Ravioli!

A couple of weeks ago I bought a ravioli press because I really wanted to make my own.  Since I actually got Matt to admit that homemade pasta was actually good, I decided to go ahead and try making some ravioli yesterday.  I took inspiration from another food blogger, La Tartine Gourmande, and made some changes to her recipe.  I didn't use her pasta dough recipe.

I have to say that I really enjoyed making ravioli.  I love the little press although the ravioli it makes are larger than I expected.  Over all, it's an enjoyable process, especially when done in absolute quiet.  Very relaxing!

Squash Ravioli with Orange Sauce

For the dough:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 large egg
1 1/2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt


In the bowl of a food processor mix the flour and salt and pulse a few times.  In a measuring cup, whisk the egg, water and olive oil.  While pulsing the food processor pour the egg mixture in a continuous stream and keep pulsing until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  You may need to add water in very small amounts, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough reaches the right consistency.  If you are going to use a pasta machine to roll the dough you may stop at this point.  Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.  If you are going to roll by hand, you need to to knead the dough on a floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes.


For the filling:
9oz cooked winter squash puree ( I DO NOT recommend canned puree)
1 oz grated Parmesan
3 tbsp hazelnut  flour (ground hazelnut)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp fresh sage leaves


For the sauce:
juice of two large oranges
2 oz butter
a pinch of ground mace
salt and pepper to taste.
1 tsp potato starch


grated Parmesan


Mix all the filling ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.  Process until everything is well combined and the sage is chopped.

Roll the pasta dough into thin sheets.  Place approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling in each raviolo and seal well.  (See this for directions on how to fill and seal ravioli).

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  In the mean time, bring the orange juice and mace to a boil in a skillet.  Add the butter a few pieces at a time until melted.  Add the potato starch and cook until slightly thickened.  If you don't have potato starch you can use another thickening agent like cornstarch, just make sure you add it in such a way that it will not become lumpy or too thick.


When the water is at a rolling boil, add the ravioli, a few a time and cook until done.  They will float when done and it should take less than one minute with fresh ravioli.


Serve the ravioli with the sauce and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.


Serves 2.

I'm not gonna lie, it's time consuming but it's not difficult.  It's also delicious and totally worth the time, ask Matt, he ate most of it.  I'm already thinking about what filling I'm going to make next!