What I’m Reading
Jul
22
All that stress that I was feeling last week did not really dissipate any over the weekend, even though the days were filled with activities that under normal circumstances would be classified as Fun. Like how we went to see the Dark Knight to get out of the heat wave, but the theater was hot and muggy and I sat behind the man with the largest head on the planet combined with a giant unruly mop of curls that flopped into my view every time he shifted in his seat, which was approximately every 2.3 seconds.
Anyway. Now I feel like it is a Monday but it is not, I have a feedreader that has over 100 posts to read after being away for just one day, a bunch of emails to which I need to respond, and I have little to no desire to leave the house but have a million errands to do that I know I can’t put off. Oh, and I sent off the first story portion of the CYOB to RA and Stefanie and it is now making its merry way to the rest of the participants. So what better way to procrastinate than to write about my most recent foray into the kitchen?
Because my last recipe was super easy I made a mental note to myself to try something with a high difficulty rating, and since Chris just happens to have a pasta maker and I just happen to love ravioli I figured I’d give it a shot. How hard could it be?
Oh, famous last words.
As I mentioned last week, the memory card on my camera has been a bit dodgy lately and so half the pictures I took of the process itself erased themselves. So even though all 342 pictures of us totally drunk at a wedding are still intact, the five I wanted of my pasta-making are gone forever.
I used two different recipes, one for the fresh pasta dough and one for the filling. I started with the dough so that it could rest for an hour while I made the filling part. At Alton Brown’s suggestion, I made a well out of the three cups of flour and pouring in the liquid slowly, working it in with just two fingers so the dough didn’t get all hard and flaky. His method is at the end of the post, if you would like to read it for yourself.
I would just like to add to Alton’s recipe: no need to get all supercilious with your “Easy” recommendation, sir. This dough was not easy, it was a pain in the ass to pour all the liquid in and not have it go all over when you mix it together, the crust was hard to roll out and flaky, and I might have uttered more than one swear while putting it together.
ANYWAY. Once that was finished I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for an hour to rest. After all, it had a stressful period of being made so why shouldn’t it get a little nap in before I rolled the hell out of it?
The filling was also kind of a pain. I chose a random recipe that had no reviews, much to Chris’s chagrin. He called me “brave” for making a recipe that had not been discussed in 75 internet forums already. What can I say? That’s how I roll, always living on the edge of experimental ravioli recipes.
Let me recommend that if you do make this filling (which you should, it was delicious) that rather than roast the squash for 45 minutes that you put it face down in a little water and microwave it for 10 minutes or so because it’s the same exact thing. Also, the recipe is kind of vague and does not mention smashing up the filling with a potato masher, but that is what I did because I didn’t want chunky ravioli filling.
After all THAT was finished, I had my mini-breakdown and Chris ended up rolling out the pasta dough for me because I was ready to throw it all away and chalk it up as a failure. He also cut out and formed the ravioli squares and filled them for me because he is the best boyfriend around. Here is what our kitchen looked like at that point:
Getting there! See how he used the fork to close them? He also added a little egg to the edges so they would stay sealed, even though the recipe didn’t mention that. He’s smart.
Once I had a good cry, I made the rosemary-butter-pecan sauce to go over the ravioli when they were done.
Annnd… the kitchen is officially a giant mess. But they look good, right? Chris made huge ravioli, probably because he was sick of “my” project taking up the kitchen and he wanted to get them done. You could probably make them smaller if you wanted. Personally, I loved the big ones.
The finished product: delicious!
And the wrap up:
Was the recipe easy to follow?
Well, I had to improvise a bit with the filling recipe, but I usually do that anyway. The directions weren’t super clear on some points but I finagled it just fine. As for the pasta recipe, Alton was pretty clear-cut. The only thing missing was how to fold over the ravioli to keep in the filling but the forked edges method worked out just fine.
Did the dish taste good?
Oh my god, so good. So, so good. Chris and my cousin Renna would heartily agree.
Would you make it again?
Yes, but only if I have ample time and Chris is there to help me with the dough because I do not have the required patience to run it through that machine over and over.
Fresh Pasta:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon saltBy Hand: On a clean surface make a well with the flour. In a measuring cup mix the eggs, water and oil and salt. Pour the wet mixture slowly into the flour and mix with your 2 fingers until all of the wet is incorporated. Do not force the dough to take all of the flour. If you are going to use a pasta machine to roll out the dough you may at this point form the dough into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to rest. If you going to roll this by hand you should knead the dough on a floured work surface for 8 to 10 minutes.
By Food Processor:
In the bowl of your food processor combine the flour and salt and pulse 2 to 3 times. In a liquid measuring cup whisk the eggs, water and oil. While pulsing the machine pour this mixture in a continuous stream and continue running the machine until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Follow directions above for hand rolling or machine.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 3 to 5 minutes in boiling water
Ease of Preparation: easy
Butternut Squash and Pear Ravioli Filling
- 1 Butternut Squash
- 1 Large Pear, peeled, cored, and diced small
- 1/4 Teaspoon Chili Powder, preferably Ancho chili
- 1/4 Cup Dry Jack, Asiago, or Parmesan Cheese, grated- I used Parmesan
- 1/4 Cup Pecans, toasted and roughly chopped- bought these already done at Trader Joe’s
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, unsalted- I totally used salted
- 2 Teaspoons Fresh Rosemary, chopped fine
- Pinch Salt
Follow the recipe to make pasta through step 8. Leave the pasta in whole sheets.
Make the Filling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash flesh side down on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast the squash until the flesh is easily pierced with a fork (about 45 minutes). Let cool slightly and scoop out the flesh.
Place the cooked squash into a large fry pan and cook over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes to dry out the squash. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.
To the squash, add the cheese, chili powder, and diced pear. Mix well and add salt to taste.
Follow the directions for making ravioli. Cook the ravioli for 4-5 minutes in salted boiling water.
Make the Sauce
Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Add the chopped rosemary and cook for 1 minute. Set aside.
Place a serving of ravioli into each bowl or plate. Spoon the rosemary sauce over the ravioli and sprinkle some pecans over the top.
Comments
20 Responses to “Whip It Up #3: Homemade Ravioli with Butternut Pear Filling”
Leave a Reply
Ooh, that looks so yummy. I don’t think I have the patience to make homemade pasta though.
I’ve never attempted ravioli, but I have made homemade noodles in my time. They were delicious, but so much work. (My grandmother always made it look so easy! She cut them by hand and they looked machine-made.) The bad thing about noodles is they have to be spread out to dry. So I can’t make them anymore, because I have too damn many cats, and as much as I love them, I don’t want to eat noodles they’ve walked on and/or licked.
This looks delicious, and homemade pasta sounds brilliant! Still, I’m not sure it’s worth the inevitable tears. Also, I don’t have a pasta maker.
Yeah, homemade, stuffed pasta is definitely a team effort, and I am so jealous of the outcome! YUM. And I think Alton thinks making pasta dough is easy compared to something like making your own masa and then pressing it out into tortillas. It’s all relative.
Good job….why couldn’t you cook when you lived at home?
Even attempting to make homemade pasta impresses me! yum.
I’m totally impressed with your ability to make pasta from scratch. That’s hard core stuff. I’m glad it worked out in the end, I will duly note not to attempt this recipe alone.
That Chris. He is a keeper.
Also, I love butternut squash ravioli. Unfortunately, I do not love labor-intensive cooking projects, nor do I have a pasta maker (or a boyfriend with a pasta maker). Alas, I’ll have to settle for store-bought or restaurant ravioli. With the latter, someone else even cleans up. Yay!
mmmmmmmm… that sounds delicious. i wish i had the time/patience to try this one!
Please fwd me some of that.
The filling looks AWESOME! I predict I’ll use wanton wrappers for my ravioli, though, because I am far too lazy and uncoordinated for this dough rolling nonsense.
Looks yummy! Don’t you hate how Alton Brown makes everything look so easy and then when you try to do it yourself it’s a disaster? (Not that yours is a disaster. But mine would be, I’m sure.)
I love homemade ravioli, but I don’t have the patience to fill all those little squares. I would probably just make one giant one.
Butternut squash ravioli is some of my favorite food evah! The recipe looks like a ton of work, but I’m guessing it was worth it, it looks fabulous.
A for effort!!! They look lovely…I would have opted for a cheesey filling myself, you and your damn veggies!!
WOW. Words cannot express how impressed I am by your pasta-making efforts!
Those are the biggest ravolis I have EVER SEEN.
I commend you for trying to make them, they are really tough! Glad it came out well for you!
OMG that looks SO good! YUM-O!
Wow, that looks good!
If it’s any consolation, I’ve learned to just be happy when my reader is below 600.
Mmm, sounds delicious. I have always really wanted a pasta maker as I love fresh pasta but since we seem to be in nomadic mode at the moment it will have to wait. But as soon as I get one, I’m trying this recipe!