Agnolotti pasta filled with buttercup squash in a sauce of cream, hickory nut oil and tart balsamic vinegar. This is one of my favorite pasta specials I used to run in the Fall. I use a few special ingredients here, but you can improvise with what you have on hand.

Buttercup squash ravioli with hickory nuts and birch syrup — Squash agnolotti with cream, grated parmesan, balsamic syrup, and golden brown hickory nuts.

How to make agnolotti

Agnolotti are very similar to ravioli, but they're faster to make in quantity since they aren't cut out with a ring mold individually.

Just like ravioli, you put the filling in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip, piping mounds on the pasta dough. The difference between agnolotti and ravioli is agnolotti are folded over and have a small lip of dough on the bottom. You can see that in the last image below.

Chefs love these as a ravioli alternative that gives more yield for the labor involved.

cutting a sheet of thin fresh pasta — Run the dough through a pasta machine to the second-to last setting.

piping filling onto pasta dough — Run the dough through a pasta machine to the second-to last setting.

Choosing the flavors

I love pasta filled with squash, and there's lots of different things you can serve them.

Here I use an interesting trick you probably haven't heard of: mixing oil into cream. It might sound like overkill, but cream amplifies the flavor of rich oils, especially nut oils. And, if you like squash, you know toasted nuts are one of the best things to pair with them.

It's easy to do. Heat a little cream with a pinch of salt, then stir in some aromatic nut oil before tossing with the pasta. The cream and oil won't blend, and you don't want them too. The finished dish appears as a broken sauce of white cream dotted with golden oil.

I use Sam Thayer's bitternut hickory nut oil, but you could use walnut, hazelnut, or pecan oil.

Balsamic

Oil and cream are rich, so something acidic can help add balance to the dish. A little balsamic vinegar is the perfect accent, but you need to make sure you use the right kind.

Regular balsamic vinegar is loose and watery, but aged balsamic, especially ones 10-20 years old will be thicker and easier to drizzle. Besides being thicker, the aged syrup is also sweeter. The good stuff is expensive though.

Saba is a similar condiment you can use, made from the must of grapes. It's sweeter than balsamic, as well as cheaper. If you don't have either of those, you can always use thick balsamic, or balsamic reduction syrup.

You can make balsamic reduction at home by reducing balsamic vinegar by 60% of it's volume.

Bitternut Hickory Nuts — Bitternut hickories I picked with Sam Thayer, who pressed them into oil that I used at the dinner. Sam sells the oil at www.foragersharvest.com

The basic flavor combo of dairy, nut oil, and sweet-tart reduction could take a number of forms. If you don't have any nut oil, brown butter is good too. If you'd like to try your hand at something similar, here's some flavor combos you might try:

Similar flavor combinations

Squash Ravioli, Cream, Walnut or Pecan Oil, 10 yr Balsamic, Walnuts
Poultry Liver Ravioli, Cream, Hazelnut Oil, 10 yr Balsamic, Hazelnuts
Squash Ravioli, Cream, Pumpkinseed Oil, Pumpkinseeds

Chef's Tips

Here's a few things to keep in mind.

I used hickory nut oil, but you can use any nut oil you like.
If you don't want to use cream, use browned butter and skip the cream and oil altogether.
After I make the pasta, I may freeze them on a baking sheet lined with parchment, then put them into a zip-top bag until I need them. Frozen ravioli will last for a few weeks in the freezer.
Fried sage leaves always make a good garnish for dishes with squash.
You can use a food processor to make the pasta dough if you don't have a stand mixer, or don't want to knead.
Originally I made this with birch syrup, but balsamic is easier to come by. If you have some birch syrup, this is a great place to use it.

The Forager's Guide to Shagbark Hickory Nuts

agnolotti pasta in a bowl with cream sauce and birch syrup and spoon

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5 from 1 vote

Squash Agnolotti with Cream and Balsamic Vinegar

Squash ravioli with shagbark hickory nuts, birch syrup and hickory nut oil. For serving as an appetizer, this is too rich to eat as an entree, although some people would.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Hickory nuts

Servings: Servings

Calories: 654kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Equipment

1 10 inch saute pan

Ingredients

8 oz cooked squash ravioli preferably homemade using kabocha or buttercup squash
6 Tablespoons heavy cream
High quality grated parmesan to taste
Birch syrup a good drizzle for each serving
Kosher salt to taste
2 tablespoons toasted shagbark hickory nuts
2 Tablespoons walnut oil I used bitternut hickory oil
Fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the agnolotti until al dente. Meanwhile, just before the ravioli is done, heat the cream in a 8 inch saute pan until steaming and hot, but don't boil.
Stir the oil into the cream, it won't become homogenous. Transfer the ravioli to the pan with the cream, turn the heat back on and get them hot, adding a splash of pasta cooking water if the pan gets dry.
Double check the seasoning, adjust as needed for salt and divide between small, heated pasta bowls as an appetizer. Garnish with the parmesan, fresh cracked black pepper, a few toasted hickory nuts, and a good drizzle of the balsamic.

Notes

If you prefer to make your own homemade agnolotti, for a pound of fresh pasta dough, you'll want the following for the filling.

1 lbs roasted butternut squash
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
⅛th of a whole nutmeg, grated
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
½ teaspoon powdered ginger
1 tablespoon flavorless oil
Kosher salt and ground white pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients together, double check the filling for salt and pepper, and reserve.

Nutrition