DRIED RAVIOLI RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
• For the filling, place the butternut squash pieces into a large bowl, drizzle over two teaspoons of olive oil and stir to coat. Season, to taste, with a couple of pinches of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper; stir again. Place the pieces of butternut squash into a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until tender.
• Meanwhile, add the onion slices to the bowl used to season the butternut squash. Drizzle over the remaining teaspoon of olive oil and stir to coat. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Once the butternut squash has roasted for 20 minutes, sprinkle over the onion slices and continue to roast for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside for five minutes, to cool.
• In a high-sided bowl, blend the warm vegetables to a thick, smooth purée using a hand-held blender. Set aside to cool for one hour. Once cooled, stir in the grated cheese and a little grated nutmeg. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then set aside until completely cool.
• Meanwhile, for the pasta, blend the flour and eggs in a food processor until the ingredients come together to form a dough. Continue to pulse for a further minute, removing the lid and turning the dough over every 15-20 seconds (CAUTION: keep hands well away from the sharp blade of the food processor).
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes, pummelling and stretching the dough until it is smooth, stretchy and has a slight sheen.
• Divide the dough into four portions and wrap each in cling film. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes
• When the pasta dough has chilled, take the first portion and roll it out onto a lightly floured work surface to a 1mm thickness (about the thickness of a penny), dusting the dough with a light coating of flour if it starts to stick. You need the surface area of the rolled-out dough to yield 12 discs, each 8.5cm/3½in in diameter.
• Using an 8.5cm/3½in cookie cutter, mark 12 circles in the sheet of pasta dough without cutting through the dough.
• Repeat the rolling-out process with the second portion of pasta dough. Set aside carefully.
• Divide the cooled filling mixture in half and place one heaped teaspoon into the centre of each marked pasta disc. Brush the dough surrounding the filling with a little cold water.
• Once all of the discs have been filled, lift the second sheet of pasta dough and drape it over the first, carefully smoothing the pasta around the filling using your fingertips to remove any air bubbles and stick the moistened sheets of pasta together.
• Dust a baking tray with a little flour. Use the same cookie cutter to cut out the 12 ravioli; place each on the prepared baking tray. Set aside until needed.
• Repeat the process with the remaining pasta and filling mixture to make 12 more ravioli..
• For the garnish, heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add the sage leaves and fry for 10-15 seconds, or until they look translucent. Remove from the pan using a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.
• Return the pan to the heat and add the sun-dried tomatoes. Fry for 20-30 seconds, stirring well, until heated through. Remove from the heat and set aside on a separate plate.
• To cook the ravioli, half-fill a very large saucepan with cold water. Add one teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. When the water is boiling, carefully lower the ravioli into it, in batches if necessary, using a slotted spoon. Boil for a few minutes, until the pasta is cooked to your liking. (You could make some extra ravioli to test the cooking time.)
• Carefully drain the ravioli in a colander and return to the saucepan. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• To serve, divide the ravioli among four warmed plates, spooning over any sun-dried tomatoes left in the saucepan. Garnish with the fried sage leaves and sprinkle over a little cheese.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
  2. To make your filling, wash the squash, carefully cut it in half lengthways and remove the seeds, then chop into eight big chunks and place in a large roasting tray.
  3. Add the whole ricotta, sprinkle over the chilli flakes and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then finely grate over half the nutmeg. Drizzle with oil and gently toss together. Roast for 1 hour.
  4. Crumble up the chestnuts, pick the sage leaves, toss both in a little oil, then sprinkle into the tray. Roast for another 15 minutes, or until the squash is tender and golden, and the ricotta is gnarly-looking.
  5. Finely grate the Parmesan into the tray, season and mash it all together, as chunky or smooth as you like. Leave to cool completely.
  6. Make the pasta dough in a food processor, blitzing the spinach and egg yolks together before adding the dry ingredients. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop into the fridge for 30 minutes.
  7. Divide the pasta in half, saving one half for another day. Cut the remaining piece in two (wrapping one piece back up momentarily), and roll out into sheets that are just 2mm thick – use a pasta machine, or do it by hand with a rolling pin.
  8. Cut into rectangles 15cm x 12cm. Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling along the length of each one, near the bottom edge, leaving 1.5cm at either end.
  9. Brush the exposed pasta with a damp brush, then roll up and pinch in the sides to seal and create cracker shapes.
  10. Repeat with the remaining pasta and filling to make 24 crackers in total. Transfer to semolina-dusted greaseproof paper as you go.
  11. For the sauce, melt the butter in a large frying pan, then, once foamy and starting to darken, squeeze in the clementine juice and swirl to create a creamy butter sauce. Season with pepper and keep warm over a very low heat until needed.
  12. Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 3 to 4 minutes, transferring it to the buttery sauce when cooked, with a splash of cooking water. Work in batches (the first will happily sit in the sauce while you cook the rest).
  13. Finish with a grating of nutmeg and Parmesan, and a scattering of toasted, crushed almonds.