Pumpkin Ravioli

These ravioli are subtle in flavour but hella delicious all the same. Serve with your sauce of choosing - I used a Brown Butter Sage Sauce when I served mine.

For the Pasta Dough:

• 2 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tbsp oil oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 – 4 tbsp water

For the Filling:

• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper

Equipment:

• Mixing bowls
• fork
• pasta roller or rolling pin
• measuring spoons
• measuring cups
• sheet pans
• dish towels
• fridge
• ravioli press or knife/pastry cutter

On a clean surface, create a pile of the flour and leave a well in the center, wide enough to hold the eggs. Place the wet ingredients into the well, whisk together with a fork. Gradually begin to incorporate the flour into the eggs by bringing some flour into the centre of your well a small bit at a time

Once you can no longer stir the eggs and the majority of the flour is incorporated you can begin kneading the dough. Repeat the process of stretching and pulling, adding more flour as needed if the dough is too sticky. Once the dough is stretchy, workable, and silky to the touch, it is ready.

Form into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until you are ready to roll out the dough – at least 30 minutes.

As with most doughs the amount of flour you will end up using is dependent on the amount of liquid, the volume of the eggs, and the humidity in the air. You may find that you will use less or more flour depending on these factors – you really want to focus on texture here.

Mix together the pumpkin puree, ricotta, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Ricotta can come in different textures – dry to creamy. If you want a smoother texture to your filling choose an “extra creamy” variety. Alternatively, if you only have a drier variety of ricotta available you can puree your filling together in a mixer/blender for a smoother texture

Prepare your work area. Beat one egg and set aside.

Cut your dough in half or thirds to make more manageable portions.

Roll out your dough. I used a hand crank pasta maker given to be by my nonna. Mine has 7 thickness settings. You can also roll out your dough by hand or use an electric pasta roller.

On the lowest setting (on mine this is labeled as 1) draw the dough through at a consistent pace. You may find that you need to flour the door between passes so the pasta does not stick to itself.

Repeat this step increasing the thickness setting until the dough is almost translucent. On my pasta roller this is when I reached level 6.

Repeat with the remaining portions of

Lay out a sheet of pasta. Cover the remaining sheets with a dish towel to prevent them from drying out.

There are several ways you can create your ravioli from here.

Method 1:

Spoon about a teaspoon of filling on one half of the dough spacing each morsel about an inch apart. I measured this as roughly three of my finger widths.

Using your finger brush a line of beaten egg between each portion of filling and along the open edge.

Fold the dough over the top of the filling, but be careful not the seal the seams just yet. You will need to ensure there is no air trapped between the layers of pasta.

Use your finger to push the air away from the filling by moving around the mound of filling. Move any remaining air towards the seam and press the air out before sealing the dough.

Using a sharp instrument (like a pastry wheel or knife) cut the ravioli into individual morsels - between each mound of filling and along the long edge for a uniform look.

Place your finished ravioli on a dishtowel and flip them periodically as they dry to prevent sticking.

Method 2:

Spoon about a teaspoon of filling onto one piece of dough spacing each morsel about an inch apart. I measured this as roughly three of my finger widths.

Using your finger brush a line of beaten egg around each portion of filling.

Place the second portion of dough on top of the filling, being careful not to completely seal the layers together.

Use your finger to push the air away from the filling by moving around the mound of filling. Move any remaining air towards the seam and press the air out before sealing the dough.

You can now use a ravioli press to cut out your individual pillows of ravioli. Alternatively, you can use a pastry wheel or knife to cut out your ravioli.

Place your finished ravioli on a dishtowel and flip them periodically as they dry to prevent sticking.

I placed mine on a single layer on a sheet pan and froze them as I did not intend to cook them the same day.

To cook your ravioli, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the boiling water.

Add your desired portion size of pasta to the water and cook until each morsel floats - about 5 minutes.

Carefully strain or use a slotted spoon or spider skimmer. Add to a sauce of your choosing. I used a sage brown butter sauce with walnuts.