Ravioli alla zucca con burro e salvia

Since I bought this pumpkin at the market I have been thinking about making pumpkin ravioli. After thinking about doing it all week long, it finally came down to the wire and I made them for dinner last night.

It all started in the morning with making ricotta. I had a quart of cow and goat milk leftover which I needed to use up before our trip. In a large sauce pan I heated the milk to 185 degrees, then added apple cider vinegar. I think about two tablespoons. I stirred until the curds separated from the whey. I then let it sit for ten minutes. After that I drained them in cheese cloth for twenty minutes then put the ricotta in the fridge for later.

Next I cut the pumpkin into quarters and roasted it in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Then I took it out and let it cool completely.

While I waited for it the pumpkin to cool I made the pasta. To make four portions you will need:

1 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
2 eggs
Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together until dough comes together in a ball. Kneed it a few times so it is smooth, then cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes it's time to assemble. I started by making the filling. I took a cup of the ricotta mixed it with a cup of the pumpkin and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Then I rolled out the pasta using my pasta machine.

I make sure to roll the pasta out to the finest setting, which is number 6 on my machine. I do this because you will have two layers of pasta once you've made the raviolo and you don't want it to be to thick.

When they are all stuffed and cut you can then bring a pot of water to boil. Salt the water (I throw in a fist full of kosher salt).

 While the water is coming to a boil, melt up 4 tablespoons of butter. Add in 5 or6 sage leaves and let them crisp up. Then take them out and drain on a paper towel.

When the ravioli are done cooking, about 3 minutes, drain and transfer into the warm melted butter. Toss until well coated. Then put the ravioli on the plate, preferably a pasta plate, grate parmiggiano over it and place two sage leaves on top for garnish. Then you're done! Buon Appetito.

One of the best things about these ravioli is that they are as local as I can get them. All of the ingredients except for the flour came from Southern Arizona.