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Try this recipe for homemade butternut squash ravioli, then check out our classic homemade ravioli, basic pasta dough, gluten-free pasta and homemade pappardelle.

Looking for more butternut squash recipes? Try our butternut squash lasagne, butternut squash mac and cheese, butternut squash pasta and more.

How to make perfect homemade pasta

Use '00' flour

The ‘00’ refers to the grade that the flour has been milled to – in this case to very fine, with all of the bran sifted out, resulting in a very soft dough. It will, however, contain plenty of gluten and protein – look for 10-12% in the nutritional facts box – meaning the dough will be strong and stretchy once kneaded. Try this one from Waitrose, available on Ocado.

Egg whites and yolks

The egg white and yolk will be doing different things within the dough – the whites will help bind the dough together while ensuring it’s stretchy and pliable. The yolks will add richness and a deep colour.

Kneading the pasta dough

Kneading the dough bonds the gluten molecules in long chains, making it elastic and easy to roll until paper-thin, and will give the pasta some bite once cooked. Kneading also helps to get rid of any flour pockets and air bubbles.

Resting the pasta dough

Any gluten-based dough needs to rest – this helps the gluten strands relax and become even more pliable, which will make it much easier to put through the pasta machine, with less springing back, warping or tearing. Any excess water will also be fully absorbed by the flour, resulting in a smooth dough.

Rolling the pasta

Using a pasta machine instead of a rolling pin will make the process a lot easier and ensure more precise results. It’s important to start on the widest setting with a pasta machine, and run it through twice on each setting. Repeatedly rolling the pasta aligns the gluten bonds into long lines, resulting in a long, smooth sheet of elastic dough which is easy to work with.

We like Lakeland’s chromed steel machine, click here to buy for just £29.99

Cooking the pasta

The water needs to be just simmering – boiling water may tear or break the pasta, and it will be much easier to judge when the pasta is perfectly cooked.


Homemade butternut ravioli recipe with brown butter and sage

Ingredients

  • 400g, peeled and cut into 4cm pieces butternut squash
  • 3 cloves, skin on garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 100g ricotta
  • ½, juiced lemon
  • a good grating nutmeg
  • 200g butter
  • 8 sage leaves
  • (or veggie alternative) finely grated, to serve parmesan

PASTA DOUGH

  • 300g, plus extra for dusting '00' flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 (freeze the whites for meringues, if you like) egg yolks

Method

  • STEP 1

    Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tip the butternut squash and garlic onto a baking tray, toss with the oil and roast for 30-35 minutes or until really soft and a little caramelised.

  • STEP 2

    Tip the squash into a bowl, and squeeze the garlic from the skins, then add the ricotta and beat until combined. Add the lemon juice, nutmeg and some seasoning, and beat again. Put into a piping bag and cool completely.

  • STEP 3

    To make the pasta dough, put the flour into a bowl with 1 tsp of fine sea salt and make a well in the middle. Break in the whole eggs and add the egg yolks, and whisk gently with a fork, gradually bringing in more flour. Once the dough starts to clump, bring it together with your hands until you have a rough dough. Add water 1 tsp at a time if it seems too dry. Once the dough is coming away from the sides of the bowl, knead on a lightly floured worksurface for 10 minutes until really smooth and elastic. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

  • STEP 4

    Cut the dough in half and put each piece through a lightly floured pasta machine, starting on the widest setting. Put the dough through once, then fold, turn and repeat. Then run the dough through twice on each setting, working your way down, until the second-to-thinnest setting, leaving you with two long, thin sheets.

  • STEP 5

    Lightly flour the worksurface and lay the 2 sheets of pasta horizontally to you, one in front of the other. On the nearest sheet, pipe 8 large blobs of the filling, leaving 8cm between each. Run a wet finger around the fillings – this will help the pasta stick.

  • STEP 6

    Lift the second sheet of pasta on top and gently mold around the fillings, trying not to leave any air bubbles inside. Use an 8cm-round cutter to cut out the ravioli.

  • STEP 7

    Heat a large pan of salted water until gently simmering. Cook the ravioli for 3 minutes, or until the pasta is just cooked, then scoop out with a slotted spoon.

  • STEP 8

    Fry the butter in a frying pan until dark brown and smelling nutty. Add the sage for 2 minutes until crisp.

  • STEP 9

    Spoon the ravioli onto plates and pour over the butter and sage. Finish with parmesan.

Love pasta? Us too! Check out our best ravioli recipes

One-Pot Ravioli Recipe with Lemon and Spinach

Authors

Adam Bush Chef Portrait
Adam BushDeputy food editor
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