michelle picker cooks

Filled with a sweet and savoury butternut filling, this pasta is enhanced with crisp sage, golden hazelnuts and butter.

Cut the butternut pumpkin into large wedges and place in a baking dish with 1 finely diced red onion. Season with salt, freshly ground black pepper, a grating of fresh nutmeg and some dried chilli flakes to taste. Roast in a hot oven until the pumpkin is soft and the onions quite brown. Remove to a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of hazelnut meal and 3 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan. Mix well with a fork until you have a coarse mash. You can fill your own fresh pasta or you can cheat (like I did) and use ready-made gow gee (round) or wonton (square) wrappers. It’s lovely thin dough which makes excellent ravioli. Place a spoonful of the butternut mix on each round of dough, being careful not to get it on the edges. Wet the edge of one round with water then press the other down firmly, making sure there is no air in the centre and that the edges are well joined. Place them on a floured plate until ready to cook. Meanwhile wash a generous handful of sage leaves and dry them with  a paper towel. Heat a large pot of water to a rolling boil and carefully lower the ravioli into the pot. Depending on your pasta, you will need to cook them for between 2 and 6 minutes until al dente, then drain. While they cook, heat 2-3 tablespoons of salted butter and toss in a few whole hazelnuts and the sage leaves. Fry until everything is browning and drizzle this mixture over your plated ravioli, along with some more freshly grated black pepper and some freshly grated parmesan.