half or thirds
120g blanched cavolo nero, roughly chopped

Agrodolce

Mix together:

40g lemon juice
10g honey

Sicilian Pesto

1 small clove garlic
6 mint leaves
10 basil leaves
30g Lemon Juice
50g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
60g lightly toasted blanched almonds
80g grated Pecorino Romano
300g yellow tomato
Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

Bring a pan of water to a rapid boil, add a pinch of salt, and then add the ravioli. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.
While the ravioli is cooking away, add all the Sicilian Pesto ingredients into a small blender (or mortar and pestle) and blitz until a rough sauce forms. Make sure you don’t over blend it to a paste, it needs to be rough.
At 2 ½ minutes into the ravioli boiling, add your blanched veggies into the same boiling water to heat them up for a further 30 seconds, then drain both the ravioli and vegetables into a colander. Save some of the pasta water for your sauce.
Using the pan you cooked the ravioli in, add the Sicilian Pesto, agrodolce, salt and pepper, then mix well. In a mixing bowl, gently transfer your ravioli and vegetables, and add your warmed through sauce. Gently toss through so everything is coated. Add in some pasta water if you want more liquid in your sauce (this is my preference).
Serve on a beautiful share platter with a drizzle of a good quality extra virgin olive oil and you’re set!