Ravioli Redeems the Squash

Despite the sweltering heat that hung over Charm City this first weekend of October, I am totally in the mood for fall food. This is many folks' favorite season for cooking and eating, potentially because of the leeway that the slimming effect fall layers affords the appetite, but I’ll maintain it’s the seasonal ingredients that really get me going. 

Fall at the Farmers Market is amazing, it’s all about gargantuan heads of cauliflower, myriad squash varieties in every shape and size, and a plethora of favorites like lima beans, pears and apples. It’s this time of year I find myself most inspired and active in the kitchen - ok enough gushing...

Squash, the iconic symbol of fall food, presents a conundrum for the conscientious eater in me. At the same time delicious and full of nostalgic flavor, it is also nearly nutritionally void, consisting mostly of water, a notion my grandmother has beaten into my psyche. That said, I justify using this farce of a vegetable for the flavor and textural vehicle it can be for other ingredients.

Now there are plenty of types of squash, and they all have their place - acorn for stuffing and baking, spaghetti for guilt-free pasta, pumpkin for fragrant soups - but the go-to, for me and I am sure many others, is the ubiquitous Butternut. Fortunately, these can be found in droves at nearly every farmers market in the state of Maryland from September through January, so I have plenty of opportunity to experiment, finding new ways to elevate fall food. 

Bakes, hashes, purees, they have all had their day in my kitchen, but on my most recent butternut foray I chose pasta as my muse. It was a Friday night, the work week and the 90 degree October heat which I can't even call ‘unseasonal’ any more, were weighing on my dinner decisions so I decided I wanted to stick to comfort as the theme for the night’s meal. I had invited two close friends for dinner, both of whom responded enthusiastically (a little too much so IMO) to the suggestion of pasta, so it was decided. 

I’d picked up some sage sausage from Pahl’s Hogs the prior weekend, and decided the addition of fresh sage and incorporation with sweet and earthy butternut squash would be the perfect filling for some handmade Casunsei. Casunsei, is a fancy, more Italian (is that a thing?) way of saying Ravioli…Actually it is a type of filled pasta hailing from the culinary tradition of the Italian alps, towns like Verona and Trentino. Casunsei is usually characterized by hearty fillings, its half-moon shape, and is commonly found on the Christmas Eve table - The ideal pasta for autumnal flavors.

With such full flavors going into the pasta filling, the sauce was a no-brainer; a simple brown butter made with my ‘one and only’ Kerry Gold and even more fresh sage. It is both traditional for this type of pasta, and, well, there's nothing better than butter. 

I roasted the squash as soon as I got home, scooped, mashed, and then combined with a sauté of sausage, onion, garlic, and sage, filling the house with autumnal smells prior to my friends’ arrival (I do it all for effect).

I (almost) always try to make my pasta by hand, this was no exception, but it does take time. So while the dough rested, to avoid conversational stagnation and hypoglycemia, I coated some slices of eggplant in egg-wash and cayenne spiced corn meal, and fried them up as appetizers. I topped the ‘Melanzane Fritti’ with a quenelle of fresh ricotta I’d picked up from Fleet Street Market on my way home, and drizzled an 18yr old balsamic reduction on top for a sweet punch. 

The eggplant must have been perfectly ripe, because the creaminess achieved with a quick flash fry, surprised even myself (this appetizer is happening again).

We made the ravioli sheets together, which is a way to make prep more social and temper the pre-dinner wine consumption, win WIN… Once filled, the pasta takes a 5 minute bath in boiling water and is ready to go. I topped with the brown butter, and finished with grated Fulvi Pecorino Romano, the ONLY cheese option for that sharp and salty bite needed to offset the sweetness of the squash.

It’s difficult not to be happy with a dinner of filled pasta, but I have to say this is one recipe I will be sure to repeat. The squash was totally redeemed, while not the star of the dish, it was the key player in marrying all the flavors and textural elements. The dish was perfectly rich and savory but grounded in the season by the honeyed profile of the Butternut, probably one of my favorite dishes so far this year.


Enjoy!

Butternut Squash & Fresh Sage Sausage Casunsei

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups ‘00”’ or all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon EVOO
• Sea Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper + more to tsate
• 6 oz Slab bacon or pancetta (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 medium white onion (chopped)
• 1 large butter nut squash, halved, skin on
• 1 lb fresh ground pork sausage
• 2 oz + 1 oz fresh sage (chopped) + more for garnish
• Pecorino Romano to taste (grated)
• 4 tablespoons Kerry Gold Butter
• 1 large butter nut squash, halved, skin on

Preparation:

• Filling
• Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
• Brush squash with evoo and roast face up for 45 mins or until fork tender
• Carefully scoop from the skin and place in a medium bowl
• While squash roasts, heat 1 table spoon evoo in medium sauce pan of medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until translucent. Add sausage, sage, black pepper, and sea salt and cook, using a spatula break up the sausage as finely as possible. Continue until fully cooked, but do not brown.
• Combine sausage and sage with roasted squash and ‘mash’ together until smooth, set aside.
• Pasta:
• In a large bowl, mound the flour forming a well in the center (looks like a volcano).
• Put eggs, evoo, and salt into the well. Using a fork, incorporate the flour into the well, move to using your hands until all the liquid is absorbed and you have a cohesive dough ball.
• Add water as needed and knead for 10+ minutes until dough is smooth
• Once smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for about 30mins – Then run through pasta maker to desired thickness and width – For Ravioli you do not want to go too thin as this will not stand up to the filling process.
• Use a cookie cutter or other kitchen instrument to cut 3-4” diameter circles in dough sheets. Place 1 heaping table spoon filling into the center, fold over, and using your fingers, press edges together making a semi-circular half-moon shape. Be sure to seal each ravioli well so it does not come open during cooking.
• If the dough is too dry, you will need to use some beaten eggs to seal the ravioli
• Flour the filled ravioli to and place on a parchment lined baking sheet
• Cook in salted boiling water for 5-8 minutes until al-dente.
• While pasta boils, brown the butter in a small sauce pan, adding the remaining sage just as the colors turns a deep golden hue.
• Serve immediately, drizzling brown butter over pasta, and finish with grated pecorino and fresh sage.

Pasta Problem

I try to avoid gluten, mainly because of what is says about my chicness, socio-economic situation, and sexual orientation - Thank you Surviving Whole Foods and Guido Barilla.

I jest, however, it is something I've tried to eliminate from my diet, for many reasons, all tied to personal neuroses.

That said, I will admit, I have a pasta problem...

Bread, crackers, cream based soups, really any starch... I can do without, but every once in a while I get a craving for pasta that no amount of self discipline nor flagellation can defeat.

That's when I go off the deep end...

My friends call them dinner parties, I call it gluten bombing (it's the guilt talking) but bottom line I make copious amounts of pasta and we all drink wine and groan about it in feigned protest...so chic

Having recently acquired a small hand crank pasta maker, these parties seem to be happening more and more often...queue the regret.

This post came to life after a drool worthy perusal of La Cucina Italiana's October "The Pasta Issue" - an issue I looked forward to every year with equal parts excitement and fear. Excitement for the decadent lasagna recipes and drool worthy pappardelle shots, it's food porn at it's best. Fear because of how I know it will affect the fit of my pants, enough said.

All bloating aside, and inspired as I was, I recently had three girlfriends over and decided to make Tagliatelle, a simple process that is not easily hindered by wine consumption (an important consideration for any recipe).

I'd picked up some slab bacon and shiitake mushrooms, and fresh spinach at various farmers markers the previous weekend, so naturally my thoughts went to a rich, bacony, and earthy vegetable laden Carbonara.

Ultimately, it ends the same way...both the company and the carbs are perfectly satisfying. After all, happy and full is never really a bad thing, we should all be so lucky.

So maybe when I say I have a pasta problem, it's not that eating pasta somehow damages me or negatively affects my well being (emotional fragility aside) but it's that I just can't get enough!  To me it's the penultimate comfort food, as fancy or as plain as you like it, able to take on as many flavors and forms as one can imagine, the perfect vehicle for any favorite cheese or seasonal ingredient, and always sure to please.

The trouble is, though it may be the starch that binds us and the one food impossible not to enjoy, it's also the hallmark of all that is uncool at the moment. The food we love to loathe...

I'm not going to wax philosophical or make some broad social commentary about the state of carbs today, I'll just say this; I love pasta and I'm not afraid to admit it - I hope that makes it easier for the rest of you to accept your pasta problem.

Before this becomes an all out confessional, I'll turn you over to the recipes...

Farmers Market Carbonara

Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs + 1 large egg
• 1 cup parmigiano reggiano (shaved or grated)
• Pecorino Romano to taste (grated)
• 2 cups ‘00”’ or all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon EVOO
• Sea Salt to taste
• 2 oz Fresh Shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
• 6 oz Slab bacon or pancetta (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 ½ cups fresh peas (shelled)
• 3 large bunches fresh spinach (rough chop)
• 3 Red Serrano peppers (chopped into rounds)
• 2 ounces fresh sage (chopped)

Instructions/Tips

• Pasta:
• In a large bowl, mound the flour forming a well in the center (looks like a volcano).
• Put eggs, evoo, and salt into the well. Using a fork, incorporate the flour into the well, move to using your hands until all the liquid is absorbed and you have a cohesive dough ball.
• Add water as needed and knead for 10+ minutes until dough is smooth
• Take breaks for wine.
• Once smooth, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for about 30mins – Then run through pasta maker to desired thickness and width.
• Cook in salted, boiling water until al dente, about 5 mins
• Carbonara “Sauce” :
• Render bacon and garlic in a large non stick pan for 10 mins while pasta dough is resting.
• Add mushrooms once there is a good base of fat in the pan. Add peas and sage once mushrooms have browned, and add spinach last so it just barely wilts.
• Add EVOO, Salt and Pepper as needed to taste to “lubricate” the mixture.
• IMPORTANT – try to time the completion of the "sauce" to coincide with the cooking of the pasta, the pasta must be strained and hot when you add the eggs, cheese, and sauce mixture in the next step in order to get the texture and an even coating right
• Putting it together:
• As soon as pasta is strained, pour back into pot, immediately add the single egg and parmigiano cheese, stirring quickly to create a sauce (do not let the egg scramble).
• Once evenly coated, add the carbonara sauce ingredients and incorporate.
• Serve with fresh ground pepper, pecorino romano, and the chopped red serranos to taste (I garnished mine with some fresh basil just because I wanted to)

On another occasion, just 5 days prior, I devoted hours to making a slow cooked pork 'bolognese' style ragu, equally rich and satisfying over tagliatelle. 

Pork Bolognese Ragu

Ingredients:

• See pasta recipe and prep above
• 3lbs Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt)
• Pecorino Romano to taste (grated)
• 2 cups ‘00”’ or all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon EVOO
• Sea Salt to taste
• 2 oz Fresh Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 6 oz Slab bacon or pancetta (diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 ½ cups fresh peas (shelled)
• 3 large bunches fresh spinach (rough chop)
• 3 Red Serrano peppers (chopped into rounds)
• 2 ounces fresh sage (chopped)

Instructions/Tips

• Pork Ragu:
• In a crock pot, place 1 chopped onion, bay leaves, crushed red pepper, and 3 lbs of pork shoulder and pour crushed tomatoes over top. Cook on low 6 hours, add 1 cup red wine after 3 hours.
• Pour off cooking liquid and set aside
• Using forks, pull pork apart
• In a sauce pan, combine carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and bacon, cooking until rendered and vegetables begin to soften. Add sausage and cook through.
• Add tomato puree and incorporate
• Pour saucepan mixture into crock pot, incorporate with pulled pork
• Stir in reserved cooking liquid until you achieve the sauce consistency you prefer
• Cover and allow to simmer as long as you like/need, flavors will continue to marry until you are ready to serve. If you added too much liquid, remove the lid for a while and allow to reduce slightly.
• Once pasta is cooked, return to cooking pot and slowly add ragu until pasta is coated and sauce is evenly incorporated
• Serve with parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano, or both!