How to Make Fresh Pasta: Butternut Squash Ravioli

Erica’s Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash Ravioli

Last year, one of the most mystifying dishes to me was anything involving fresh pasta. I just couldn’t get the courage up to try making it and sort of skirted the subject whenever anyone asked me if I knew how. This all changed when my boyfriends Mom, Wendy, told me I had to learn to do it and that it was simple (I wasn’t about to argue with my new boyfriends Mother).

So on one rainy Sunday afternoon, I headed into her kitchen and she taught me how to make pasta. Not only is it easy, it’s actually really relaxing and involves only 4 ingredients (and I bet you have all of them in your house right now)! Once I learned how to make it, the possibilities were endless. I started experimenting with different recipes and found that my favorite was my Goat Cheese & Butternut Squash Ravioli w/ Sage and Candied Squash.

So now, I am here to share! First I will show you how to make the pasta itself and then for those culinary dare devils, I’ll go on and tell you how to make my signature ravioli’s!

Basic Pasta Recipe

My first time making fresh pasta

What You’ll Need

3 eggs
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp EVOO

What You’ll Do

1) Mound the flour onto a clean surface and make a well (a hole) in the center of it.

2) Crack your eggs into the well, drizzle with 1/2 tsp of EVOO  and beat with a fork (be careful not to break the well)

3) Once the eggs are lightly beaten, start to SLOWLY incorporate the flour from the walls of the well.

This process should take about 5 minutes or more. If it’s any shorter than that, you are putting too much flour in at one time.

4) Once the flour is fully incorporated and you have a cohesive dough ball,  it is time to knead the dough (the most relaxing part).

Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. You may need to add more flour if the dough is sticky or extremely pliable.

The kneading process takes about 8-10 minutes.

5) Let the dough rest (about a half hour).

You can store it in the fridge for up to 24-hours, but if you do, make sure it comes to room temperature before you roll it out and make your pasta!

Goat Cheese & Butternut Squash Ravioli Recipe

Rolling out fresh pasta with Kitchen Aid attachment

What You’ll Need

Dough
Fresh Pasta Recipe (see above)
A pasta roller (don’t have one? no worries! I’ll give you an alternative solution)

Filling
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 ounces of goat cheese
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup half and half
Salt/Pepper to taste

Sauce
4 tablespoons of butter
5 fresh sage leaves

Topping
2 tablespoons diced butter nut squash
1 tablespoon sugar

What You’ll Do

1) Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Place your butternut squash cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake until tender (about 25 minutes). Reserve a couple of cubes for the candied topping!

2) Take the reserved butternut squash, cut them into even tinier cubes and place into a skillet over medium heat with the sugar. Str sugar and squash with a wooden spoon until the sugar caramelizes and candies the squash.

Finely diced butternut squash ready to be candied!

3) While the squash is baking, use your pasta roller to roll your pasta dough out into long thin sheets (about 1/8 of an inch thick).

Don’t have a pasta roller?  No problem! Put a dusting of flour on your countertop and cut the ball of dough in half. Cover one half with a moist towel and roll out the other half of the dough with a rolling pin.  If it gets sticky, you can always add flour.

Keep rolling until your sheet of pasta until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. The dough may be difficult and bounce back after you roll it. If so,  just keep rolling it and stretch it gently with your hands until the dough is about 8 inches wide and 16 inches long. Repeat with the remaining dough.

4) Once the dough is rolled out, it is time to make your filling and fill your pasta! To make the filling, blend together the butternut squash, goat cheese, cinnamon, minced garlic and half and half until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add more half and half. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

5) Fill your ravioli!

I think the easiest way is to place 1 tablespoon dollops of the filling along the entire sheet about 1 inch apart. Top with second sheet of dough and use a circular cookie cutter to cut out your raviolis (see photo below). I place a tiny dab of water on the edges before sealing to help them stay closed. Once cut, keep under damp cloth with flour to keep them from sticking.

6) Make the sauce! Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and sage leaves over low/medium heat until it turns brown

7) Once your ravioli are all cut out and the sauce is almost browned, place the ravioli into boiling water for about 3 minutes each (they will float to the top when they are done). Use a slotted spoon to drop them into the brown butter and sage sauce.

6) Top with candied butternut squash and serve!

Whether you prefer butternut squash ravioli or a classic spaghetti and meat sauce, my simple pasta recipe can help you rid yourself of the processed box pasta and open up the door to try all sorts of italian creations!

Until next time…

Love always,
Erica