Squash & Goat Cheese Ravioloni in Brown Butter Sauce
The weather has been pretty cold for the past few days and I am starting to crave more wintery food. I am looking forward to richer and fuller flavours. In other words, butter and cheese for me please!!!
This is also the perfect weather to make fresh pasta and enjoy a lazy afternoon around the table. I made ravioli tondi or ravioloni or raviolacci. It is quite interesting to see all the different shapes and names for stuffed pasta around Italy: tortellini, ravioli, agnolotti, agnolotti del plin, cappelletti, cappellacci, caramelle, fagottini and many more!
No matter how many variants exist, you can always be creative both in terms of shape but also with the condiment you’ll chose. Any flavour or ingredient you might like can be captured and sealed within your little dough parcels.
The dough itself is really easy to make. There are a few variations in the recipes but when it comes to Pasta all’uovo (egg pasta) the base recipe is 1 egg every 100g of flour.
When I make stuffed pasta, I like to add a tbsp of olive oil (old family trick) as it helps your dough become a bit more elastic and you won’t have any issues in sticking the ravioli together.
I’ve seen a few recipes around that advise you to use water to stick the dough together. Traditionally this is not correct, and you should try to avoid it.
Pasta Party
Ingredients
For the dough
4 eggs
400g 00 flour
1 tbsp of olive oil
Semolina for sprinkling (to avoid the dough sticking to your bench)
For the filling
500g cubed butternut squash
50g parmesan
150g goat cheese
1 celery stick
1 onion
1 carrot
Salt & Pepper
Sage
Olive oil
1 egg
3 tbsp of water
For the sauce
150g butter
2 handfuls of hazelnuts
1 handful of sage leaves
These quantities are for 4 people and you will need a pasta machine.
Step by Step
For the dough
You can make this either by hand or with you stand mixer. Either way you are going to have to knead by hand
If you are making the pasta by hand place your flour mountain on a working surface. Make a hole with your hands at the top and add the eggs in the middle
With a fork start beating the eggs and slowly incorporating the flour. When the dough comes together use your hands to compact it and start kneading. Knead approximately for 10minutes and until your dough is elastic and smooth. Cover in cling film and let it rest for at least 30min at room temperature
For the filling
Cut your onion, celery and carrot in very small pieces. In a non-stick pan add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the onion, carrot and celery for a few minutes
Add your squash in the pan along with the sage, 3 tbsp of water. Season, cover with the lid and let it cook slowly at low heat. Stir from time to time to make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom. If it starts sticking add another tbsp of water but don’t overdo it or it will become a soup! When it’s cooked let it cool down
Blend your squash with the parmesan, goat cheese and egg. Adjust the seasoning and pour the filling in a piping bag. Put the piping bag to rest in the fridge for an hour or for 15min in the freezer
Making the ravioloni
Use your pasta machine to make a long sheet of pasta. Pipe out little roundels of filling to cover half of your pasta sheet
Cover the filling with the remaining half of the pasta sheet and press firmly with your fingers to seal the filling inside the pasta sheets
Use your round cutter to cut out your ravioloni. Place them on a tray sprinkled with semolina
Keep going until you finish all the dough
For the sauce
Place the butter and thinly cut sage in a deep pan and turn the heat up to medium high. Stir the butter while it melts
Keep stirring even when it starts foaming. After a bit you’ll see the colour changing as well as the smell. It will smell nutty and delicious
Use a metallic sieve to get rid of the little dark sediments. Keep the crispy sage!
Toast your hazelnuts in the oven for 10min at 200° C and roughly chop them once they are cooled down
Bring a bit pot of water to boil, add coarse salt and cook your ravioloni. When ready, strain the ravioli
Serve them in a plate with a generous amount of brown butter, crispy sage and a handful of roasted hazelnuts.
Enjoy!
Tips & cheats
The more you make pasta the more you’ll know whether it has the right consistency. Follow the 100g flour+1 egg rule as a base and always remember you can adjust the consistency with extra flour (to make it less sticky) or with a couple of tbsp of water (to make it softer). Only make these adjustments after the dough has rested for 30min.
When you first knead the pasta dough it will feel tough and difficult to work with. Insist and keep kneading for 10minutes. Don’t forget that the dough will become softer, more elastic and will feel different after it has rested for 30min.
No salt in the pasta dough! Salt only goes in the cooking water.
While you cook your filling, don’t be tempted to add too much water or if will end up being a soup. Try and keep it as dry as possible and stir frequently.
Only blend the filling ingredients together once the squash has completely cooled down otherwise your cheese will melt. Once you’ve put the filling in a piping bag use the fridge or freezer to reach the perfect consistency. It has to be soft enough to be able to be piped out and hard enough not ooze.
The secret of brown butter is to keep stirring all the time. If you stop stirring it will probably burn.
Sometimes the foam is too thick, and you can’t really see what is happening to your butter. You’ll know it’s browning from the smell. It is delicious and you will notice a sudden change of smell.
