Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter, Sage and Lemon

How to make the ravioli

1. Heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F conventional, or 180°C / 355°F fan. Cut the squash flesh into roughly 2 cm (3/4-inch) cubes, toss with 10 g olive oil and spread on the baking sheet. Roast for about 30–40 minutes, until tender with a few golden edges. Avoid heavily blackening the pieces.
2. Meanwhile, bring the 300 g flour, eggs and 1 g fine salt together into a dough. Knead firmly for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. It should be firm but workable. Only if it remains crumbly after kneading, add a little water a teaspoon at a time; if very sticky, use a minimal dusting of flour. Wrap airtight and rest for at least 30 minutes. Do not taste raw egg pasta dough.
3. Mash or puree all the roasted squash, including the oil clinging to it. If wet, stir it in a dry skillet over medium heat until thick enough to hold on a spoon without forming a puddle. Aim for roughly 350 g concentrated puree from the entire starting quantity; do not drain away any squash liquid. Spread out and cool completely. Drain the ricotta in a fine strainer, then weigh 100 g.
4. Mix the cold squash puree with the ricotta, 40 g hard cheese, 2 g fine salt, nutmeg, about half the black pepper and the lemon zest. Taste this egg-free filling and adjust cautiously with a little salt and pepper if needed, remembering that the cheese already contributes salt. The mixture should hold its shape on a spoon. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
5. Divide the dough into four pieces and keep the unused pieces covered. Roll one piece at a time progressively through a pasta machine, or with a rolling pin, to about 1 mm thick. Dust sparingly. Place small mounds of about 15 g filling at roughly 7 cm (2 3/4-inch) intervals on a sheet, keeping about 1 cm of clear dough around the filling. Roll only as much dough as you can fill promptly.
6. Lightly moisten the sealing edges with water only if needed. Cover with another sheet, or fold over a suitably wide sheet. Press outward from each mound to remove trapped air, then seal firmly. Cut into approximately 7 cm squares and, if helpful, gently press the edges with a fork without piercing the pasta. Set on a lightly floured board. Cover scraps, let them relax briefly and reroll them preferably only once. Aim for about 32 ravioli; the exact count can vary.
7. Bring 4 liters of water with about 20 g salt to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook the ravioli in two or three batches for about 4–6 minutes. The filling should be hot and the pasta edges should no longer have a raw, floury core; carefully taste one to check. Timing depends on thickness, and floating alone is not a reliable doneness test. Reserve 100–150 ml cooking water before lifting out the ravioli.
8. Meanwhile, melt the butter in the wide light-colored skillet over medium heat. Add the dry sage leaves and cook, swirling frequently, until the butter is golden and the milk solids are light brown with a nutty aroma, usually about 3–5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat as soon as it is ready. Very dark or black butter will taste bitter. Lift out crisp sage leaves temporarily if needed and reserve for serving.
9. Let the pan cool slightly, then carefully add an initial 60 ml of hot pasta water; it can splutter. Add the 15 ml lemon juice and swirl over low heat until the sauce lightly emulsifies. Transfer cooked ravioli straight into it with a slotted spoon and coat gently. Add more reserved water a tablespoon at a time if needed for a glossy coating. When cooking several batches, hold the first briefly in the sauce without further simmering or piling up the ravioli.
10. Taste a small spoonful of sauce. Finish with the remaining black pepper, a little extra salt only if needed and more lemon juice to taste. The cooking water and cheese already supply salt. Divide all the pasta among four warm plates and serve with the sage leaves and remaining 20 g hard cheese, approximately eight ravioli per main-course portion.