This week, we’re bringing you a recipe for the butternut squash ravioli from Baraonda Ristorante and Bar in Sandy Springs.
This recipe calls for Grana Padano cheese, a northern Italian hard cheese akin to Parmesan, and Mostarda Mantovana, an Italian condiment you can purchase at a specialty food shop like Tuscany at Your Table in Virginia-Highland or online. (Buon’Italia has a particularly good selection.) You can also make mostarda at home, using apples or quince.
Baraonda’s ravioli recipe involves, but does not require, a pasta maker.
Chef Costanzo Astarita said you can roll out the dough until it’s 1/8-inch thick with a rolling pin. However, using a pasta machine, such as the KitchenAid pasta roller attachment, or a hand crank, like an Isiler pasta roller, provides a more consistent thickness and requires less physical exertion.
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 4 cups pasta flour
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 3 whole eggs at room temperature
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
For the filling:
- 2 lbs butternut squash
- 5 ounces amaretti cookies
- 5 ounces Mostarda Mantovana (Italian condiment available at specialty stores)
- 5 ounces Grana Padano, grated finely
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
- Salt and white pepper, to taste
For the ravioli:
- 6 Tbsp butter
- Fresh sage leaves
Directions
Prepare the squash
- Cut squash in half and place cut side down in a baking tray. Roast at 400 Fahrenheit for about 50 minutes, or until soft enough to mash with a fork.
- Remove seeds and stringy interior, then remove pulp and place in a food processor. Process pulp to a creamy consistency, then transfer to a mixing bowl.
Start the filling
- Crumble amaretti cookies into a fine breadcrumb consistency and add to pulp.
- Add Grana Padano and mix.
- Chop mostarda finely and add to the mixture.
- Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper and mix well. (If the mixture feels too wet, add some fine, unseasoned breadcrumbs to achieve a drier consistency.)
Make the dough
- Whip eggs, oil and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Place flour in a stand mixer bowl. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the egg mixture. A ball of dough will start to form. (If it’s too wet, add a little flour, and if it’s too dry, add some water.) Dough should form and pull away from the sides.
- Once dough forms, remove from machine and place on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, until smooth.
- Wrap dough in plastic film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Make the ravioli
- Remove pasta from fridge. Working in small batches, while keeping the remaining dough covered, start with the wide setting and roll out dough.
- After each pass, reduce width, fold dough in half. Keep passing dough in the rollers, reducing width every time, until dough is about 1 millimeter thick (usually the smallest setting on pasta roller machines).
- Using a ring mold or round cookie cutter, lightly press into one half of the pasta sheet to space out ravioli. Fill the round with butternut squash mixture within a half inch of the center. Mark with a spoon or piping bag.
- Wet the edge of ravioli and place the other half of the pasta sheet on top.
- Using the sides of your hand, press down firmly and press the two halves together, pressing out as much air as possible.
- Cut out ravioli with a round cutter. Press ravioli together with your thumb and index finger, ensuring a tight seal.
- Place ravioli on a parchment-covered baking sheet, taking care not to overlap, until all filling is used.
- If cooking ravioli the same day, refrigerate. Otherwise, freeze to use on a later date.
Cook the ravioli
- Boil a large pot of salted water.
- Meanwhile, place a sauté pan over medium heat. Melt butter and sage leaves, slightly browning the butter, to ensure a nutty flavor.
- Reduce to a simmer. Cook ravioli for 3 to 5 minutes, until they float.
- Drain well, coat with butter, and place on a serving platter. Top with butter, sage, and grated Grana Padano and serve.
