Pumpkin Ravioli in Butter Sage Sauce

For over a month now I have been wondering what to do with our lonely Halloween pumpkin that’s been sitting on display at the front of our house. Yes I know…Ewh it’s been a while, but still good I assure you. Convinced myself it was all part of the ripening process.

Anyway, I feel like I’m a month behind on this post due to the fact that I’ve seen everyone else’s stunning attempts of ravioli among the ‘Italian bloggers community’ but wanted to share this post with you anyway because it was THAT delicious!

It may surprise you that I’m far from an expert in making fresh pasta. It’s my husband’s speciality being a chef so I guess I’ve always just left it up to him to work his magic. However this time round, I was determined not to waste this pumpkin, I wanted to challenge myself to make more fresh pasta and plus I just wanted a good excuse to photograph something pretty ;)

This recipe is dead easy to make but the rolling of the pasta and constructing the ravioli are a little tricky if you have never done it before. If you are a perfectionist (like me), making ravioli will be your nemesis lol… but just try to enjoy the process and trust that the taste will be worth the dodgy air bubble here and there.

This recipe is all things autumn packaged into one little wonderful mouth-watering pasta parcel. The flavours are delicate and light yet perfectly balanced. The sweetness of the pumpkin and ricotta mix with aromatic Italian herbs and a touch of nutmeg makes this recipes one I will truly cherish. Well worth messing up the kitchen for ;)

INGREDIENTS

Pasta

• 500g “00” flour (extra for dusting the dough)

• 1 ½ Tbsp. salt

• 6 eggs

• 4-6 Tbsp. of water if needed

Filling

• 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree

• 1 cup of ricotta

• 3-4 sage leaves, finely chopped (about 2 tsp.)

• 1-2 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped (about 2 tsp.)

• ¼ tsp. finely grated nutmeg

• Half a tsp. of lemon zest

• Pinch of sea salt

Sauce

• 60g of butter

• 6-8 sage leaves

• 2-4 Tbsp. of hot water (drained from cooked pasta)

• Pinch of salt

• ½ cup of roughly chopped hazelnuts

• Freshly grated parmesan to serve

METHOD

Pasta

On a large wooden pasta board, tip your measured flour and salt in the centre and make a well. Carefully crack the eggs into it and use your fingers to stir and break up the yolks. Start to gradually incorporate the flour from the edges until the mixture begins to come together to form a rough dough. If the mixture is too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water or if it becomes too sticky, add a bit of flour to compensate.

Dust your wooden pasta board and knead for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Once the dough has a fairly smooth surface, shape it into a ball and place it in a lightly floured bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

NB: It is possible to make the dough the day before and store it in some cling wrap for 24hrs. You can even freeze pasta dough but make sure it thaws to room temperature before you roll it.

Filling To make the filling, roast a medium size pumpkin (either Kent/Jap or Golden nugget as a butternut would be too sweet) until soft and set aside to cool. Remove the skin and blend into a puree using a stick blender. Add the ricotta, sage, rosemary, lemon zest, nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover in cling wrap and store in the fridge until ready to use.

NB: If your pumpkin puree is too wet, place it over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until some of the moisture evaporates.

To assemble

Cut a slice from your dough like a thick piece of bread about 1cm thick. Keep the rest of your dough covered to prevent it from drying out. Press the piece of dough into a rectangle using the tips of your fingers. Roll your dough with a pasta machine starting at the widest setting, then rolling thinner and thinner to the 3rd or 2nd last setting. Every now and then, fold the pasta on itself and pass it through the machine starting from the opposite end. This will allow for the pasta to be rolled out evenly and will make for a better consistency when cooked. The pasta should be thin but not too thin that it tears.

Once you have a long sheet of pasta, spoon half-teaspoon sized dollops of filling in a row along one side of the sheet, about 1/2-1 inch apart and 1cm from the edge. When it comes to filling ravioli, less is best.

Fold the sheet of pasta lengthwise over the fillings. Using your fingers, carefully press down around each one starting from the folded edge. Be sure to press out any air bubbles, and seal the dough tightly. Cut out your ravioli using a zig zag pizza wheel cutting along the folded edge, the opposite side and in the middle to form even squares.

Cooking the pasta Bring some salted water to boil in a large pot. Drop roughly around 8-10 ravioli at a time, and cook for 2-5 minutes until al-dente.

NB: Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the pasta and size.

When the ravioli is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and drain off any excess water.

The Sauce

While the ravioli is boiling, quickly warm up the butter in a large frying pan and toss in a few sage leaves. Let the butter bubble but not burn. When you ladle your ravioli into the frying pan, turn the heat low and add a few Tbsp of the starchy pasta water to create the sauce. Season with a pinch of salt and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.

To serve

Neatly place 8-10 ravioli in a cute Italian bowl while still hot. Freshly grate with parmesan cheese and sprinkle with roughly chopped hazelnuts to serve.