Tonight my friend Karen gave me a lesson in making homemade pasta.
We made ravioli, filling them with a squash filling I found on Epicurious.com. The filling was a snap to make, and the pasta, not so bad, once you get a feel for it. The dough needs to be smooth and elastic, but dry, not sticky. Once we got going, we made lots of raviolis in about 2 hours, with plenty of time for conversation and wine.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH, SAGE, AND GOAT CHEESE RAVIOLI WITH HAZELNUT BROWN-BUTTER SAUCE
For filling
a 2-pound butternut squash, roasted and mashed
1 1/2 c diced shallot
1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
4 ounces Spanish Manchego cheese, grated
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted lightly and skinned and chopped coarsely
In a skillet cook shallot and sage in butter with salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, until shallot is golden brown. Stir in garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Cool shallot mixture slightly and add to squash. Add cheese and stir to combine well. Make ravioli.
In a 6-quart kettle bring 5 quarts salted water to a gentle boil for ravioli.
In skillet cook butter with hazelnuts over moderate heat until butter begins to brown, about 3 minutes, and immediately remove from heat (nuts will continue to cook). Season hazelnut butter with salt and pepper and keep warm, covered.
Makes 30 ravioli, serving 6 generously.
I made a few changes from the Epicurious recipe, which called for using won-ton wrappers. It made a huge amount of filling, so I have a lot left over. I may try and make the remaining filling into gnocchi later this week.
Filed under: Main Dish
