Pumpkin ravioli with a sage butter sauce

This is definitely one of my favourite dishes but I have to be honest, I can't claim this recipe as my own although I have made some changes to it. It's actually inspired by a recipe from the great Rick Stein who may be better known as a fish expert, but on this occasion he has provided me with a great basic recipe.

First off, don't be put off if you don't want to make the pasta yourself. While its not that difficult you can cheat by using ready-made Chinese dumpling wrappers instead - close but not as good as the real thing.

To make the dish from scratch, you will need

450g/1lb piece of pumpkin
1 tbsp olive oil
large pinch of fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 medium egg, yolk only
25g/1oz parmesan cheese, grated, plus extra to serve
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 amaretti biscuits, crushed
15g/1oz fresh white breadcrumbs
salt
freshly ground black pepper

For the fresh egg pasta
225g/8oz plain flour
tsp salt
tsp olive oil
2 medium eggs
4 medium eggs, yolks only

For the sage butter
75g/3oz unsalted butter
20 small sage leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice

I differ the recipe slightly by adding finely chopped fresh sage to the pasta mixture before I roll it out and, as I have a nut allergy, I omit the amaretti biscuits. I still haven't thought of a substitute for these yet, though I am still looking.

I use pumpkin when I can get it, otherwise you can use butternut squash; you could us other kinds of squash but the slightly firmer ones work better but pumpkin or butternut work best with the spices added in this

Before you start, get the oven heated to 400 Fahrenheit (Gas mark 6)

Cut the piece of pumpkin into wedges, scoop out the seeds and the stringy bits.

Now you have two choices; Rick's recipe suggests you put the squash int a roasting dish, sprinkle it with oil and throw over the fennel seeds and some salt and black pepper.
However, I tend to place the pumpkin in tin foil, add the fennel seeds and seasoning and a splash of water and wrap the pumpkin in a loose parcel, allowing the squash to steam instead. OK so I'm going to serve this with a buttery sauce later but lets cut down on oil where we can. Whichever way you choose, it needs to be cooked until tender. Take it out of the oven and once it is cool, scoop the lovely soft flesh from the skin.

In a bowl mash the squash to a smooth pure to which you add the egg yolk, the parmesan cheese, amaretti if you are using

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