First of all prepare the pasta: pile the flour up, form a “well” in the centre, break the eggs into it, then add the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Use a fork to beat the eggs and oil together, slowly incorporating the flour from around the edge, a little at a time, as you continue mixing. When the dough has become firm enough, knead it with your hands, incorporating all the flour until you obtain a soft, smooth ball. Cover with a cotton cloth and leave it to rest for an hour. In the meanwhile prepare the filling: first clean the artichokes. Use a sharp knife to shorten the stalks, leaving a piece roughly 5 cm long; remove the outer, tougher petals; cut off the tip, the external part around the base below the petals, and the outside of the stalk. Now cut the artichokes in half and if they have a “hairy” part in the centre, remove that as well. Slice them thinly and put them in a bowl with water and the juice of the lemon. In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, sauté the clove of garlic, previously peeled and squashed with the palm of your hand. Add the onion, cleaned and finely chopped, and let it soften over a very low heat for 10-15 minutes. As soon as it becomes “transparent”, add the artichokes (removed from the water and carefully patted dry) and let them cook; after 10 minutes, halfway through cooking, turn the heat up and pour in the white wine. When it has completely evaporated, lower the heat again, season with salt and pepper, stir and continue cooking until the pieces of artichoke are tender. Let them cool down, then transfer them onto a chopping board and chop them with a knife, or, if you prefer, you can blend them coarsely in a food processor. In a bowl, mash the ricotta with a fork, add the chopped artichokes, thyme leaves and grated pecorino and mix well to combine all the ingredients – the filling is ready. Now it’s time to roll out the pasta dough you prepared previously; to make the task easier divide it in half, then roll it out with a rolling pin, or use a pasta-making machine until it’s approximately 2 mm thick, using a little flour so it doesn’t stick. Cut it into strips roughly 10 cm wide – you can use the rolling pin as if it were a ruler – and, using two teaspoons, place small mounds of the filling along each rectangle about 4 or 5 cm apart. Fold each strip over, line up the edges, then use your fingers to press the dough down between the mounds of filling so that the air escapes (in this way the ravioli should not come open while cooking). Cut the ravioli with a pasta wheel and carry on in the same way until you have used all the ingredients. Cook the ravioli in plenty of boiling, salted water, strain them “al dente” when they float to the surface (taste to make sure!) and transfer them into a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan, in which you have melted the butter with the fresh thyme leaves removed from the sprigs. Toss them for a couple of minutes to let them combine with the dressing, then serve straight away while nice and hot – but not before having sprinkled them with grated pecorino and garnished with a few little sprigs of thyme.