Butternut squash ravioli

23 Feb Butternut squash ravioli

Serves 4

Pasta:

• 400g  Durum flour
• 4 eggs +1 extra to close the ravioli

Filling:

• 1 Butternut Squash
• Olive oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 2 -3 tbsp James Balsam Vinegar or Golden Balsam Vinegar
• about 100 g hazelnuts
• Butter
• Salt

I’ve pinched this simple dough recipe from an Italian pasta guru on line. It is important that the dough is worked long enough and then allowed to rest for at least two hours.

Method:

1. Pile the flour on your clean work top and make a well in the middle and add the eggs to the well. Use a fork to whip the eggs until smooth, then gradually bring the flour in from the outside. When it becomes too hard to mix, get your clean floured hands in there and start kneading. Fold, stretch, knead and then some more – do this for about 10 minutes and then bring it together into a ball of dough. Wrap the ball of dough with clingfilm and put it in the fridge to rest for 2 hours.
2. While the pasta dough rests make the filling.
3. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6
4. Peel the Butternut squash and cut into cubes. Lay the cubes on a baking tray with parchment paper or a oven proof dish and season with the chili powder, cinnamon and smoked paprika. Drizzle some olive oil over the Butternut squash and bake on the middle shelf in the oven until the cubes are soft ( about 20 minutes). Let them cool down.
5. Mash the Butternut squash. Season with salt and some vinegar.
6. Put the hazelnuts into a heavy saucepan in a single layer. Place the pan on the stove over medium heat. Roast them for about 5 minutes and stir occasional so they don’t burn. When browned, immediately remove them from the pan to prevent them from over- roasting. Once slightly cooled cut them coarsely with a big knife.
7. Burn the butter in a sauce pan but be careful not to over burn it! The melted butter should foam, rise in the pan and give a lovely nutty aroma…that is just seconds before it turns black and bitter.
8. At this step a pasta machine would be a great help but it also works with a rolling pin. Divide the dough into about 4 or 5 parts. Only work on one at the time, wrap the others in clingfilm again so the dough doesn’t dry out. You have to roll and fold the dough in three parts a couple of times before cutting out the ravioli. The dough gets the shine and consistency of fresh pasta in this process.
9. Roll out the dough as thin as possible and cut out circles e.g. with a drinking glass or you could also cut out squares if you’d prefer. Add some of the cooled filling in the middle and brush the edges with egg and fold the sheet in half over the filling. Gently seal around the filling , pushing out the air. To close them you can either fold them over and create half moons or you could put one circle over another and you’ll get a round ravioli or you could use squares – your imagination is the limit here! I like to finish the edges with a little push down with a fork to make sure the ravioli won’t open when cooking. Put them on a floured surface to let them dry a little before cooking.
10. Bring a big pan of salted water to a boil and cook the ravioli in small batches for a few minutes. The ravioli are done when they rise to the surface.

Serve the ravioli straight away garnished with the roasted hazelnuts and burned butter and a dash of Apple Balsam

TIP: Another really delicious option for a filling is:

Fry a few slices of porcini in butter until crispy and leave to dry on kitchen paper. In the meantime fry the other porcini with some butter and onions. Season with salt and black pepper and a couple of tablespoons of Apple Balsam Vinegar. Put the filling in the ravioli, close them as described above and cook them. Once cooked, garnish the portions with the crispy porcini slices and finish them with some more fresh black pepper and a dash of Apple Balsam Vinegar.