Open Ravioli with Butternut Squash and Amaretti

For the pasta dough:
In a bowl combine eggs, yolks, milk and 1-1/2 teaspoons of oil and beat lightly.

Place the flour on a clean surface, the kitchen counter works best, make a well in the centre (it should look a bit like a volcano, but reserve some flour on the side, otherwise in the middle of mixing and kneading you’ll have to call for help) and pour in the liquid mixture.

Using a few fingers, in a circling motion start to slowly incorporate flour into the egg mixture. Some recipes suggest mixing the ingredients when added to the flour, but I prefer having them pre-mixed before adding. Don’t rush here, even though it is tempting. If you incorporate too much flour at a time you may end up with lumpy dough and that’s not what you want. It is useful to have a dough scraper and when you feel more flour is needed to push it towards the forming dough ball and at that point changing from the circling/swirling motion to kneading.

When the dough is thick enough to handle, start kneading by pressing/stretching or in case you have anger issues beating the dough. You should knead the dough till it has a silky and smooth surface, you could even call it leather feel. It may take from 5 to 15 minutes or more.

When the dough it silky soft, cover it very well with cling film and leave at least 30 minutes to rest.

For the roasted butternut squash with amaretti:

Slice and peel the squash (I find it easier to peel after it has been sliced), lightly grease a baking sheet that is topped with parchment with some olive oil, line up the slices of squash, drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Cut 50g of butter in cubes and place a cube or two on top of each slice of butternut squash. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and 5 crushed amaretti biscuits. Then scatter half of the sage and all of the rosemary and bake in a 200ºC oven for 25-35 minutes. When done, remove from heat and set aside.

Preparing the open ravioli:

When ready to roll the dough, start by dividing it in 2 parts. Cover the part to be used later with cling film or a clean towel to prevent drying.

Dust the working surface with some four and roll out the dough, till it’s to the thinness you like. Keep in mind that it will get a bit thicker as it cooks. Next, slice the dough into squares. No need to be precise and exact here, let the creativity flow. As a pasta machine is not among my current possetions, I do it the old fashioned way. To roll the pasta for this recipe never takes me more than 10-15 minutes.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water with a splash of olive oil for 1-2 minutes. Then remove pasta from the water and either add directly to the sauce or set aside while getting ready.

For the sauce, melt the rest of the butter (60g) in a saucepan over medium heat, add the cream, remaining chopped sage, remaining crushed amaretti, salt and pepper and heat for a few minutes. Add in the cooked pasta to re-heat for a few seconds.

Then put everything into your serving bowls: start with a piece of cooked pasta, followed by a piece of butternut squash and another piece of pasta, repeat as needed. Spoon some of the sauce on top and serve immediately.

Tips and tricks:

When you are making pasta a few things are to be kept in mind:
– a recipe should be considered more of a guideline rather than a bible; the level of humidity differs, so do the age and size of the eggs, type of flour, etc. In the end, all of these things effect the elasticity of dough.
– It is useful to start with less flour than the recipe calls for and add according to the necessity.

For this recipe, amaretti biscuits are used both in roasting the butternut squash and in the sauce. So when making the sauce, you can start with less and adjust the amount you use according to taste.