There are few things we love more than gathering around a table with friends, and over the years we’ve come to believe that the best recipes are the ones passed from one kitchen to another.

With that in mind, we’re so pleased to welcome our very first guest to the Faire Living journal: recipe developer, and dear friend Lyndsey Eden.

Lyndsey has a beautiful way of approaching food—seasonal, thoughtful and wonderfully unfussy—and for her first recipe with us, she’s sharing her Ricotta Pasta with a Homemade Sunflower Butter Pesto.

The perfect way to celebrate the final lingering days of summer.

Homemade Pasta 

• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 

On a clean flat marble surface (or counter top) add your flour. Make a nest in the flour and cracking your eggs and adding the salt and olive oil to the centre.

Use a fork to gently break the eggs slowly adding the wall of flour to the mix. Gradly working more flour into the eggs until the walls are mostly mixed in. 

Using your hands start to work and knead the mixture. This will take a few minutes but the more you start to work the mixture to more it will all come together into a shaggy ball. 

Wetting your hands as necessary to combine the dough, kneading for about 8-10 minutes it might not seem like it is coming together the more you knead it the more it starts to really take shape. I wet my hands about 3-4 times during the process. 

Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in a cloth. Setting aside at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Next make your pesto and ravioli filling. 

Once rested cut the dough into two balls. Rolling with a pin into a rectangle, making it shaped for the pasta roller. 

Roll the dough through the pasta maker, gradually through each step. Once I am down to 1 or 2 I fold the sides in getting the perfect long rectangle and roll it through my final setting one last time. 

Fold the sheet in half and then cut. 

Add dollops of your filling onto one half of the pasta sheet. Make an egg wash with one egg. Brush inbetween the dollops of filling with your egg wash. Then gently roll your second pasta sheet just a little more, placing it on top of the dollops. Gently press the top sheet around the dollops of mixture. Then using a ravioli cutter, cut inbetween each dollop. 

Lightly dust the ravioli pieces with flour and place on a plate. Add your cut raviolis to a pot of salted water and boil for approximately 2-3 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks fast! 

Add pasta to a large bowl, gently toss with the pesto, adding sliced cherry tomatoes fresh basil for garnish and a sprinkle of Parmesan to the top to serve. 

Sunflower butter pesto 

• 2 Cups fresh basil
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• juice of one lemon 
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 
• 1/3 cup olive oil (or as much as needed to blend to the consistency you like)
• 2 tbsp sunflower butter 
• Salt to taste 

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend into smooth. Adding olive oil as needed. 

Ricotta & Parmesan filling 

• 1 cup smooth ricotta
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan 
• Salt to taste
• Cherry tomatoes and fresh basil for garnish

In a small bowl mix all ingredients (except the tomatoes and basil). Set aside. Slice the cherry tomatoes to add to pasta right before serving.

Meet Our Kitchen Guest

Lyndsey Eden is a Vancouver Island based recipe developer and food photographer with a love for seasonal ingredients, beautiful food and meals made to be shared (and created) with family and little ones in mind. Follow along with her latest happenings on Instagram, @lyndsey_eden.