Pumpkin Ravioli (Hazen)
Handmade pumpkin ravioli with a spiced pumpkin-carrot filling, served in a garlic cream sauce with toasted hazelnuts and wilted sorrel. A showpiece fall pasta.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
40 minREADY
70 minThis is a project, and it’s worth every minute. Handmade pasta sheets wrapped around a pumpkin and carrot filling spiced with coriander, mace, allspice, and cardamom, then tossed in a garlic cream sauce studded with toasted hazelnuts and ribbons of fresh sorrel.
The filling starts with roasted pumpkin (or winter squash) and cooked carrots pureed smooth, then enriched with sautéed onion, garlic, Parmesan, maple syrup, and a beaten egg. That spice combination is what makes this filling distinctive. Coriander and cardamom add a warm, almost Middle Eastern complexity that you won’t find in most pumpkin ravioli recipes.
The cream sauce reduces until it coats the back of a spoon, seasoned with just garlic, cayenne, and white pepper. Shredded sorrel wilts into the sauce in 30 seconds right before serving, adding a lemony tartness that cuts through the richness of the cream and butter-laden filling.
Pro Tips
- Rest the pasta dough for at least 30 minutes. Unrested dough springs back when rolled and won’t stay thin.
- Spray the pasta sheet with water before filling. This keeps it flexible and helps the edges seal when you fold and press.
- Toast the hazelnuts until fragrant and rub the skins off in a towel. Unpeeled hazelnuts taste bitter.
- Add the sorrel at the very last second. It wilts almost instantly, and overcooking turns it from bright green to drab olive.
Variations
- Use butternut squash instead of pumpkin for a sweeter, more readily available filling.
- Swap hazelnuts for toasted pecans or brown butter with sage for a more Italian-leaning finish.
- Skip the homemade pasta and use store-bought wonton wrappers for a faster (though less traditional) version.
Ingredients
Directions
PASTA: If you can’t find frozen pasta sheets or prefer to make your own, here’s a recipe that’s virtually foolproof.
Herbs and spices compatible with the dish can be kneaded into the dough toward the end.
Heap the flour and make a well in it.
Break the eggs into the well and beat them together with a fork.
Stir them into the flour from the bottom of the well with the fork until the dough in the center is smooth or shiny.
With your hands, gradually incorporate the flour from the outside of the well toward the center, kneading gently until the mass of dough comes together.
Knead the dough until it is smooth and resilient.
You may need to add more flour, or you may not be able to incorporate all of the flour, depending on the humidity and the size of the eggs.
If the dough is sticky or extremely pliable, knead more flour into it.
Divide the dough into three portions, cover them with plastic wrap or an overturned bowl, and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
FILLING: Purée the cooked pumpkin or squash and carrots in a food processor until smooth.
Sauté the onions, garlic, and spices in butter until the onions are soft, then add to the puréed vegetables.
Add the cheese, maple syrup, egg, salt, and pepper.
Taste the adjust seasoning, then set the filling aside.
SAUCE: Preheat oven to 400℉ (200℃) and toast the hazelnuts in a shallow pan on the middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes or until brown and fragrant.
Remove from the oven.
When they are cool enough to handle, wrap the nuts tightly in a lint-free towel and vigorously rub them against the towel.
Open the towel carefully and pick out the nuts and continue rubbing until the nuts are almost blond.
Cook the cream, garlic, cayenne, and pepper over high heat, stirring often and adjusting heat to keep the cream from boiling over.
When the cream is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, add the salt, taste, and adjust seasoning.
Remove sauce from heat until you’re ready to use it.
ASSEMBLY: If you’re making your own pasta, roll the dough out very thin on a lightly floured surface, one portion at a time.
If you have a pasta machine, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for rolling out the dough into sheets about 1 millimeter thick.
Lay one pasta sheet out on a flat surface and spray it with water to prevent drying and to make it more flexible.
Place half tablespoons of filling along the bottom edge of the pasta about ½ inch apart.
For larger ravioli, use 1 tablespoon of filling and leave 1 inch between dollops.
Fold the pasta sheet over the filling and cut apart with a ravioli cutter.
Set the finished ravioli aside and cover with a damp cloth.
Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water al dente.
Reheat the sauce, then drain the ravioli.
Add the shredded sorrel to the sauce and cook just until it wilts -- about 30 seconds.
Add half the hazelnuts, turn the heat off, and add the cooked ravioli.
Stir gently and serve immediately.
Garnish with the remaining hazelnuts.
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