Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter

This classic Italian ravioli is dressed with a simple sauce of lightly browned butter and fresh sage, which heightens and contrasts with the sweetness of the pumpkin in the filling. Making the pasta by hand takes some time, but if you gather friends and family on a crisp fall day and make it an afternoon activity, you’ll be rewarded.

 

Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter

 

For the filling:

1-lb. (500-g.) piece Cheese or Sugar Pie pumpkin, calabaza or butternut squash, seeds and strings removed

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 Tbs. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or grana padano cheese

1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

1 to 2 Tbs. dried bread crumbs

 

1 1/4 lb. egg pasta

 

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, clarified (see tip below)

12 large fresh sage leaves

2 Tbs. kosher salt

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving

 

To make the filling, preheat an oven to 400ºF (200ºC).

 

Prick the pumpkin with a fork before roasting to help evaporate the moisture. Place the pumpkin directly on the oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 45 to 50 minutes.

 

When the pumpkin is cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh from the peel; transfer to a food processor and process until smooth.

 

Transfer the pumpkin puree to a bowl. Add the egg yolk, cheese, nutmeg and sea salt. Mix well, adding the bread crumbs as needed to bind the ingredients into a cohesive mixture. Cover the filling and set aside.

 

Using a pasta machine or a floured rolling pin, roll out the pasta dough 1/32 inch (1 mm.) thick, then fill and cut the ravioli.

 

Pour the clarified butter into a small fry pan and place over low heat. Add the sage leaves and heat until the butter is saturated with the flavor of the sage, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

 

In a large pot over high heat, bring 5 quarts water to a rapid boil. Add the kosher salt, gently drop in half of the ravioli and cover the pot. When the water returns to a boil, uncover and cook, stirring gently occasionally and reducing the heat as needed to prevent the ravioli from knocking against one another and breaking. The total cooking time should be 3 to 5 minutes. To test for doneness, transfer a single raviolo to a cutting board and cut off a corner with a paring knife; if the pasta looks cooked through and the corner tastes tender, the pasta is done. Using a large slotted spoon, lift out the ravioli, allowing a little of the water to cling to them so they remain moist, and transfer to a warmed large, shallow serving bowl; cover the bowl to keep the ravioli warm. Repeat to cook the remaining ravioli.

 

Drizzle the sage butter over the ravioli and serve immediately. Pass the cheese at the table. Serves 4.

 

TIP: To make clarified butter, in a fry pan over low heat, melt the butter. When it stops sizzling and the solids begin to separate and rise to the surface, skim off and discard the solids. The clarified butter should be golden in color. Watch it carefully to prevent it from getting too dark, which can happen in an instant; turn off the heat if it begins to darken too much before you have removed all the solids. Pass the clarified butter through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter to extract any solids that remain.

 

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma The Pasta Book, by Julia della Croce (Weldon Owen, 2010).