Pumpkin & Autumn Squash Ravioli

Continuing with the fall theme, I made some out-of-this-world-ravioli with Pumpkin, Acorn Squash, and Butternut Squash. When I was shopping at the big Key Food on Greenpoint Ave & McGuinness, I noticed they already had the pumpkins out. When the fall chill comes I find pumpkins irresistible. So of course I had to get one.

Because I used three types of squash, I did the roasting the night before I made the ravioli and served it with dinner. I set aside about 3 cups of the roasted squash & pumpkin and put it in the fridge for the next day’s ravioli making. Roasting the pumpkin seeds also makes a great garnish along with the sage.

Perfect for this very autumnal day in Greenpoint.

Recipe and very picture-heavy instructions after the jump.

Ingredients:

1 small acorn squash
1 small butternut squash
1 medium sugar pumpkin
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup mascarpone
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 stick of butter
a small bunch of fresh sage
2 tbsp sugar
Salt & Pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
fresh Pecorino Romano cheese
1 batch of fresh pasta dough

Part I: Roasting the squash & pumpkin.

1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Peel and chop the squash and pumpkin. Acron squash is very difficult to cut because it’s so hard. I recommend slicing it in half lengthwise, cleaning out the seeds, then peeling off the tough skin with a vegetable peeler. Same goes for the other squash. Then chop the squash into about 1-inch cubes. Reserve the pumpkin seeds!

2. Mix the Acorn and Butternut squashes together in a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and add s&p.

3. Add the honey to about 2 tablespoons of water and heat it over the stove until simmering. Add the hot honey water to the pumpkin and mix.

4. Bake for about an hour, until soft. Check occassionally to mix up the pieces. Like I said, I killed two birds with one stone by doing the roasting at the same time I was roasting a chicken.

Part II: Roasting the pumpkin seeds

1. Separate out the pumpkin seeds from the pulp.

2. Soak the pumpkin seeds in 3 tbsp water with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt for a few minutes. Simmer this mixture until the liquid mostly evaporates. Then drain the seeds from the liquid.

3. Spread the seeds out evenly on parchment paper and sprinkle with 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tbsp cayenne pepper mixture.

4. Bake at 300º for about ten minutes or until fully browned and crispy:

Part III: Making the dough

Until I find a better dough recipe, I’ll hold off on posting the one I used because I was disappointed by it. I used Mario Batali’s dough recipe which calls for a lot of flour and a lot of eggs, and it just doesn’t roll out very well. In the meantime, here’s a recipe that looks like it might be better.

Part IV: Making the filling

1. Mix together 1.5 cups of the pumpkin and 1.5 cups of the squash mixture and crush pieces with the back of a wooden spoon.

2. Brown butter and add chopped sage leaves. Simmer until sage leaves are crispy.

3. Add sage brown butter mixture to the squash and mix well.

4. Add the 1/2 cup mascarpone and 1 tsp allspice and 1 tsp garlic powder.

Part V: Making the ravioli

1. Roll out the dough as thin as possible, divide it in half, and form small mounds of dough about 2 inches apart from each other on one piece. Then fold the other piece of dough on top until all mounds are covered. Press down around the edges.