I love ravioli! Actually I love anything that involves a filling wrapped in dough (ie perogies, dumplings, empendadas, calzone springrolls, etc). I recently made ravioli from scratch on valentines day weekend and it was such a fun experience. It is a bit lengthy so make sure you can devote a good 4 hours to it and make the filling the night before. I lucky snapchatted the whole experience so I was able to grab those videos and make a little film for you down below so dont forget to check that out!!! Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
Filling - **Make the butternut squash filling the night before so that you can let it chill overnight.
1-2 Lbs Butternut Squash or 2 Packs of Pre-Peeled and Cut Butternut Squash
2 TBS of Olive Oil
Salt an Pepper (as desired)
1/8 Tsp of Ground Nutmeg
1/2 a Cup Parmesan or Ricotta Cheese or both! (1/2Cup of Ricotta, 1/4 Cup of Parmesan)
Dough-
3.5 Cups of All Purpose Flour
4 Eggs (3 For the dough 1 for the ravioli wash)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 TSP of Salt
1/2 Cup of Water
Sauce -
8 Tbsp of Salted Butter
2 Tbsp of Shallots (minced)
1 Tbsp of Fresh Sage (Chopped)
OTHER MATERIALS
Pasta maker - I have a Lagostina Pasta Maker with Ravioli Attachment that works really well which I bought for around $67 CAD @ Canadian Tire! I didn't use the Ravioli attachment but you can if you like.
It essentially looks like this:
DIRECTIONS:
First we are going to make the filling. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.
In a bowl combine your chopped and peeled butternut squash, olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Toss so that it is evenly covered before placing it on a baking tray covered in aluminum foil and popping it into the oven for 30 minute (or until tender).
Once the squash is tender remove it from the oven, transfer to a bowl and mash it with a potato masher. Once nicely mashed stir in your cheese and mix until it is fully incorporated. When ready cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
Next we are going to make the dough using the 'well method'. Place your flour on the counter and create a well or hole on the inside of the mound. Add your eggs, salt and oil to the inside of the hole and slowly start to stir the contents inside the hole with a fork. Slowly using the fork start to incorporate the flour wall lining the whole. DO THIS SLOWLY! Once the dough starts to form and thicken you can ditch the fork and use your hands to knead the dough. If you feel like the dough is dry keep kneading and add water for assistance.
When you are finished and have one big dough ball place in a large bowl, add a little olive oil to prevent the dough from drying out and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for 30 minutes or so.
Prep your pasta maker! You are going to want to start on the widest (#1) setting and work your way to the thinnest (#9)
Break the dough into three parts and start to feed it through the pasta maker moving the knob each time from widest to thinnest setting. Make sure to help your dough through so it doesn't get caught or jammed.
Place all strips of previously rolled out pasta on the counter which has been already lightly covered in flour.
Use the sheets with the larger width as the ravioli tops and the ones with the smaller widths as your ravioli bottoms.
Start placing your butternut squash fillings 1 inch apart along the smaller width pasta. Use the egg wash to create a grid seal around each dab of filling. Place the wider pasta strip (top) on top.
Press the top down the center and each row so that it stretches out nicely over the filling mounds. Cut the dough in equal sections trying to create a 1/2 inch perimeter around the mounts.
Using a fork press on the outer corners to help the egg wash inside create a seal between top and bottom pasta layers and fully seal in the butternut squash filling inside.
Once sealed fully, place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Once you are finished making ravioli place the baking sheet covered in plastic wrap in the fridge to store until you are about 20-30 min from your meal time.
When you are ready boil a pot of water. Once the water is boiling add a tsp of salt and place the amount of ravioli you want to cook in the boiling water. You can store the remaining amount by rolling it in wax paper and placing it in a ziplock bag and freezing it.
Next start to prep your sauce. In a sauce pan on medium heat add in your butter followed by your minced shallots. Once the shallots start to become clear add in your sage. Allow the sage to release its flavor into the butter. Stir so that it doesn't burn. Add some salt
After about 6-7 minutes the ravioli should be ready and float to the top. Test to see if the pasta layers are fully cooked. When it is cooked drain and add to your sauce pan with butter and sage. Allow the ravioli to become fully dressed by the sauce before plating.
Add Parmesan cheese on top and garnish before serving. ENJOY!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! There is also a video down below if you need more guidance while cooking!!! Bon Appetite!!!