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Homemade ravioli isn’t nearly as daunting as it sounds. It does require some special equipment in a pasta roller, but it’s not terribly expensive and once you have made this ravioli recipe, you’ll never buy store bought again. For this recipe, a little advanced planning helps. You can make the pasta dough ahead and just let it rest in the refrigerator until you need it. The filling can also be made ahead, so really all that needs to be done is put together the ravioli and serve.
For this recipe, we are going to make a brown butter with sage to top the ravioli. For this brown butter, you can add cream if you like to take the edge off the sauce a little, or serve it straight. I choose to serve it straight up, but some people find the butter flavor a little overwhelming to the palate. As I am a fan of butter, being The Chubby Cook, it works out for me straight from the pan. Whichever way you serve it, it is going to be absolutely delicious.
We are going to really kick up the flavors for the filling of these ravioli. First, we will roast the squash in the oven to bring out the caramelized sugars and enrich the flavors. We’ll add spicy hot Italian sausage to the filling along with some parmesan cheese and parsley. When paired up with the freshly cooked pasta and the brown butter sauce, this filling really creates a delicious bite. One of the best things about this recipe is that you can make a killer soup with the leftover ravioli filling by adding stock and a touch of cream. Two recipes for the price of one!
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Use the extra filling with some stock and cream to make a delicious soup. Photo by Scott Groth
Serves 4 delicious plates of food.
Ingredients for the pasta dough:
3 cups all purpose flour (King Arthur’s is preferable)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
4 whole eggs
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water (egg wash)
Ingredients for the ravioli filling:
2 medium butternut squash (about 8 inches long)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper
1.5 cups of ground hot Italian sausage, or 5 sausages with the casings removed
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg (always better fresh!)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Ingredients for the brown butter sage sauce:
1.5 sticks of unsalted butter
10 leaves fresh sage, chiffonade
Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper
Let’s start with the pasta dough. You can do this by hand or use a stand mixer with a dough hook or a food processor with a dough blade. I used a mixer with a dough hook, so that’s how we’ll go from here.
Add the flour and salt to the bowl. Add in the eggs one at a time. When the last egg is fully incorporated, add in the next. Add in the olive oil until the dough forms a ball. Don’t get it too wet (which can happen quickly). A little moisture goes a long way. Once the dough is in a ball, let’s get our work area prepared. Lightly flour the counter and remove the dough ball from the mixer. Knead the dough for about seven to ten minutes, or until it becomes elastic. The best test for elasticity is to press the dough with a finger. If the area you press springs back, you’re good to go. If it doesn’t, continue to knead. If your dough is sticky, add flour to the work surface.
Once the dough is ready, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes. You can make this the day ahead and let it rest until you need it in the refrigerator.
While the dough is resting, let’s get the filling ready. First thing is first, we need to fire up the oven to 475 degrees. We going to need a couple items at hand. First, we need a large bowl- the larger the better. Next, we need a sheet pan or two lined with parchment paper. Once you have these items, let’s move onto prepping the squash.
Working with squash is pretty easy. You cut the very top off the squash and then cut through just above the bulb area. Now you have a big chunk of squash that you can easily peel. Next, cut off the very bottom of the squash and then peel the bulb section. I use a chef’s knife to complete this task, but you can use a vegetable peeler as well. Once the squash is peeled, cut the bulb in half and remove the seeds using a spoon or if you have a grapefruit spoon, use that.
Cut the squash into 1 inch pieces. They don’t need to be exact. Toss them in the bowl as you are cutting them. Once all the squash is in the bowl, pour on the olive oil. Add in about a half teaspoon of salt and the same of pepper. Then coat the squash by rotating the mixture in the bowl with your hands. If they feel dry, add more oil. Once they are all coated and seasoned, lay them flat on the baking sheet(s) and toss into the oven for about 25 minutes.
While the squash is roasting, let’s handle the sausage. Fire up a sauté pan over medium high heat. Break up the sausage while it is cooking. Take a couple paper towels and place them on a plate. When the sausage is browned and cooked, transfer it to the paper towels to soak up some of the grease.
Ok, let’s get out the food processor. Toss in the sausage (without the paper towel) into the processor. Process the sausage for about a minute. Remove from the processor and put into a large bowl. Next, add in the butternut squash to the processor. You may need to do this in two batches. Process until smooth. Remove and add to the bowl.
Now lets add the cinnamon and nutmeg along with the shredded parmesan and parsley to the bowl. Mix by hand with a spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning. The filling is done! Set this aside or put in the fridge to hold up to a day in advance.
Since we have everything done, let’s get everything put together and cooked up. Fill a large pot with water and set on the stove to boil. Get out your pasta ball and a pasta roller. Open the pasta ball and quarter it. Wrap up the sections you are not using so they don’t dry out. With the quarter you are going to use, press it down with your hand to flatten it a little. If you want, you can square it off to make a neater pasta sheet. Lightly flour the surface of the pasta dough.
Before we start rolling the pasta, make sure that your work area is prepped. You are going to need a large area dusted with flour to prevent the pasta sheets from sticking to the counter. You’ll also need a round cutter (I used a 3″ round cutter), the egg wash and a food grade brush. Let’s get the filling out as well and a spoon.
With your pasta roller on the widest setting, roll the pasta through. On the same setting, roll the pasta through again. If the pasta looks like it is sticking, add some flour to the surface and roll through again on the largest setting. From here, roll through on consecutively smaller settings until the sheet is thin. Lay the sheet out on the prepared counter space. Repeat this step once more so we have 2 sheets of pasta to make our ravioli.
Now that we have 2 pasta sheets, let’s add a heaping tablespoon of the filling about 3″ apart from along the length of one of the pasta sheets. Take the egg wash and circle the brush around each mound of filling. Now lets take the second sheet of pasta dough and lay it over the one with the prepared filling. Press down around the mounds and use your cutter to create the ravioli. Press down lightly on the top of the ravioli to push out any air that is trapped in there. Once they are all cut, remove the excess pasta. Transfer the completed ravioli to a plate and set aside. Re-flour the surface you just worked on and make the next round of ravioli.
You can send the unused pasta dough back through the pasta roller to make more sheets if desired. You will need to ball it up and knead it. It may need more flour to prevent sticking since it will have egg wash in it. You can also use one sheet of pasta to make the ravioli simply by only putting the filling on half of the sheet and folding the other half over the top to create the ravioli. I find that two sheets is easier for me to work with since I never remember to leave myself enough of the pasta sheet at the fold. It’s up to you which way is easier.
For this recipe, we’ll use brown butter and sage to top the pasta. Let’s get that completed before we boil the pasta. Melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the sage and continue to cook until the butter turns brown, but not burned. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
Once all the ravioli are made, salt the boiling pasta water and add the ravioli one at a time. Don’t overcrowd the pot- the ravioli will stick to each other. Cook for about five minutes and plate. I used shallow bowls. Top with the brown butter sauce and serve. This is a really tasty fall dish that everyone will love. It’s a bit of work, but every now and again it is good for the soul to really get a workout in the kitchen. I can assure you that it is much easier if you make the filling and dough a day ahead and then assemble and cook the day of.
If you made extra pasta that you won’t be serving or that isn’t eaten, spray it lightly with non-stick cooking spray before you put it away. This will prevent the ravioli from sticking to one another over night.
With any of the remaining filling, you can make a very easy soup the next day. Simply put the remaining filling into a large pot and add chicken stock until the desired consistency has been achieved. Heat to a simmer and use an immersion blender to make a creamy soup. If you want, add a quarter cup of cream and then use the immersion blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Should be a little spicy and a lot delicious. Enjoy!
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Butternut Squash and Sausage Ravioli- awesome meal. Photo by Scott Groth