Raviolone with Butternut Squash in Butter and Sage

To make the pasta dough, put the flour in a bowl. In another bowl beat the eggs with the salt and olive oil. Pour the eggs into the flour and stir until the dough comes together. Itll look a little raggedy, but thats fine.

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for a few minutes, until it looks soft and smooth Wrap the dough in plastic and set aside to rest for at least 1 hour, or up to several hours. (This allows the sought to relax and become stretchable, and the flour to absorb all the moisture.)

Meanwhile, to make the filling, preheat the oven to 375F. Slice the squash lengthwise in half, scoop out the seeds, and put on a baking sheet, skin side up. Bake for about an hour, or until the flesh is tender when tested with a fork. Set aside to cool.

Scoop out the flesh of the squash and put it in a bowl. Season well with salt and pepper. Add the rest of the filling ingredients, including a little grated nutmeg, and stir well. Taste and adjust the seasonings, it should be rather highly seasoned to balance the sweetness of the squash.

Divide the pasta dough into 4 pieces, and flatten each piece. Roll each piece through your handcranked pasta maker all the way to the nexttothinnest setting, placing the pieces on a floured counter as you work. Youll end up with 4 sheets of pasta about 4 inches wide and 16 inches long.

To assemble the raviolone, cut 1 pasta sheet into 4 equal pieces. Put 2 tablespoons of the filling slightly off center on each square. With a pastry brush or fingertip, lightly moisten the edges with water, then fold each square over into a triangle. repeat with the remaining 3 sheets. Pick up the triangles and place them in a single layer on a lightly floured towel. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate, or leave at cool room temperature for up to 1 hour until ready to cook.

Put two large wide pots of wellsalted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Add half the raviolone to the boiling water in each pot and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. To check for doneness, remove 1 triangle, put it on a cutting board, and slice off a corner of pasta to taste. When its done, with a big spider or slotted spoon, gently lift the cooked pasta from the water and put it on a warm deep platter.

Quickly make the sauce by heating the butter in a small skillet over mediumhigh heat. When the butter is melted, toss in the sage leaves, roughly chopped if you wish, season with salt and pepper, and let the sage sizzle a bit. Stir in the garlic, without letting it brown, then turn off the heat, squeeze in the lemon juice, and stir well. Pour the sauce over the raviolone. With a vegetable peeler, shave the cheese over the platter, and serve immediately.