Delicious Acorn Squash Agnolotti

How to make yellow tomato butter sauce

1. Chop yellow tomatoes with garlic and place in a small saucepan with white wine or champagne.  Season with a pinch of salt and turn on medium heat.  Cook for 10-12 minutes until all the wine is almost gone and then add the cream.  Cook for another 10-12 minutes and then place in the vitamix with basil.  

   Puree until smooth and then slowly add the butter piece by piece until a smooth consistency is formed.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and set aside and keep warm.  

For the acorn squash

1. Preheat oven at 400 degrees. Cut acorn squash in half and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Then flip the squash over so it is face down and place in the oven. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour until the squash is tender all the way through. Take out and let it cool for 15 minutes. Then scoop out the pulp.

How to make the acorn squash agnolotti filling

1. Place roasted acorn squash, petite basque, parmesan cheese, and basil, into food processor along with salt and pepper.  Puree until the mixture is completely smooth.  Then place into a pastry bag with a plan tip.  Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up the filling slightly.

How to make the acorn squash agnolotti

1. To make agnolotti Pasta, Place flour in a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add eggs, water, and salt. With a fork stir the egg mixture until it starts to form a ball of dough. Then use your hands to form the dough. Add more flour if the dough is wet. Knead the pasta for 5 minutes and then cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.

   After the resting time take your pasta and cut in half. Leave one half covered while you work with the other half. Take the half of the pasta with a rolling pin and roll until the dough is thin enough to fit inside the biggest setting on your pasta machine ( I use the kitchenaid attachment). Then run the pasta all the way down to the lowest setting twice. Dusting the dough with flour if it is too wet. Then on the third time run it down to the second to last setting.

   Again, Use a little flour for dusting. You should have long sheets at this point, Run it along the whole length of the pasta sheet leaving about an inch or two at the ends.  Then take a pastry brush or spray bottle of water and brush the top portion of the pasta sheet.  Take the bottom part pasta closest to the filling and roll over to the brushed top portion.  

   You should now have a long tube like pasta running all the way down the length of the pasta.  Now, at every 1/2 inch use your index fingers and press down with with each index finger to create a little "ravioli"  Continue the same thing all the way down the pasta sheet.  

   Then using a pinwheel cutter cut away the excess pasta at the top.  Then cut in between each press that you make with your fingers to create each agnolotti.  Place agnolotti on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper dusted heavily with semolina flour. Set aside while you aside while you repeat the same process with the other half of the pasta ball.

To finish

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile in a large saute pan on high heat add diced bacon and brussel sprouts. Cook for 7 minutes and then add the pasta to the water. Spoon in a 8 oz. ladle of the pasta water into the bacon and brussel sprouts once the bacon has crispened up. After 3 minutes strain the pasta out and add to the pan along with the tomato butter sauce. Season everything with salt and pepper. Spoon 5 or 6 agnolotti onto the plate and add pumpkin seeds and parmesan cheese. Finish with basil leaves, serve and enjoy!