Agnolotti Alla Zucca (Pasta Stuffed with Squash)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the squash in a roasting pan, then brush it with olive oil and sprinkle it with a pinch of sea salt. Cover the pan tightly with foil and cook the squash until fork-tender, about 40-50 minutes.

When the squash is cool enough to handle, mash or puree it until smooth. Measure 2 cups of mashed squash into a large bowl, reserving any extra for another use. Add the Parmesan, ricotta, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust flavors as desired. Fold in 1 egg yolk until smooth. Put the squash filling in a piping bag or bowl and set it in the fridge while you prepare your pasta dough.

To make the pasta dough, mound the flour on a dry, clean counter top and make a deep well in the center. Crack 3 of the eggs into a bowl followed by the 4 egg yolks. Gently stir in the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Pour the egg and oil mixture into the flour well. Gently whisk the egg mixture with a fork, slowly incorporating more and more flour. Once the eggs and flour are fully incorporated, use your hands to fold the remaining flour into the mixture. The dough should not be sticky at all. If it is, continue folding in additional flour, adding up to ½ cup more, as needed. If the dough is too dry (and won’t stick together), mix in some of the reserved egg white.

Once the dough is no longer sticky, clean the work surface with a pastry scraper and knead the dough for about 8 minutes until it is very smooth to the touch. Wrap the dough tightly with plastic and let it rest for 15 minutes on the counter.

In a small bowl, whisk the remaining egg.

To make the agnolotti, divide the dough into quarters and roll out each quarter into sheets that are 2 millimeters thick, 3.5 to 4 inches wide and 12 inches long. Brush each sheet with the whisked egg. Starting ½ inch from the short edge and one inch from the long edge of each pasta sheet, use a piping bag fit with a wide tip to pipe five long mounds of filling (about 1 tablespoon each) in a line about one inch apart. Carefully fold the pasta sheet over the filling and run your finger along the overlap to seal, forming a tube. Fold the overlapping pasta back over the filled dough to create a flap. Firmly pinch the tube between the mound of filling to create and seal individual agnolotti. Use a pasta wheel or a sharp knife to cut the filled pasta from the rest of the dough sheet and separate each pocket. Repeat this process with the remaining dough.

Before cooking the pasta, make the sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the thyme sprigs, half the sage leaves, and ¼ teaspoon sea salt. Simmer the butter sauce very gently for 10 minutes, stirring often to dissolve the salt. Remove from heat.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add a generous splash of olive oil. Add the agnolotti to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove the pasta from the water with a slotted spoon.

Strain the thyme-sage butter sauce and serve it over freshly cooked agnolotti. Garnish the pasta with the toasted pepitas and remaining thyme and sage. Serve with extra Parmesan and add salt and pepper to taste.