When I made the pumpkin, potato, and caramelized onion mash to go with my Sicilian meatballs several months ago, I cooked extra pumpkin and froze it in 1-cup amounts to use for future recipes.
The pumpkins at the farmers market this past fall were fantastic. Larry and Eunice grew some wonderful heirloom varieties and offered them at their stand, Larry’s Veggies. I know the season can be short, so I wanted to make sure I had enough on hand to get me through the winter.
I am so glad I roasted that extra pumpkin, as I haven’t seen pumpkins in the market for several weeks now. And, although it is a beautiful spring day, I craved something autumnal and pumpkin-y!
One of my favorite pasta dishes is pumpkin ravioli with brown butter and sage, with just a light dusting of Parmigiano-Reggiano. But somehow, until now, I’ve never made these traditional pillows from heaven for this blog!
Making ravioli by hand can be time-consuming, but it can also be a great way to spend time in the kitchen with friends, sipping wine and nibbling olives, while you make what seem to be millions of ravioli… but is only about 40, easily enough for a main course for four.
If you have pumpkin purée on hand (unsweetened and pure canned pumpkin will do in
a pinch), the filling is a breeze! You simply mix the pumpkin with some crushed
amaretti cookies, some grated cheese, and a dusting of nutmeg… that’s it!
As with most things, the entire recipe can be made without any
machinery. However, I do really like my Atlas pasta machine that I’ve now had
for 40 years. Someone asked me if I wanted their unused electric attachment for
my KitchenAid, but I’m so attached to my little hand-cranked version that I
said no.
I’ve had this dish only with brown butter and sage, but there
might be other traditional sauces to accompany these ravioli. Anyone out there
have any suggestions?
Oh… the cookies! I know this seems like an odd addition to a
savory dish, but it works. And, a touch of sweetness in pasta harkens back to
Renaissance times, when sweet was mixed with savory on a regular basis.
If you don’t want to make your own pasta, check with one of your
local Italian restaurants that serves fresh pasta. They may be willing to sell
you a few sheets!
~ David
2 cups flour
3 large eggs
sea salt
1 cup roasted pumpkin purée, drained if watery
6-7 amaretti cookies, crushed
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus extra for serving
a couple of gratings of nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 sage leaves
Start by making the pasta. You will need to do this at least a
half an hour before you start assembling the ravioli, as the dough needs to
rest before being rolled.
On your countertop, or on a large wooden board, make a mound of
the flour and then make a crater within the mound. Break the three eggs into
the crater, sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Then, using a fork, gently whisk the
eggs and, with each beat of the fork, incorporate a little of the flour. When
you’ve incorporated enough flour to make a sticky dough, start using your hands
adding more flour to the egg mixture until you have a nice firm dough. Knead
the dough for a few minutes, then wrap in plastic and let sit for 30 minutes.
While the pasta dough is resting, make the filling. Mix the
pumpkin, cookie crumbs, cheese, and nutmeg. Season with salt and freshly ground
black pepper. Set aside.
When the dough has rested sufficiently, unwrap it and cut it into
four pieces. Put three of the pieces back in the plastic wrap while you work on
the first. On a lightly floured board, knead the dough a few times until it is
nice and smooth. Then, using a pasta machine, roll the dough through the
thickest setting (#1 on my machine). Fold it in three, like you would a
business letter, and run it through the machine again, feeding in short end
first. Repeat this folding/rolling process until the dough is very satin-like
and smooth. Then, run the piece of dough through the next thinner setting (#2
on my machine). Continue rolling the dough with progressively thinner
settings, until you reach the second to last setting (#6 on my machine). You
should now have a very long sheet of pasta approximately 6 inches wide.
Lay the pasta flat on the counter. Using a measuring teaspoon,
place teaspoonfuls of filling on the half of the dough closest to you, about 2
1/2 to 3 inches apart, as shown in the illustration below. The dotted line represents where you will fold it later.
Once you have the filling done all the way across, use a pastry
brush to moisten the dough around each little mound of filling, as shown below with the blue lines.
Fold the dough over the filling, and press out any air bubbles
that form. Then press down where you moistened the dough to make a good seal.
Using a crimper, or a sharp knife, cut the ravioli into 2 1/2 to 3-inch
squares/rectangles. The zig-zag lines represent where you should cut (cut through the part that was moistened). Don’t worry if they aren’t all the same size.
Place formed ravioli onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and
place in the refrigerator uncovered.
Repeat the process with the remaining dough. You should end up
with at least 40 ravioli.
Bring a large, wide pot of water to a boil and salt it well.
Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a large skillet and add the sage
leaves. When the butter starts to turn a nutty brown, remove it immediately
from the heat.
Check the water – you don’t want a rolling boil, as it can easily
break the ravioli. Lower the ravioli in gently, and cook for 3 minutes at a gentle boil; they
will be floating on the surface when done. You likely will need to do this in
batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot. Using a spider or a slotted spoon,
remove the ravioli from the water and place them in the browned butter and sage.
When all the ravioli are cooked and in the butter/sage sauce, gently toss them to
coat with the sauce over medium heat. Serve immediately on warmed plates. As with all paste, the ravioli should not be swimming in butter – just a gentle coating.
Makes approximately 40 ravioli.
Ron
March 30, 2019 at 2:41 pmDavid, this sounds absolutely wonderful for a spring dinner. I love making pasta by hand on the old breadboard. It's a bit of a stress reliever for me. No pumpkins here either and I wasn't smart enough to freeze any. I wonder if one could substitute sweet potatoes. What do you think?
Cocoa & Lavender
March 30, 2019 at 7:24 pmI imagine sweet potatoes could work fine, Ron – I know butternut squash does!
Homemade pasta is really the best. And making it can be quite therapeutic!
Eha
March 30, 2019 at 11:14 pmAutumn in autumn, David :)! Put my bedroom heater on for the first time this year last night. Love making ravioli when time allows. Would love to try your recipe soonest as I have not added amaretti biscuits before . . . Also just use nutmeg tho' my local spice merchants have been more than keen to sell something they call 'pumpkin spice' . . .
Cocoa & Lavender
March 31, 2019 at 12:58 pmAh, so sad, Eha that American “pumpkin spice” has made it to Oz… I think your little grating if nutmeg is all these ravioli would need. Stay warm, and I wish you a mild Winter!
Valentina
March 31, 2019 at 5:19 amDavid, I could eat pumpkin recipes all year long. I don't make homemade pasta since my son can't eat gluten and while I buy GF pasta, I can't imagine making it would be my forte. I'm thinking though, that this filling might be a delicious sauce with a bit of cream or stock to thin it. Or simply served on the side as mashed potatoes would be. Thoughts?
P.S. Those are beautiful sage leaves, and on a beautiful plate!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 31, 2019 at 1:00 pmYes, Valentina – your suggested version would be lovely, but I think (perhaps even more fun) would be a risotto!
The plate is one we brought back from Sicily – the colors are gorgeous!
Fran @ Gday Souffle
March 31, 2019 at 9:01 amWow, you've certainly been busy! I've only made homemade ravioli several times and I actually have a fancy 'attachment' that should do the trick! Since proper pumpkins are so big and bulky to work with, I always use butternut pumpkin (squash) to get my pumpkin flavoring. Your pumpkin filling using cookies sounds like an interetsing idea!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 31, 2019 at 1:03 pmFran – the amaretti use, I think, is very traditional. And, as for the pumpkin, it was tiny – maybe 4-5 inches in diameter. Butternut world beautifully, too!
John | heneedsfood
March 31, 2019 at 9:53 amThis is the type of comfort food my body is craving right now – perfect for my bout of man flu! I'm growing the variety of sage in the back garden, so beautiful. I'm really curious of the amaretti in the filling. It makes sense!
Cocoa & Lavender
March 31, 2019 at 1:05 pmI hope when you move to the mountains, you have a huge garden! Having fresh herbs at my fingertips all the time is probably my favorite thing about our home!
Frank
March 31, 2019 at 12:23 pmThese look wonderful, David! I remember having tortelli di zucca in Mantova. They were out of this world delicious. It's all in the pumpkin and if you have access to truly flavorful specimens, then count yourself lucky.
Cocoa & Lavender
March 31, 2019 at 1:06 pmIt’s almost time to dream of fresh pumpkin again, Frank! I absolutely fell in love with the heirloom varieties we had this last summer… hoping they appear again!
2pots2cook
March 31, 2019 at 2:59 pmYou are great David ! It has never occurred to me to combine Amaretti and pumpkin. Since Amaretti Thumbprints are on my "to do" list to be baked and published, I will definitely keep some aside to make these ravioli. Thank you so much and have a great day !
Cocoa & Lavender
April 1, 2019 at 9:00 pmThanks, Davorka! I love using the amaretti with pumpkin. Great on risottos, pastas, and soups! Hope you’re having a good week!
Inger @ Art of Natural Living
March 31, 2019 at 10:10 pmI sooo want to make my own ravioli. And I'd totally eat pumpkin ravioli right now as long as the nutmeg wasn't too strong. I am the world's only nutmeg hater 🙁
Cocoa & Lavender
April 1, 2019 at 9:01 pmSince you don’t like nutmeg, Inger, just leave it out! That’s the best part about cooking… Adjusting recipes to meet our needs.
sherry
April 3, 2019 at 9:30 amthis sounds absolutely delicious david. we are in the middle of autumn, but it has only cooled down this week so this dish would go down well. cheers sherry
Cocoa & Lavender
April 3, 2019 at 1:25 pmThanks, Sherry – I imagine it is beautiful where you are now, as it is here as we are in spring going into summer. Enjoy!
Kitchen Riffs
April 3, 2019 at 3:18 pmI make my own pasta, but lately for ravioli I've been using wonton wrappers that I buy at the supermarket. They work really well! Not quite as flavorful as freshly-made pasta, but good. I'm a brown butter person for this kind of dish, too — although I usually flavor mine with rosemary. Anyway, good stuff — thanks.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 4, 2019 at 4:23 amJohn – we used to use wonton skins but it take the fun out of stress-relief for me! 🙂 And the brown butter – OMG, it's good…
Kelly | Foodtasia
April 3, 2019 at 4:15 pmPumpkin (or other squash) ravioli is an all-time favorite of mine, and I can't think of a better sauce than butter and sage – such a wonderful combination. I'll have to try it with the amaretti cookies – I'm so intrigued!
Cocoa & Lavender
April 4, 2019 at 4:24 amThanks, Kelly – it is really good and the amaretti add a pleasant sweetness. I think you will like it!
Christina | Christina's Cucina
April 7, 2019 at 12:24 amI just drove across the country over the course of a week with my parents and the food in middle America gave me tummy trouble! Honestly, why can't we have some restaurants with food like these ravioli instead of all deep fried EVERYTHING? 🙁 I would have KILLED for these last week. In fact, I've been at my parents for about 4 days and just today I'm feeling myself again.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 7, 2019 at 2:51 pmChristina, when Mark and I moved across the country from Maine to Arizona, we pledged that we would eat no fat food along the way… and we didn’t. In fact, we gave it up entirely since. We, too, found it hard to eat healthy in the middle, but not impossible… we often went to a grocery store, got fresh fruit, carrot and celery sticks, cheese, bread, and the occasional cookie! (I can’t help myself!) Like you, the idea of eating a fried meal then sitting in the car for hours just didn’t appeal! You should have stopped in Tucson for a meal like these ravioli!
Emma @ Bake Then Eat
April 14, 2019 at 4:54 amThis dish is definitely my kind of dish, anytime of the year. I adore pumpkin and I do exactly the same. I freeze some very seasonal foods to enjoy at other times of the year.
Cocoa & Lavender
April 14, 2019 at 2:44 pmI can’t wait till those little pumpkins reappear in the market!