Roasted Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Ravioli with sage brown-butter (from scratch)

Ingredients:

Pasta Dough:

4 Cups AP Flour

4 ea. Large Eggs + 1 extra egg yolk

½ Tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ Tsp. Water (if needed)

Filling:

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 ea. Butternut squash, halved and seeded

2 ea. yellow onions, small dice

2 oz. amaretto cookie crumbs, fine

½ cup Parmigiano reggiano, finely grated

4 sprigs, fresh rosemary

Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to Taste

Sage Brown-Butter Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter, cubed

3 oz. Fresh sage leaves

¼ finely grated Parmigiano reggiano

Kosher Salt, to Taste

Egg Wash:

2 eggs, beaten

Methods:

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Filling:

1.    Brush insides of butternut squash halves with 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil.

2.   Season the insides of butternut squash halves liberally with kosher salt and sparingly with freshly ground black pepper. Place a sprig of rosemary on each butternut squash half.

3.   Place all halves on an oven sheet tray, flesh side up, and roast in a 375 Degree oven for 35-45 min, or until tender. Allow squash to cool and scoop out flesh.

4.   While squash is roasting, heat canola oil in a hot pan. add diced onions into the hot pan. Season with salt, and cook the onions until they are dark brown and caramelized.

5.   In a large bowl, combine scooped butternut squash, grated Parmigiano reggiano, caramelized onions, and amaretto cookie crumbs. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well.

Pasta Dough:

1.    Place Eggs, flour, and extra virgin olive oil into an electric mixing bowl and turn on low speed for 1 minute.

2.   Increase to medium speed and add water, if necessary, in order to allow flour and eggs to combine and form pasta dough. Continue to mix dough for an additional 4 min until pasta dough becomes somewhat elastic.

3.   Round the dough with your hands and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for 35 min. at room temperature.

Sage Brown-Butter Sauce:

1.    Add butter and sage to a small sauce pan.

2.   Turn heat to medium-low and allow butter to cook until lightly brown specks form at the bottom of the pan and the butter develops a strong nutty aroma.

3.   Immediately take off the heat as to prevent butter from burning. Discard sage.

Assembly:

1.    On a floured surface, roll the pasta dough out as thinly as possible (preferably with a pasta rolling machine).

2.   Cut the pasta sheet into two equal-sized pieces and brush one of the pieces fully with egg-wash.

3.   Using a tablespoon, scoop out equal amounts of filling onto the pasta sheet that has been brushed with egg-wash. Space filling-mounds roughly 2 inches apart from each other and fully cover this sheet with the second pasta sheet.

4.   Use your fingers to press the second pasta sheet over the egg-washed one to release any air bubble around the filling and to seal the sheets together.

5.   Cut into ravioli using a ravioli cutter and transfer to a floured sheet tray.

6.   Cook Ravioli’s in salted boiling water for about 4 minutes, and with a slotted spoon transfer them to the pan with the brown butter sauce on med-low heat just to reheat the sauce.

7.    Serve with flaky slices of Parmigiano reggiano and enjoy!

Tools for Recipe:

Alfi Sveico Cheese Slicer  (for garnishing with cheese)

All-Clad 3 Quart Colander (to drain ravioli)

All Clad 4 QT Stainless Steel Sauté Pan (for brown butter sauce)

Baked Papardelle Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Sauce

So last weekend I decided to treat the family to something simple (we all love pasta for its simplicity) but something different than the normal spaghetti or alfredo I tend to make.

So I asked Arik, our resident culinary school educated co-worker to give me something new. And this is what he gave me. So he recommended I try the baked papardelle pasta dish, and my whole family was delighted with the results.

If you want to try, here's how:

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Papardelle Pasta

½ lb. Yellow Onion (small dice)

½ lb. Sliced White Button Mushrooms

5 ea. Garlic Cloves (minced)

2 lbs. pureed Roma tomatoes (canned or fresh)

1 oz. Basil (chopped)

4 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

5 oz. Fresh Mozzarella Cheese (Sliced into 1” pieces)

3 Tbsp. Parmigian Reggiano Cheese (grated)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Ideal Pasta Pan Options:

1. http://www.alfi.com/product_p/ac5404.htm

2. http://www.alfi.com/product_p/ac5406.htm

4. http://www.alfi.com/product_p/ac5403.htm

Method:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.       Bring a large pot of Salted Water to a boil. Cook papardelle pasta in the boiling water until tender, yet still slightly firm to the tooth (al dente). Strain and Reserve Pasta and 1 cup of the Pasta cooking water.

3.       In another pan, sauté onion and garlic in extra virgin olive oil until slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

4.       Once onion-garlic mixture begins to brown, add sliced mushrooms and adjust seasoning. Cook until mushrooms have browned.

5.       Add pureed tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes. If necessary, add some reserved pasta cooking water to adjust consistency.

6.       Add cooked papardelle pasta to the finished tomato sauce and mix thoroughly. Top with sliced mozzarella cheese.

7.       Place pan in the oven, and bake for about 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

8.       Sprinkle finished pasta with chopped basil and grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and Enjoy!