Hot Pepper Fettuccine With Roasted Butternut Squash

- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups/250 grams all-purpose flour, more as needed
- ¼teaspoon salt
- 2tablespoons Hungarian paprika
- ¼teaspoon cayenne
- 2teaspoons pimentón dulce
- 2eggs
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Rice flour, for dusting
- 4cups butternut squash, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (1 pound)
- Salt and pepper
- Crushed red pepper
- 2ounces pancetta or bacon, cut into lardons
- 1sprig rosemary, plus ½ teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
- 1sprig sage, plus ½ teaspoon finely chopped sage
- 1small onion, diced
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 1cup fresh ricotta
- 1½teaspoons grated lemon zest
- Grated pecorino, for garnish
- 2tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
For the Dough
For the Pasta
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the dough: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, paprika, cayenne and pimentón. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with 3 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Pour egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir with chopsticks or a wooden spoon to combine until a rough dough is formed.
- Step 2
Turn dough out onto a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour and knead into a ball. Wrap dough in plastic and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes. (It may appear dry or tough at first, but it will become hydrated and more relaxed after resting.)
- Step 3
Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees. Put squash in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons oil, a generous amount of salt and pepper, a pinch of crushed red pepper, and the pancetta or bacon. Strip leaves from 1 sprig rosemary and 1 sprig sage, add to bowl, then toss well to coat.
- Step 4
Spread squash mixture on a baking sheet in an even layer and roast for 20 minutes, or until cooked and lightly browned. Adjust seasoning to taste and set aside.
- Step 5
Make the fettuccine: Roll out dough by hand or with a pasta machine into thin sheets (but not paper thin). Cut sheets into pieces approximately 6 by 9 inches. Dust each piece lightly with rice flour, stack them, and gently roll the stack into a loose cylinder, as if making a jelly roll. With a sharp knife, cut crosswise to make thin ribbons, about ⅛-inch wide. Dust a baking sheet with rice flour and arrange cut ribbons in a single layer to keep them from sticking together. Dust with more rice flour. Leave uncovered at room temperature.
- Step 6
Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic, chopped rosemary and sage, and a pinch of crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute. Add reserved squash, then fold in ½ cup ricotta and the lemon zest. Cook for 1 minute more and turn off heat.
- Step 7
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil over high heat. Boil the pasta for 1 to 2 minutes, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking water.
- Step 8
Add pasta to the skillet, and gently fold ingredients together. Add 3 to 4 tablespoons pasta cooking water. Transfer to a warm serving platter, dot with remaining ½ cup ricotta and sprinkle with pecorino and parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
For the lazy, like me: I bought fresh fettuccine at the store and made the sauce. To make up for the fact that my pasta was not going to be spicy, I added more red pepper to the roasting squash. I also added more red pepper and a bit of ground cayenne pepper to the onions and garlic. This resulted in a spicy, but not too hot end product. I used about 3/4 C of the cooking water to get the consistency right. The pasta was delicious and very filling.
I made it yesterday using 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 bread flour just because its healthier than straight white flour but required more water. I also added 3/4 tsp of baking soda. An optional pappardelle disk was used in the machine to extrude the pasta making ribbons 3/8 inch wide like in the article's photo. I thought it was very tasty and worth the time to make the butternut squash sauce.
Interesting to see that the noodles only get one rest period (ball to rollout stage.) I recall my grandmother (who made the best pasta this side of Minsk) would let it rest the first time; then roll it out, transfer to a huge clean white cotton tablecloth (used only for this purpose) and let it rest again for about an hour.
Just an observation -- it seems that the 2 tablespoons of paprika is substantial. I'll try it that way first. ;-) thank you.
This was a hit. I added the spices to the onions and used store-made fresh pasta. I also added some extra bacon. Smelled fantastic.
This was fine but I found it a bit bland. Perhaps a bit more salt and a splash of white wine cooked with the squash would help.
Yum! This sauce is divine. We mushed the squash mixture after step 7 and added enough pasta water to make it relatively saucy, and it turned out perfect. The hint of lemon goes really well with the rosemary -- I'm no expert chef but I think this could be good with a splash of dry white wine too! I'll be experimenting with this recipe as I plan to make it weekly from now on.
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