Black Futsu & Hazelnut Ravioli

For Christmas, my family got me a ravioli press kit, and I FINALLY got to break it in this week! I tried making butternut squash ravioli last year with just a very sharp knife, and let me tell you. Not the same. I’m fully sold on my ravioli press. This was the first batch I made, and I’m sure MANY more will come across the recipe page of this site. The star of this dish is Black Futsu Squash, which is an heirloom Japanese pumpkin. It’s flesh is sweet and nutty, like a sweeter version of a butternut squash. Truth be told, I owe it all to my local Farmer’s Market for turning me on to this beauty. I asked one of the farmers what she recommended, and she was quick to point out the small and bumpy squash! Best recommendation ever.

Prep It

• 360 grams all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• ¾ tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ Black Futsu Squash, sliced or diced
• ¼ cup hazelnuts
• More salt, pepper, and EVOO on hand

Make It

On a clean surface, make a nest with flour. Crack three eggs into the middle of the nest, and top with olive oil and salt. Very slowly, swirl the eggs, oil and salt around, making sure to not spill mixture over the edges of your flour nest. As the mixture gets thicker (this happens when flour mixes in), take the leap and start kneading with your hands. You will look at the mess on the counter and wonder how it could ever turn into pasta, but trust the process. Keep mixing and kneading. As your dough comes together, knead for 10 more minutes. If your dough is just too eggy, add a small scoop of flour. If your dough is just too floury (truly, give it a good 7 minutes before you call if it’s too floury), simply wet your hands and continue to knead. After a full 10 minutes of kneading your formed dough, wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

While your dough is setting, roast your Black Futsu Squash with a glug of olive oil, salt and pepper at 400ºF for 20 minutes, until soft. At 20 minutes, add the hazelnuts, and roast 5 more minutes. Remove and let cool.

After 30 minutes, cut your dough into 4 chunks and flour each chunk. Using a pasta maker (we use an Atlas 150), press your dough until it’s “mid”-thick (#5 on our machine). You don’t want the dough translucent, but want it to be thin enough where the pasta is not overwhelming in each finished bite. Flour each side of your pressed dough and set aside. Repeat with the other 3 chunks.

Now back to the squash. In a food processor, add squash, hazelnuts, salt, pepper and another big glug of olive oil. Blend until the consistency is not chunky, but not pureed. Add more olive oil bits at a time if not blending properly. Set mixture aside.

You guessed it. BACK to the pasta. Lay out your first sheet of pasta. Using a ravioli press, gently mark each ravioli down the sheet of pasta. Scoop about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling (the squash mixture) in the middle of each mark. Once all ravioli have filling, take another sheet of pasta and gently lay on top. Press the top sheet down and secure tightly around each pocket of filling. Using the ravioli press, cut out each ravioli. Heavily dust in flour, and set aside. Repeat process with the third and fourth sheet of pasta.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli, cooking for only 3-4 minutes. Serve warm with pesto and crushed hazelnuts on top. I used Andrea Bemis’ Oregon Hazelnut Pesto for mine, but use jarred pesto if needed 🙂