Pumpkin Ravioli Recipe

Pumpkin Ravioli Recipe

This savory pumpkin ravioli recipe is so fun with its shape and color. You can optionally color your pasta with gel food coloring but I chose to use pumpkin in the dough for a healthier and natural light orange. If it’s the rich color you are after, make sure to add enough color with your wet pasta dough ingredients before you add the flour. This dough will be a little stickier than your usual egg pasta so be sure to compensate with extra flour. Use a pumpkin cookie cutter to cut out the bottoms and tops of these ravioli shapes and pinch together with a fork after pressing your fingers around the filling to remove any excess air. Cook in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes or until tender and serve drizzled with olive oil and fresh Parmesan cheese.

HARMONY’S IMPORTANT PASTA MAKING TIPS

1. If you are going to be cooking a lot of homemade pasta and don’t have one already, I highly recommend investing in an electric pasta roller like this kitchen aid attachment. Having two available hands to load and unload the past dough from each side of the machine is worth every penny. If the pasta doesn’t have hands to support it, it can tear. Also, if you let it pile on the counter and fold onto itself, it can become a folded sticky situation that’s hard to pull apart. Remember to flour all your surfaces wherever you are laying the pieces down to rest.
2. Giving the pasta dough a solid 8-10 minute knead is a must! This forms the elastic structure of the dough so it holds together well and won’t tear easily when you roll and cut.
3. And finally, letting the pasta dough rest for 30 minutes is crucial. Let the gluten relax!

Pumpkin Pasta Dough Recipe

Ingredients

3 Large Eggs
2 – 2 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3 Tablespoons Pure Pumpkin
Optional for extra color: Orange Gel Food Coloring

Instructions

-In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, pumpkin, and optional food coloring. Mix with a fork until the pumpkin and eggs are well mixed together.

-Add 2 cups of flour a little at a time and squish and knead together with your hands until a sticky dough starts to form. Compensate for how much pumpkin you added by adding more flour. The dough will be slightly sticky but workable.

-Transfer the dough to a floured surface and continue kneading by folding the bottom of the dough up and into the center of itself and pushing down on the dough with the palm of your hand. Push up and toward the counter alternating the knead to the left and to the right for about 8-10 minutes or until the dough becomes soft and elastic.

-Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

-Unwrap and divide into 4 pieces with a sharp knife. Keep the unused dough in plastic wrap while shaping each individual section to prevent it from drying out. You can also refrigerate your unused dough in plastic wrap for up to 2 days. Be sure to warm to room temperature before attempting to roll out.

-Roll out the dough on a floured surface in a disk to prepare for the pasta roller. I use an electric pasta roller to get my pasta dough paper-thin with ease. You can also use a manual roller or a rolling pin and some elbow grease. When the pasta is so thin that it’s almost translucent, you’ll know it’s ready to cut.

Butternut Squash Filling

(Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour)

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1/3 Cup Diced Onion
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin
1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric
1/2 Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

-In a skillet melt the butter, and add the diced onion. Sauté until the onion becomes translucent.

-Add the turmeric and poultry seasoning. Cook for 1 more minute, until the spices are very fragrant.

-Stir in the pumpkin. Sauté the mixture until well combined and cook out any excess moisture.

-Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper.

-Set the filling aside to cool to room temperature.

Ravioli Assembly & Cooking

-Add a spoon full of filling to one side of the pasta pumpkin cutouts leaving space on the edges for the seams. Top with another cutout and use your fingers to gently press the seams together by going around the filling and pushing out any excess air. Secure the seems with a fork.

-Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Carefully place the ravioli in the pot and continue to boil for about 15 minutes or until cooked through. You can cook fresh pasta immediately, there is no need to dry it out first. It will also cook much faster!

-Serve tossed in a little olive oil and topped with fresh Parmesan cheese or a pumpkin sauce!