Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter

 

The first time I had pumpkin ravioli with sage brown butter was in Mildura, Australia. None of us will ever forget the food in Mildura - it was divine; and the pumpkin ravioli has been on my mind ever since. Most of the recipes I've looked at call for wonton wrappers or prepared pasta. It was hard to find any that used pumpkin pasta as well. Nothing beats fresh, homemade pasta. Adding the pumpkin is simply a balance of the wet (egg) to the dry ingredients. That said, I'd still like to try to get more pumpkin flavour in the dough (which I believe lies in the baking of the pumpkins..).

The filling was easy to settle on, but I can say for certain the freshly grated cheese is worth the extra effort. It melts better resulting in a creamier filling. Again, pumpkin flavour is key - so that all the cheeses don't overpower the star ingredient. Some recipes I found called for fine bread crumbs, but I prefer the sweetness of the amaretti cookies. The less liquid in the pumpkin puree, the better. Both the pasta and the filling are easy to make, maybe a little time consuming but worth it for the result.

I actually had to buy sage
thank goodness for local farms
and neighbourhood delis
apparently I forgot to plant sage this year...

I used two sugar pumpkins (pie pumpkins) which made enough puree for both the pastry and the filling - with about a cup remaining (which I can add into soup, muffin or bread batter, or freeze...). They were drizzled in olive oil and rubbed with brown sugar, baked cut side down at 350F for about an hour. Once cool enough to handle the pulp was scraped out and pureed in a food processor, the drained through cheesecloth to get rid of excess liquid.  

Combine 4 cups of flour (a bread flour works well) with 4 tablespoons of semolina (durum wheat flour), 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of nutmeg. Blend together and set aside.

Whisk 1 egg with 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, add the puree and 4 more eggs to the flour mixture - hand kneading works fine, though a dough hook in a stand mixer could be used, or food processor. Turn on to a lightly floured (using semolina) board and knead until no longer sticky, and the dough forms as soft ball. Let rest at room temperature for at least half an hour.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling:

In a food processor grind 8 amaretti cookies (this is an ingredient I might more of if the filling is to liquid). Whisk 2 eggs, add 1 cup of pumpkin puree, the crumbed amaretti cookies, 1/2 cup of grated romano cheese, 1/2 cup grated parmigiana cheese, 1/4 cup fine ricotta cheese, 1 teaspoon fresh diced sage leaves, 1 finely diced green onion, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and salt & pepper to taste.

pumpkin pasta dough & pumpkin ravioli filling

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The challenge in rolling pasta dough is getting it thin enough. The thinner the better.

It's an elastic dough, bounces back a lot, 

but given enough time it will stretch, and keep its shape. 

I don't have a fancy-schmancy ravioli mold, 

and no cutter I have suited the job - so an ordinary drinking glass stepped in to cute our ravioli.

Each gets a spoonful of filling, then topped...

I used a fork to mark the edges...

While the ravioli boil, prepare the sage brown butter.

Over medium-low heat, slowly warm 5 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons fresh chopped sage leaves. When the butter turns brown and has a wonderful nutty smell, remove it from the heat and add juice from half a lemon. Pour immediate over the pumpkin ravioli and serve.