Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli with Hazelnut Butter

With cool, rainy and windy weather bombarding us right now, it felt like a good day to make some homemade pasta! I had been waiting for an 'indoor' day to make this recipe since I first saw it here.

I love the pasta roller set that I got for my birthday earlier this year. It fits my stand mixer so there's no need to crank, which makes pasta-making so easy. There is a great video showing how easy making pasta sheets with the roller attachment here.

This was my first attempt at making ravioli! On each flat sheet of pasta that I made, I placed some butternut squash filling at 1-inch intervals along one side, the margins were moistened with water and then folded the plain side of dough over the filing. The air is pressed out the edges were pressed to seal the filing. I then used a pastry cutter to cut along the sealed edges. Click here to see a short video of how this chef seals ravioli.

A little toasted hazelnut browned butter and some freshly grated parmegianno-reggiano on top...molto buono! This was such an excellent recipe!

I made enough to share with my daughter and son-in-law and also for us to have again tonight! If you enjoy butternut squash as much as I do, I hope you will try this recipe.

I was lucky enough to find hazelnuts without skins at my local grocery store but you could also substitute toasted walnuts. If you don't have a pasta roller, you could substitute won ton wrappers.

Fresh Pasta
Adapted from Williams Sonoma

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Flour for dusting
Pasta Machine or Pasta Making Attachment
Baking Sheets

Place flour in a mound on a hard, non-porous work surface. Make a well in the center large enough to hold the beaten eggs then pour them eggs into the well. Gradually incorporating some of the flour from the sides, using a fork, being careful to not to break the flour wall. When the eggs are no longer runny, you don’t have to worry about the wall. Continue to work in more flour until the dough is no longer wet.

Knead the dough by hand, adding as much additional all-purpose flour as needed until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky, for 3 to 5 minutes.

Have your pasta machine ready next to the work surface. Dust baking sheets with flour. Divide the dough in half and keep one half on the work surface, covered with a kitchen towel to keep it from drying out. Lightly flour the work surface with some of the reserved sieved flour. Using a rolling pin, flatten the other dough half into a rectangle thin enough to go through the rollers at the widest setting. Pass the dough through the rollers once, then lay the resulting ribbon down on the work surface and flour it lightly. Fold into thirds lengthwise to make a rectangle and flour both sides lightly. Flatten the dough with the rolling pin until it is thin enough to go through the rollers again. With one of the two open edges going first, pass the dough through the rollers nine more times at the widest setting; after each time, flour, fold and flatten the dough as described. After 10 trips through the wide rollers, the dough should be completely smooth and supple.

Now you are ready to thin the dough. Starting at the second-to-widest setting, pass the dough through the rollers repeatedly, setting the rollers one notch narrower each time. When the pasta ribbon gets unwieldy, cut it in half and continue rolling one part at a time until the dough reaches the desired thinness.

Arrange the finished pasta sheets on the prepared baking sheets and cover with kitchen towels to prevent drying. Repeat the entire process with the second half of dough.

Butternut Squash with Hazelnut Butter
Adapted from Foodess

2 pounds of fresh butternut squash
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 small onion, diced
1-1/2 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, minced
4 ounces mascarpone
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts
Parmigiano-Reggiano for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil. Place flesh side down on baking sheet, and bake until very soft, about 40 minutes.

In a dry pan over medium heat, lightly toast chopped hazelnuts. Set aside. In the same pan, add remaining tablespoon of olive oil, and cook onion with sage until soft and golden. Scoop flesh from cooked squash, and add to onion mixture and mash together. Allow to cool slightly, then add mascarpone and combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drop teaspoonfuls of squash mixture about an inch apart the length of a sheet of pasta. Fold pasta over filling, and use dampened fingers to seal the entire length. Press pasta down around all sides of filling to seal. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut the pasta into squares of equal size, each with a dollop of filling in the center. Fold the cut edges under, around all four sides of ravioli. Use a fork to crimp and seal. Repeat with remaining pasta sheet. Drop ravioli into a pot of gently boiling water and cook until they are tender, and rise to the surface (about 7 minutes).

Heat butter and hazelnuts in a pan over medium heat until butter browns. Add broth, and remove from heat. Drizzle brown butter sauce over ravioli on plate, and top with shaved or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

You can find more at here. Thank you, Foodess!