September's Chapter One book selection was Erica Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients, a delightful novel that inspired me to whip up the dish I imagined that Ian and Helen created during the Thanksgiving dinner. (pg. 98 and 102 if you're reading the paperback).

The School of Essential Ingredients follows the lives of Lillian, the head chef of a gourmet restaurant, and her students who gather to her cooking class on Monday evenings. Each dish or technique causes her students to reflect on their own lives. Bauermeister's descriptions of the dishes and the reactions by the cooking school participants are deeply sensual and at times you can taste the flavors on your tongue. Her novel serves a reminder to the reader of all of the emotions and memories involved in the process of creating a delicious dish and the life cycle of the foods we eat.

Our book club met on Wednesday night at my place. A small group of us gathered and those of us who could bring a dish inspired by the novel did. My friend Jana brought a dish that complemented mine, polenta with asiago, and Mary Jo brought fresh pumpernickel bread. Our group of enjoyed our dishes and drank lots of wine as we talked about what we enjoyed the most about Bauermeister's novel.

As promised, here is my recipe for Pumpkin Ravioli. I hope as Antonia did in the novel, that you will enjoy and savor every bite as you relax at the dinner table.

Pumpkin Stuffed Ravioli
Serves 8 or more

special equipment: food processor

Pasta dough:
You may make dough one day in advance of rolling and stuffing ravioli.
1 3/4 cups cake flour
3/4 cup organic all purpose unbleached flour (I like King Arthur)
Additional all purpose flour for kneading and rolling pasta dough
4 large organic egg yolks
extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Filling:
Filling can be prepared one day in advance, kept in the refrigerator
1 small-medium sugar pumpkin, cut into 1" chunks
2 large organic egg yolks
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 large yellow onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
1 small long red saute pepper (not hot), chopped fine
4 Stella D'oro Anisette Sponge Cookies, crushed to equal roughly 1 cup of crumbs
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup grated three cheese blend (Asiago, Parmesan, Romano)
2 T wildflower honey
1/2 cup cooked chestnuts
1 cup white wine
1 tsp salt

Sauce:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 stick of organic unsalted butter
1/2 cup toasted whole hazelnuts
1/4 cup cooked chestnuts
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup white wine (or more)
10 leaves of fresh sage, roughly chopped

Preparation:
Cut sugar pumpkin into 1" chunks. Toss pumpkin lightly in olive or almond oil. Roast pumpkin at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until tender. Make pasta dough while the pumpkin roasts. Combine all ingredients for pasta dough in the food processor.  Kneading is not necessary if dough is combined properly and whips around the bowl with a 'thwack'. It should not stick to the side of the bowl. Don't add too much flour. It will be a slightly soft, moist dough. Process for 6-8 minutes, remove from bowl, form into a large ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Place into refrigerator. Keep overnight.

Remove pumpkin from the oven and mash in a medium mixing bowl with a potato masher or fork. Set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil.  Add onions, garlic, and red pepper and saute until soft and onions are translucent. Add cinnamon, 2 T of the three cheese blend, honey, crushed cookies, 1/2 cup cooked chestnuts, wildflower honey, wine, and salt. Cook until cheese is melted, stirring occasionally to ensure cohesiveness. Remove from heat.

Place mashed pumpkin in the food processor. Add 2 large egg yolks. Process until just combined. Add filling to processor bowl and puree with pumpkin and egg yolks until smooth. Place mixture back to saucepan and keep on low heat for 10-15 minutes.  Place mixture in mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for the following day. If making it the same day set it to the side and let it cool completely.

Day 2 (or later on day 1)

Remove dough from refrigerator. Remove pumpkin filling from refrigerator. Divide the ball of dough into 8 sections. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a well floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll into a rectangle as thin as possible. Alternatively use a pasta maker. (I don't have one) Lift sheet of dough and place to the side of the rolling mat. Roll out another section. Using a large dinner spoon, place a mound of pumpkin filling into rows every 2" apart on one sheet of dough. Place the other sheet on top, pressing firmly around each mound, making sure there are no air bubbles.  Use a decorative cookie cutter to cut between each mound in a circle or square.  As you place each filled ravioli on your baking sheet, make sure edges are sealed. Repeat with all of the sections of remaining dough. The amount of filling you have left depends on how thin you make your pasta. Cover the ravioli with a kitchen towel until ready to boil.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Drop ravioli into the water about 6 at a time. Boil for just a few minutes, about 2 to 3 minutes. Ravioli will float when it has finished. Use a slotted spoon to remove ravioli and placed cooked ravioli in a large bowl. Keep covered to maintain a warm temperature. Continue cooking ravioli.

Prepare sauce. Heat 2 T of olive oil in a large flat frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until soft. Add 1/2 stick of butter, pepper, salt (if needed), 1/2 cup of hazelnuts, 1/4 cup of chestnuts, 1/4 cup of white wine (or more) and sage and gently simmer. Break up the cooked chestnuts with a spoon. Stir to combine and to prevent the hazelnuts from over cooking. Place cooked warm ravioli on a large serving dish and spoon sauce over top. Toss to ensure even coating of each ravioli.