It’s Better With Bacon – Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Fried Sage

Maybe ten years ago, when my children were still young enough to need help getting off to school in the morning, my mother came to visit. My wife must have been away, and I would leave the house at the crack of dawn, long before the kids were anywhere near awake. So my mother would help push them out the door.

I must have had to work late on this particular occasion, because my mother made dinner. Now that may not seem out of the ordinary, but growing up, it was my father who did the cooking for the family. Nine times out of ten, he prepared dinner for himself and my brothers and me, while my mother ate something different – healthier perhaps – that she prepared for herself.

It’s not that my mother can’t cook; in fact she certainly knows her way around a kitchen. She taught me how to make her mother’s knishes and strudel. She got me on the path of making pizza for the family. And I’ve learned recently that she had a hand in teaching my father to cook, long before I was even a thought. It’s just that growing up, she rarely cooked for the family.

On this particular night, she was making dinner. There was a butternut squash sitting around, probably from the garden, and she was set on serving that butternut squash over pasta. She searched the internet for recipes, combining elements from a few, and it was delicious. The sweetness of the butternut squash paired nicely with the saltiness from crisped bits of pancetta and grated Parmesan cheese. I loved it. (I’m sure the kids ate pesto.)

I’ve made variations of this recipe many times since, and I’ve always been happy with the result. More recently, I’ve started stuffing the squash inside the pasta to make ravioli, topped with brown butter and fried sage. Fancier, no doubt, but essentially the same thing.

I called my parents about a week ago, and my mother had made butternut squash to serve over pasta. She was again, very happy with the result. My father liked it as well, but discussed the role of the pancetta primarily as a source of salt rather than much else. He thought it needed something more, and he ended by suggesting, “It’s better with bacon.” I can’t help but agree. Isn’t everything better with bacon?

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Fried Sage

serves 4, 1¼ hours total, 45 minutes active

For the ravioli:

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

½ cup semolina flour, plus more for dusting

2 extra large eggs, divided

For the filling:

3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 large or 2 medium shallots, chopped

1 slice bacon (or an ⅛-inch round of pancetta), finely diced

8 sage leaves, finely minced (plus more for frying)

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lbs.), peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch cubes

½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

For the brown butter and fried sage:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

12 sage leaves

5 Tbsp. butter

Additional Parmesan cheese for serving

Make the pasta dough:

1. Put the all-purpose and semolina flours in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse once or twice to combine.
2. Crack the eggs in a small bowl and beat with a fork. Add all but 1 tablespoon to the flour. Reserve the extra tablespoon of egg to assemble the ravioli. Run the food processor until well-combined. You are likely to have a pebbly or sandy looking mixture.
3. Add warm water, one tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency for pasta dough – similar to that of Play-Doh. The dough should be soft enough that all components are well-combined and can be easily kneaded, but not so soft that it is wet, too mushy to work with, or will stick to itself, the pasta maker, your hands, or the counter when rolling it out. Add more water or flour as needed.
4. Remove the dough from the food processor and knead it for a minute or two until all ingredients are fully combined and the dough is smooth.
5. Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour.

While the dough is resting, make the filling:

1. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a 10-inch skillet over low heat.
2. Add the chopped shallot and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the bacon and chopped sage, and cook until the bacon is almost crisp and the shallot is soft, about 5 minutes. Remove the shallot, bacon, sage mixture to a small bowl and reserve.
4. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and heat over medium.
5. Add the squash and stir to coat with the oil. Add the black pepper and cook, covered, stirring frequently, until the squash is soft and mashable, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add a tablespoon of water to steam the squash as needed and to prevent scorching and sticking. Add the shallot, bacon, sage mixture to the squash and stir to combine.
6. Allow the squash to cool, then mash with a fork until a relatively smooth paste is formed. Add the grated Parmesan and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Assemble the ravioli:

1. Lightly dust a plate with semolina flour and set aside.
2. Unwrap the dough and dust it with flour. If using a pasta maker, flatten it into a rectangle the width of the pasta maker. Pass the dough through the rollers set on the largest setting. Fold the dough in thirds, and roll it through again. Do this several times until is it smooth. Then roll the dough out into a long sheet using consistently higher numbers (narrowing the rollers) until you get to a thickness of about one sixteenth of an inch (five on my pasta maker). At some point you will need to cut the dough in half (and maybe quarters) when it gets too long and complete rolling each piece separately. As you finish, lay the dough on a counter dusted with flour, and cover it with plastic wrap. Continue rolling the other portions of dough. If you are not using a pasta maker, roll the dough into a long strip until it is about one sixteenth of an inch thick, then cut into two pieces.
3. Divide the filling equally into twelve dollops and place them equidistant from each other on one of the flat sheets of pasta. They should be separated by about two inches.
4. Beat the reserved egg with a teaspoon of water and brush it lightly on the dough, around each dollop of filling. This will help the dough stick together, sealing the ravioli.
5. Take the second sheet of dough and place it over the first. Starting at one end, stretch the dough carefully around each mound of filling and seal the dough, trying to push out all of the air from between sheets to prevent air pockets.
6. If using cutters, find one that just fits around the filling and press lightly with the top (the non-cutting edge) to seal the dough. If not using cutters, press lightly around the mounds of filling with your fingers to seal the dough.
7. If using cutters, pick a larger size and cut out each ravioli. If not using cutters, cut the dough between each ravioli using a knife or fluted roller.
8. Place each formed ravioli on the semolina-dusted plate and allow to dry for at least 10 minutes. If you are not cooking them right away, cover the plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the fried sage:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 5-inch skillet on medium, to just before smoking. Add the sage leaves and allow them to sizzle for about 30 seconds. Flip with tongs and cook the other side. Remove the sage leaves to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. You may need to fry the sage in batches.

To cook the ravioli:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. Cook ravioli in boiling water until pasta is done, about 4 minutes depending on the thickness of the dough.
3. Drain ravioli and place them on four plates.

Make the brown butter:

1. While the ravioli are cooking, heat the butter over a medium heat until it has melted, stopped bubbling, and has turned a light toasty brown color.
2. Immediately spoon the brown butter over the ravioli, top with fried sage leaves, and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve hot.

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