Butternut Squash Pansotti In Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Instructions

Roast the squash and toast the pumpkin seeds:

1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees F (232 degrees C).
2. Using a very sharp chef's knife, cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Cut away the stem and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Set both halves, peel side down, in a rectangle baking dish. Spread 2 tablespoons of oil over the surface of both halves so they are coated completely with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place the pan in the center of the oven.
3. Let the squash roast until the flesh is very tender, about 90 minutes. Allow the squash to rest in the pan until cool enough to handle.
4. While the squash is roasting, add another tablespoon of oil to a small skillet and add 1 cup pumpkin seeds (or pine nuts). Stir to coat the seeds in the oil, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and set the pan over medium heat. Toast the seeds, stirring frequently, until about half of the seeds are brown. Scoop the seeds onto a plate or into a bowl and set aside to cool.

Prepare the pansotti filling:

1. Peel and dice the shallot and the 3 cloves of garlic and add them to a skillet along with 1 tablespoon of oil. Set the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and a light golden color. Remove the pan from heat and add ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon of thyme, and ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and set aside to cool slightly.
2. Add 1 cup of walnuts to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse to chop the nuts into very small pieces, but not so much that they are ground into a powder.
3. Scoop the flesh of the roasted squash out of the peel and add it to the food processor. Add the garlic and shallot mixture, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, and 1 cup grated parmesan to the food processor. Pulse until the mixture is combined.

Fill and shape the pansotti:

1. Add about a half of a cup of water to a small bowl and place it near your work surface. Also, have the butternut squash filling near by. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, dust the parchment with a bit of flour, and set it on or near your work surface.
2. Cut the pasta into 4 equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time and keep the remaining pasta dough covered to prevent it from drying out.
3. Use a pasta machine to roll one piece of pasta into a long rectangle sheet: Roll it through the machine with the rollers set to "0"; fold it over and repeat several times. Then, gradually tighten the rollers, moving the setting to "1" and rolling it through a few times, then to "2" and rolling it through a few times, all the way to "5". Dust the dough with flour as needed if it's sticking to the rollers at all.
4. Lay the sheet of pasta on a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with a bit of flour. Fold it in half and trim the edges so they are straight. Unfold the sheet and cut it down the center so you have two rectangle sheets, each about 2 ½-inches wide. Cut each sheet into squares (see photos above for reference).
5. Place a generous teaspoon of filling on one side of each square. Use your fingers or a small pastry brush to wet the edges of the square with a bit of water. Fold the other side of the square over the filling to form a triangle and use your fingers to pinch the edges together (see photos above for reference). Set it on the parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with the other squares.
6. Repeat the process with the remaining pasta dough: roll it into sheets, cut it into squares, fill with butternut squash, fold it over into a triangle, seal, and place on the baking sheet.
7. At this point the pansotti can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, place the baking sheet in the freezer until the pansotti are firm, about 2 hours. Pile the semi-frozen pansotti into freezer zip-top bags or another air tight container and place back into the freezer. Frozen pansotti can be cooked straight from frozen, no need to thaw.

Make the sauce and cook the pansotti:

1. Cut the butter into chunks and put it in a light-colored saucepan. (Dark pans make it difficult to tell when the butter is browned.) Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted and begins to boil. As you stir, pay attention to the color of the butter underneath the foam. When it's done, the butter beneath the foam will be golden brown with dark brown specks on the bottom of the pan and will smell nutty.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately stir in the chopped sage. Allow the sage a few minutes to crisp in the hot butter than scrape the mixture into a large skillet and add ¼ teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar. (You can brown the butter in the skillet if you like but if the inside of your skillet is dark it can be difficult to see when the butter is brown.)
3. Fill a large saucepan about halfway with water and add enough salt to make the water taste salty. Set it over high heat and bring the water to a boil. Add enough pansotti to fill the pan but not so much that there's no room for them to move around. Cook the pansotti for 3-5 minutes, until the pasta is al dente (soft but has some resistance when you bite into it). Use a slotted spoon to remove the pansotti from the boiling water and place it in the skillet with the brown butter. Repeat with the remaining pansotti.
4. Once all the pansotti has been cooked and added to the skillet, drizzle about ¼ cup of the pasta water into the skillet with the pansotti and set it over low heat. Very gently, toss the pansotti in the brown butter sauce, heating just enough to warm everything through and coat the pansotti with sauce.
5. To serve: Add 8 pansotti to the center of a plate. Top with chopped parsley, grated parmesan, a drizzle of Aleppo pepper oil, and a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds.