Gabeday Dinner: Butternut Ravioli & Gnocchi Verdi al Gorgonzola

7-Yolk Pasta Dough

1 3/4 cups AP or 00 flour
1 tsp salt
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon milk

Mix your flour and salt and place them in a mound on cutting board or large bowl (bowl will make the mixing easier, but then you'll have to transfer it to a board to knead, so you'll have 2 dishes to do instead of one). Make a hole in the center and drop the yolks, egg, olive oil, and milk into it. Start mixing with your fingers, gradually incorporating the flour (watch a youtube video if you've never made pasta before). Once it's all come together, scrape the extra dough off your board and flour it, or if you were using a bowl, transfer to a well-floured board. Now knead the hell out of your dough. Like forever. Until your hands feel like they're going to fall off. You want it to be perfectly smooth and shiny like a boiled egg, and it should spring back when you press on it. You cannot overknead. Think you are done? Knead some more. Then wrap your pasta dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for a while before using to firm it up.

Roll out your dough on a well-floured board until very thin and cut it into whatever shapes you prefer. If you're making ravioli, use a can to make circles or cut it into squares (save the scraps for a next-day meal). Put a little dollop of filling in the center of a circle, rub the edges of the circle with water, and press another circle on top of it, using your fingers or a fork to press the edges shut. You'll probably make a lot of ugly, leaky ravioli before you get the hang of it (it took me at least 3 tries to make pretty ravioli).

Boil your pasta or ravioli very briefly (unless you've let it sit out for a while and it's gotten hard, in which case it will take more time). Once it floats to the surface, it's pretty much done - but test a piece to make sure. Dress and enjoy!

Butternut-Goat Cheese Ravioli Filling

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, diced
~3 oz soft goat cheese
salt & pepper

heat your oven up to 450, put your squash on a tray with some olive oil, and roast until soft. Meanwhile saute your onions in some butter until caramelized (omit the onions if you don't have a blender or food processor). Mix the vegies with the goat cheese and mash or puree until smooth. Season to taste.

If you have leftover filling after making your ravioli, mix it with a few tablespoons of melted butter and use it as a sauce on your leftover pasta scraps.