Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter

Autumn is gently rolling in and the late summer harvest of Pumpkins has arrived. I love when I start to see the pumpkins with their large spheres and pale pink skins start to show up at the farmers market. The pumpkins here are different than our American version that are orange skinned. The pumpkins in Italy have pale skin and dark orange interiors. They call them ‘zucca” and this is my favorite variety.

I love all things pumpkin! In American we love pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie and an array of pumpkin breads and muffins. In Italy we love Pumpkin Risotto, cubed roasted pumpkin in warm salads and of course Pumpkin Raviolis! I love these little pasta pillows stuffed with roasted pumpkin and creamy ricotta cheese. They are even better when tossed in a little butter sage sauce and topped with fried sage leaves.

Pumpkin Ricotta Ravioli with Cream Sage Sauce

Filling:

3/4 cup pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin is good)

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated & 1/4 cup Mozzerella or provolone, shredded

1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir together all ingredients

Pasta:

2 cups flour
2 eggs 
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions: Pour the flour onto a working surface like a wooden board or solid surface countertop. Form a “volcano” by making an intention in the mound of flour. Crack two eggs into the “volcano”, add salt and whisk with a fork, slowly bringing in the flour sides until you can start to work the dough. If it seems to be a little dry add 1 tablespoon of water. It depends on how big your eggs are. Keep kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic and springs back when you poke it with your finger. (About 5-10 minutes) Place the dough into a plastic container with a tight fitting lid. (This step helps the dough get softer so you can roll it out easier.)

Method for using a Ravioli Pin: (for  pasta machine method see * note at the end of article)

Cut the dough in half, flour your surface and start to roll it out. It should form a diameter of about 18” and be the thickness of a dime. Fold the circle of dough in half and mark the center line. Spread the filling out on half the dough only, where you marked the center fold. Keep the filling then, about 1/4”, if it is too thick it will bust the ravioli. Cover the filling by folding the dough back over to form a half circle. Line the ravioli pin up and roll out the squares. Cut the ravioli with the zigzag cutter. 

Sauce:

1/4 cup of butter, 1/4 cup of cream, 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 cup of white wine

Fresh sage leaves

Instructions: heat a small skillet with 2 tablespoons olive oil, fry sage leaves until crisp but not too browned. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel to cool. Sprinkle with salt.

Melt butter, add the White wine and allow it to evaporate the alcohol, a few minutes, add the grated Parmesan  cheese, stirring gradually. Add the cornstarch to the cream, stir to incorporate the  pour into the skillet with the butter, wine and cream. Add salt to taste

Instructions for cooking the ravioli:

Heat water to boiling, add 1 Tablespoon salt and the ravioli and cook until they float, just a few minutes will do it. If you are serving the Ravioli  “family style”, in a large serving bowl, heat the bowl by placing it on top of the pot of boiling pasta while it is still cooking. Remove the hot bowl from the boiling pot and spoon a little of the sauce in the heated serving bowl. With a pasta spoon or large slotted spoon, dip into the ravioli pot and spoon a layer of ravioli Into the bowl and top with sauce then repeat. This technique was shown to me by an excellent Italian cook. This will keep the pasta from becoming a jumbled up mess, as these ravioli can be quite fragile. Resist the urge to dump them into a large colander to drain.

If you are serving it just for two, you can serve it up in small shallow pasta bowls.

I like to freeze up a portion of the ravioli so it can be enjoyed on a busy weeknight when I may not have time to cook, I can always pop out a few from the freezer and enjoy a home cooked meal.

*Method with a Pasta Machine:

Follow the instruction of the machine, Usually, you would cut the dough ball in fourths, then start the pasta machine on the thickest setting, you would roll the ravioli through the machine, keep adding flour and reducing the thickness of the machine as you keep passing the dough through until you have reached the thickness desired, in this case 1/8” or the thickness of a dime, it is not really useful to use the ravioli pin at this stage since the dough is in a long strip. Instead you will place small spoonfuls of filling onto The strip of dough and then fold the dough back over, pressing with your fingers to seal it. You may need to use a little water between the layers of dough to get a good seal. Use the cutter to fully seal and cut the ravioli.