O Sole Mio Ravioli in Saffron-Butter Sauce Recipe

1 pound fresh ricotta
1½ cups shredded Cacio di Roma
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten together
½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
3½ to 4 cups “OO” pasta flour , or 3 to 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
½ teaspoon fine kosher or sea salt
4 extra large eggs
¼ teaspoon saffron threads, lightly pounded to a powder
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Semolina flour, for sprinkling on the work surface
12 tablespoons (1½ Sticks) unsalted butter
¾ teaspoon saffron threads, lightly pounded to a powder
Kosher or sea salt
3 tablespoons snipped chives (about ¾-inch-long pieces)
1½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

To make the filling:
If the ricotta cheese is very moist, put it in a cheesecloth-lined sieve or colander and let it drain for 30 minutes. If it is not too moist, drain it briefly, gently squeezing out any excess moisture. Put the ricotta in a large bowl and mash it with a fork to break it up. Stir in the cacio, egg, and egg yolk, and season with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
To make the dough:
Put the flour and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse briefly to combine. In a bowl, lightly beat together the eggs with the saffron until the saffron begins to dissolve. With the motor running on the food processor, pour the eggs and then the oil into the work bowl through the feed tube and process just until the mixture starts to form crumbs that look like small curds. This should take 20 seconds or less. Pinch together some of the mixture and roll it around. It should form a soft ball. If it seems dry, add a few drops of water or oil-no more than a tablespoon-and process briefly.
Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and press it together with your hands to form a rough ball. If the mixture seems sticky, sprinkle a little bit of semolina flour on the work surface. Knead the dough, using the palm of your hand to push it gently but firmly away from you and then fold it over toward you.
Give the dough a quarter-turn and continue to knead and turn for several minutes until the dough is smooth. Form it into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and let it rest at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
To make the ravioli:
Set up your pasta machine with the rollers on the widest setting (number 1 on my machine). Scatter a little pasta flour and a little semolina flour on the work surface around the machine and have more on hand for sprinkling on the dough. Spread a clean cotton tablecloth on a table or large flat space and sprinkle it with semolina flour. This is where you will put the finished ravioli.
Cut the dough into 4 equal portions and rewrap 3 portions, Knead the fourth portion briefly on the work surface. Then, using a rolling pin or the flat of your hand, form it into an oval 5 to 6 inches long and 3 to 4 inches wide. Feed the dough through the rollers of the pasta machine and lay the strip on your work surface. Fold the dough into thirds, like folding a business letter, sprinkle it with a little flour if necessary, and pass it through the rollers again. Repeat the folding and rolling process 3 or 4 more times, or until the strip of dough is smooth. Move the roller setting to the next notch and feed the strip of dough through the setting twice, sprinkling it with a little flour if necessary to keep it from sticking. Continue to pass the dough through the rollers of the pasta machine twice on each setting until you get to the second-narrowest setting (6 on my machine). Roll the dough through the machine once. If you are able to see the shadow of your hand through the strip of dough, it is thin enough to form into ravioli. If your hand is not visible through the dough, move the notch to the narrowest setting and pass the strip through the machine one more time.
At this point you will have a long, thin ribbon of dough. Lay the ribbon flat on a work surface dusted with semolina flour. For ravioli, it is best to fill and shape the first ribbon of dough before stretching the next.
Remove the filling from the refrigerator and set it nearby. Have on hand a 3-inch round cookie cutter for cutting the ravioli, a cake tester or toothpick for poking tiny holes in the ravioli, and a fork for sealing them.
Place teaspoons of filling at 3-inch intervals along the center of the strip. Stop when you get halfway across the strip of dough. Lift the empty half of the strip and fold it over the other half, to cover the mounds of filling. Gently press all around the mounds of filling with your fingers to separate and seal them. With the cookie cutter, cut out rounds of ravioli, making sure the filling is in the center of each of the ravioli. Gather up the leftover scraps of dough, press them into a ball, and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. You will be able to roll these one more time to make more ravioli. Press the tines of the fork around the edges of the ravioli to seal them. Poke 6 little holes into the center mounds to release air. Transfer the shaped ravioli to the semolina-dusted tablecloth. Continue to roll out, fill, and shape the remaining pasta dough. Reroll the scraps once to form additional ravioli. Do not reroll the scraps after the second time. You should end up with about 50 ravioli.
If you plan to serve the ravioli on the day you make them, leave them out to dry until it is time to cook them. If you are making them in advance, freeze them until you wish to serve them. To freeze, sprinkle some semolina flour on a rimmed baking sheet that will fit in your freezer. Place a single layer of ravioli on the sheet, taking care that they do not touch each other. Freeze the ravioli for 45 minutes, or until completely firm. Transfer the ravioli to a zipper-lock freezer bag and return to the freezer until you use them. (To cook frozen ravioli, do not defrost them; just transfer them right from the freezer to the pot of boiling water.)
To make the sauce and cook the ravioli:
Place the butter and crushed saffron in a large skillet or sauté pan and set the skillet over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, stir it gently to help dissolve the saffron. When the butter is completely melted and starts to sizzle, turn off the heat and sprinkle in some salt and the chives. Stir to combine and then cover to keep the sauce warm while the ravioli cook.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Gently drop in some of the ravioli, taking care not to crowd the pot or they will stick together. Cook the ravioli for about 5 minutes, until they are just al dente. Use a large slotted spoon or skimmer to remove the cooked ravioli to a large warmed serving bowl. Drizzle a little of the saffron butter sauce over them and sprinkle a little Parmigiano on top. Continue until you have cooked all of the ravioli and transferred them to the serving bowl. Drizzle the top with any remaining sauce and sprinkle with any remaining cheese. Bring to the table and serve immediately. To serve the ravioli individually, divide the cooked ravioli among 8 to 10 individual shallow rimmed bowls. Drizzle a little of the sauce over each serving and sprinkle each serving with cheese.