in a skillet fry the Italian sausage, onion and if desired garlic
once cooked pour the sausage mixture into the food processor and puree
in a bowl mix the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, spices and the pureed sausage mixture
Pasta
pour the flour on the counter and create a well in the flour
add the eggs, salt and olive oil in to the well
using a fork beat the eggs adding flour in while your mixing
keep going until it's turned into a thick paste and knead in the rest of the flour
keep kneading for about 10 mins until it's smooth but not sticky - add more flour as needed
divide the dough into 4 pieces and wrap in plastic - let it rest for 30 mins
Assembly
set the pasta machine at the widest level and run through once
fold the dough into thirds and run through the machine again and repeat one more time
keep passing through the machine getting thinner every other time
after a few passes I overlap the ends together and create a tube that just repeats making it easier to run the machine solo
run through the machine until it's between 1/32 and 1/64 inches thin (remember it's going to be doubled up so thinner than normal)
cut the long strip into two pieces of close to equal length, using a medium cookie scoop, about 1 1/2 Tbsp, add scoops of the filling in two rows down the strip - I got 16 scoops for each 1/4 of the dough I rolled out
beat the extra egg and brush it onto the dough between the filling
place the second strip of dough on top of the first and press the dough together around the filling - trying your best to press out as much air as you can.
using a cutter or pastry wheel cut the pasta apart
let the pasta dry for an hour or freeze (I prefer freezing on parchment paper - so the pasta doesn't stick to anything)
heat up the sauce
bring a pot of water to a boil and boil the pasta for 3-4 mins (3 mins for dry pasta 4 mins for frozen pasta)
serve with sauce and add Parmesan and parsley and enjoy!