I have not been around for a few days – so, I just noticed a request for this recipe.

I guess this means I need to get my blog up and running soon! Unfortunately I have 2 others I am designing that are taking precedence.

Any way, here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Yield: 4 main course servings or 8 appetizer servings

Making ravioli is a project, so just be forewarned that you should not undertake making them unless you are in the mood to do a big project, and have plenty of time – the results were well worth it.

However, store bought Pumpkin or other squash raviolis will also be great with this sauce!

And for wine? A Chablis was divine – as Chardonnay it has enough weight and sweetness to balance the pumpkin, but the mineral, racy Chablis-ness is a fresh balance that loves the slightly earthy quality of squash and the fresh green funky flavor of sage.

Filling:

1 small pumpkin, or winter squash (about 1 lb) but you may as well get a bigger one, because seeing as you’re roasting pumpkin, you might as well roast some serious pumpkin and use the leftovers for pie, or for a yummy addition to mashed potatoes. . . .

Olive oil to rub pumpkin

½ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

¼ tsp fresh grated nutmeg (yes, grate it fresh if you’ve never tried – it is so much better than the stuff that comes in a jar!!

a splash of Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and Pepper, to taste

3-4 leaves of minced fresh sage

So, to make the filling.

Cut up the pumpkin, remove the seeds (save them for roasting, you’ll need a snack later!!) and rub the pieces with olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in a 350 oven until very soft (this should take 45min-1hr, but it isn’t an exact science, so don’t worry about over cooking.)

Let the pumpkin cool, then scoop the amount of flesh you need for the filling off the skin – half of a two-pounder, or all if you’ve managed to find a tiny pumpkin.

Mash with a fork; add Parmesan, balsamic, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and sage. Taste for seasoning and set aside.

basic pasta dough

1 1/2 cups white flour

1/4 cup semolina flour (but you can use 2 c of white flour if you don’t have semolina)

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

a pinch of salt

Mound up the flour and salt on a board or in a big bowl; make a deep well in the center and break the eggs into it, then pour the olive oil over them. With a fork, gently beat the eggs and start incorporating the flour from the edges. When it starts getting doughy, work flour from the edges in with your fingers, until it coheres.

Note: there’s no telling the size of your eggs, and how much volume of liquid they’ll produce, so it’s best to just work the dough by hand like this, incorporating only as much flour as you need to make the dough.

Then knead, knead, knead! Add flour as you need it to keep the dough from being sticky. 8 minutes should give you a nicely elastic, smooth dough.

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes. I have found this to be an essential step when making Pasta – it lets the dough absorb the flour and makes it both easier to work with, and stronger. So don’t skip it!!!

Now for the real project:

Assembling the ravioli. Here it is nice to have an assistant to fill the rounds as you roll and cut them, so enlist one if you can! And I highly recommend opening a bottle of wine before commencing.

Take a chunk of dough and roll it out with a pasta machine to the second-thinnest setting.

When making ravioli, you don’t want your dough to dry out. So roll one piece at a time, leaving the rest wrapped in plastic.

Then use a water glass to cut the sheet of dough into rounds (try for an even number. . . .). (gather extra dough, knead it with some fresh dough, and reroll it as you go). Spoon about a teaspoon, or maybe a little more, depending on the size of your glass – you’ll see as you go, into the center of a round. Put another round on top and stretch it over. (the dough should be pretty resilient, so don’t be afraid to abuse it). Press around the edges with the tines of a fork to seal.

Keep going until you have used up all your dough. . . . It will made about 50. Put the finished raviolis on sheets of Parchment so they don’t stick to the counter.

You can do the project to this point, and then dry the ravioli until you are ready to use them. You can freeze them in Ziploc bags once they are dry enough not to stick.

For the Sauce:

8 leaves of fresh sage, minced

1 stick of butter (if you’re cooking all the ravioli, less if not. BTW – don’t eat this every day!)

pasta water

Salt and pepper to taste

grated Parmesan

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil for the ravioli.

Once the water is boiling, throw in the ravioli. Cook them for 2 minutes (longer if frozen, like 5 mins).

Melt the butter. Keep an eye on it! You want the butter to turn brown – it will small like hazelnuts – but, not burn. Swirl the pan to keep the process from going to fast.

Work fast here! Whisk butter in a bowl with 3 TBS of pasta water, mix in the sage, a good pinch of salt, and some fresh pepper.

Drain the ravioli and toss with the sauce. Spoon out on plates and sprinkle with Parmesan.