PASTA PART II: FILLED PASTA

Start by making a mound of flour on your countertop with a well in the middle of that you can crack two or three eggs in.

Followed by a little drizzle of olive oil (optional), and a pinch of salt.

Grab a fork and beat/whisk the eggs picking up a little flour with every stroke of the fork.

Once it becomes too sticky grab a bench scraper and start folding everything towards the center.

Once a shaggy dough starts to form begin to knead the dough by hand for a solid ten minutes. Knead until sore, or when the dough has the consistency of play dough.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let sit in room temperature for at least thirty minutes. This lets the gluten relax a little bit before rolling it out.

After thirty minutes, unwrap the dough and start flouring everything - your hands, the dough, the rolling pin, the countertop, and anything else you think needs flouring around you.

Once finished flouring, cut the dough down the center into two halves.

Now it’s time to start gently rolling/laminating it out. Roll like you would be using a pasta machine by rolling it out followed by folding into thirds, turn it 90 degrees and then rolling out again. Do this 3 times total before going for the big time roll. Roll until you can almost see your hand through it.

For the Tortellini En Brodo

After you make your ball of dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.

To make the tortellini filling, grate mozzarella cheese and then combine with equal parts ricotta and parmesan cheese. Finely chop some basil and add that to the mixture along with salt, pepper, and a little freshly grated nutmeg. Mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to be used.

Roll out your dough either by hand or by using a pasta-making KitchenAid attachment. It should be in one long thing strip (mine was on the second thinnest setting). Cut out small rounds from the sheet of dough. Reuse leftover dough for more rounds. Fill each round of dough with about a teaspoon of your cheese mixture. Use some water to wet the edges and then fold over and seal with the other side. Grab both corners and bring them together in the middle to make that tortellini shape. Do that for as many tortellini as you’d like to make.

Cook in boiling water for 3-5 minutes and then place a few tortellini in each bowl for serving.

Fill each bowl with either beef, chicken, or veal broth - just enough to cover the pasta. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Serve and enjoy!

For the butternut squash ravioli with browned butter

Start by cutting off both ends of the butternut squash, slice it in half lengthwise, and then remove the seeds.

Drizzle each slice with olive oil and then place cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast at 375°F for 45-60 minutes.

Scoop the flesh of the squash out and into a food processor. Add grated parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and a good glug of olive oil. Process until very smooth.

Roll out your pasta dough until it is nice and thin. Lay out on a floured work surface and place small dollops of the butternut squash mixture every inch or so.

Wet the area around each dollop of filling and then fold the top half of the pasta over the bottom half of the pasta. Press around each piece of filling and make sure it’s securely sealed and that you’ve gotten most of the air out of there.

Using a pizza cutter or ravioli cutter, cut around each dollop to make your raviolis.

Over a medium heat, brown butter in a skillet. Add some fresh sage at the end of the browning and remove once wilted and crisp.

Cook your ravioli in boiling water for 3-5 minutes and then once cooked, strain and add directly to the browned butter still in the pan (but off of the heat). Keep stirring until the pasta sauce comes together and sticks to the ravioli.

Put on a plate, top with grated parmesan, and drizzle with some balsamic reduction. Add your crispy sage leaves for flavor and presentation.

Serve and enjoy!