Butternut Squash Ravioli

How's this for meeting a New Years resolution? I invited a few friends over (Teddy and Cara) for New Years Eve dinner before going out and wanted to make something worthy of serving on the gorgeous china we got as a wedding present. Why not tackle two goals and also make some ravioli?! Since Teddy is a vegetarian, butternut squash ravioli seemed like the best way to go.

I started with my basic pasta dough recipe from my homemade pasta experiment last year, but made 2.5x the original recipe since I was feeding five. I don't know about you, but I hate ordering ravioli out at dinner to only be served 4 raviolis and leave feeling hungry, so I wanted to make sure we had plenty. Luckily I had Luke there to help me since it was quite a lengthy process! Lots of fun though, so no complaining here :)

For the filling and sauce, I used this recipe for Butternut Squash, Sage, and Goat Cheese Ravioli with Hazelnut Brown-Butter Sauce and topped it off with some shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and chopped fresh sage. I will say that I had WAY too much filling left and am still trying to brainstorm what to do with the remainder...

Note the lovely china :) Also, thanks Cara for sharing your photo!

This was a delicious combination, though I'll need some practice stuffing ravioli since some didn't get a whole lot of filling. Also, I think next time I'd run the pasta through the pasta maker a few more times to make it a bit thinner. Overall though, delightful!

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the salad I served, but it really complemented the ravioli and I wanted to share:

Pear Salad with Hazelnuts and Parmigiano Reggiano

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

6 ounces baby spinach leaves

4 ounces escarole (or any lettuce you prefer)

1 large or 2 small pears, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts

2 ounces shaved Parmigiano Reggiano

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a medium skillet on medium heat and warm olive oil. Add red onion and saute a few minutes, then turn heat down and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. I let these go about 35 minutes. Stir in balsamic vinegar and remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine spinach, escarole, pears, hazelnuts and Parmigiano Reggiano. Now toss in the caramelized onions, making sure the balsamic/olive oil mixture coats the salad. Add additional olive oil as needed. Season lightly with salt and pepper and toss, then serve.

Homemade Pasta

My sister gave me a pasta machine for Christmas and I couldn't wait to try it. I knew I wanted to save it for an evening where I'd have time to devote to it and have a special meal, so things kept coming up and I didn't get to use it until late February. This was well worth the wait and yielded the most perfect pasta. This recipe is a combination of tips from a couple food blogs I regularly follow - Annie's Eats and Life's Ambrosia. The whole process took a very enjoyable hour and a half.

If you don't have a pasta maker, you could still achieve similar results by using a rolling pin and hand cutting, so no excuses!

Homemade Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Olives, Parmesan and Pine nuts

1 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
8 sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
1/3 cup pitted olives, diced
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 cup shredded parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

To make pasta, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and add eggs. Thoroughly combine, then turn out on a floured surface and knead about 8 minutes, until it's nice and elastic. Divide into 4 balls and cover with a damp cloth. Let set for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prep the pasta toppings. Mince the garlic and slice the sun dried tomatoes and olive. Shred parmesan and set all ingredients aside.

Once dough has set for 20 minutes, lightly flour one ball and pass it through the pasta maker several times until you reach desired thickness, adding extra flour as needed to avoid sticking. Set aside for at least 10 minutes and continue with the 3 remaining balls.

Now, pass the stretched dough through the cutter for the desired shape. Lay out to dry out a bit, or hang on a pasta dryer if you have one (I don't and it worked out fine).

While pasta is drying out, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. In a large nonstick skillet, warm olive oil. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds. Add sun dried tomatoes and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in olives. Keep warm. Cook the pasta about 4-6 minutes in salted water until desired consistency is reached. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss in olive oil, tomato and olive mixture and add pasta water as needed for moisture. Add 3/4 cup parmesan and pine nuts and toss to combine.

Serve with additional parmesan for serving and enjoy!