The weather is getting colder, which means I’m craving pasta. The summer has fully come to an end, and the leaves on the trees are already changing. Suddenly the tree in front of our town’s pickleball court is a vibrant crimson. The sky has been a little more gray. The vendors at the farmers market are leaving for the season. So, this week I decided to make an early fall feast with new produce and homemade pasta. This is my sweet potato ravioli with a sausage, apple, and ricotta filling, topped with honey crisp apples and toasted walnuts. In a sage brown butter sauce.

Fall Weather

It’s getting dark around 6 or 6:30 now, which is a big change from those long summer days of grilling dinners in the sun. I headed to the farmers market this week on a particularly dark day. The sky was unleashing rain like a strong shower. Yet, I made a promise to myself to attend every market this year, and I needed apples anyway. When I arrived the windshield immediately clouded with pounding rain. I threw my raincoat hood over my head and jogged into the field in my boots, clutching a waterproof grocery bag. I took shelter under a produce stand. The one with the happy tattooed veggie lovers. A woman and her two kids were gleefully studying the colors and shapes of radishes and green leafy things. Tomatoes and peppers.

I picked up a bundle of scallions and stomped my way through muddy puddles of trodden grass to the other farm stand. All the previous weeks of pacing around the market in tee shirts and sandals were gone. A family on vacation in line for bread who had just visited Ireland. The grandparents of my former classmate who asked if I still play tennis. The old couple visiting from Maryland picking out tomatoes. It made me sad to think the season was ending, but I felt like a little kid splashing around as I shopped. There were only a handful of people there. Most of the vendors didn’t attend. The pastry stand owner was passing the time on his phone, a far cry from his usual 20-30 person lines. 

The Last Days of Farmers Markets

I picked out a few apples and dropped one slippery one on the ground. Then I bought a couple sweet potatoes. I made my way back to my warm car, soaked by rain. I was thinking about a special day in Italy last year – a walk through the pouring rain in Tuscany. Olive groves and beautiful fields. A clearing of trees near a castle-like building. We stopped on our way back to get hot cappuccinos. I was thinking about all of the vegetables thriving in the wet weather and all the things I could make with my apples. When I got home I dried off and dreamed of fresh pasta. I spent the rest of the day recipe testing and prepping for dinner. A sweet potato ravioli feast. 

I started by cooking a sweet potato until fork-tender and removing the flesh from the skins. It was a vibrant orange color, and I couldn’t wait to see what hue the pasta dough would become. I mixed in my egg yolk and a little turmeric for extra color and mixed it all together into a paste. Then, I added my pasta flour and started kneading the dough on a floured counter.

My mind wandered back to the pasta meals I ate in Italy. Our favorite lasagna. A delicious pasta with a crumb of olives on top. Rolling out the dough in a pasta making class with an old fashioned rolling pin. The perfect spring in the dough when it was ready. After nearly 10 minutes I stopped and pressed a finger into my dough and it sprang back. So, I wrapped it in plastic and set it in the fridge to chill. 

Sweet Potato Ravioli

Next I made my sweet potato ravioli filling. Inspired by the flavors of thanksgiving stuffing. Ours uses a maple and sage sausage, mixed with day-old sourdough. Onion, apples, celery, garlic, and butter. Herbs. I rendered sausage with onion, apples, butter and herbs in a pan. Then, I let the mixture cool and mixed it with ricotta, parmesan, and lemon. Salt and pepper for seasoning. I forgot to put my pasta filling in a piping bag, so I used a spoon to portion it out. I peeled and cut up more apples. Picking up all the peels off the floor. I diced them and par-cooked them in butter for the topping. 

Once my sweet potato pasta was rested, I portioned it into three triangles and set the other two back in the fridge. The first was floured and rolled out in my machine. I ran it through several times until the perfect thickness. The “5” setting on my machine. I portioned the sheet of bright yellow-orange dough into 3 smaller rectangles to fit on my work surface. Then, I spooned on small dollops of ricotta and sausage filling. I cut around each pile and folded the rectangle over the filling, securing the edges. Then, I used a small cookie cutter to cut out half-moons (mezzelune) dusting them in flour to keep them from sticking. Vibrant fall-colored leaves of sweet potato ravioli on a powder-blue counter. 

Brown Butter Sauce + Walnuts

Once I finished filling my pasta, I arranged them on a baking sheet and placed them in the freezer for a few minutes to get them firm. I did some cleaning up and boiled a big pot of water and warmed a sauté pan with butter. Once the water was boiling I seasoned it with a few big pinches of table salt and threw in my sweet potato pasta. It cooked in a matter of seconds, and floated on the top of the pot.

Just before they were done, I had brown butter in my sauté pan, which soaked up sage. I then added my pre-cooked diced apple and some walnuts, swirling them into the butter. I seasoned it with salt. Then, I hoisted my pasta quickly into the pan with a slotted spoon, along with residual pasta water. The sauce bubbled and thickened as I swirled my pasta together with the tender apples and warm walnuts. I finished off my sauce with a handful of fresh parmesan and spooned my mezzelune onto a plate. 

I garnished my sweet potato ravioli with a couple green leaves. Normally I would use sage, but I had fresh mint. It was a super simple sauce, but the warm apples and walnuts complement the rich, cheesy apple-sausage filling perfectly. The flavors are warm and so reminiscent of fall, the essence of Thanksgiving stuffing. I took bites quickly as my stomach grumbled from my long day in the kitchen, and marveled at the tenderness of the orange pasta. A hint of sweet potato flavor in the dough. Sweetness and brightness of apple. Saltiness from the sausage and ricotta. The sauce coalesced with the melting cheese and coated the crunchy walnuts. It was delicious, warm, and perfect for a gray, rainy day. 

Enjoying Fall Produce

Fall is just beginning but I’m already enjoying the in-season produce tremendously. I made apple cider donuts yesterday and tossed them in cinnamon sugar, which reminded me of apple picking as a kid. Warm cups of apple cider on hay rides. I’m planning my final recipes before heading to Portugal soon, and experimenting with pumpkin, potatoes, and spices.

The leaves will fully change before I travel in October so I’m soaking up as much fall in Maine as possible. I’m excited to take drives through vibrant red-orange back woods and enjoy more pasta dishes, soups, and curries as the nights get colder. Weirdly, as it gets darker out earlier, my anxiety improves. Something to do with feeling safe from the hustle and bustle of the workday when the sun sets. I’m trying not to eat every fall dessert I see, but I’m walking a lot in the brisk air for balance. Soon it’ll be Halloween and Thanksgiving, and I can’t wait to share more fall recipes. And my adventures in Portugal. 

Until next time! Thanks for reading. Be sure to check out my Etsy for 100’s of my art prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off! 

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Sweet Potato Pasta with Apples, Sage, and Walnuts

A perfect pasta dish for fall with a vibrant sweet potato pasta

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword apples, fall recipes, pasta recipes, sweet potato

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 170 g cooked sweet potato
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 150 g 00 flour
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 large onion
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 honey crisp apples peeled and diced
• 2 tsp ground sage
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts toasted
• Mint or sage for garnish

Instructions

• Cook a large sweet potato in a microwave or oven until soft and room temperature. Remove flesh and measure 170 g into a bowl.
• Add your egg yolk and turmeric and mix until a paste forms. Add your flour and knead until a dough forms, for a couple minutes.
• Knead pasta dough on a lightly-floured work surface for 10 minutes until it springs back when pressed. Wrap in cling film and chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• While your pasta rests, make your filling. Start by dicing all your apples, onion, and mincing garlic. Melt 3 tbsp of butter over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan and add sage.
• When butter begins to brown, cook your onions and garlic for 1-2 minutes until translucent. Then, add half of your diced apples and cook down for 5-10 minutes until soft.
• Add your Italian sausage and cook until crumbly and incorporated into your mixture. Season to taste and add maple syrup. Remove from heat and let cool for at least 10-15 minutes.
• In a medium-large bowl, combine ricotta with 1/3 cup parmesan (reserve rest for pasta sauce), lemon juice, salt, and lemon zest if desired. Add your favorite fall spices, like sage or allspice. Then, add your sausage and apple mixture and mix.
• Transfer your ricotta mixture to a piping bag (or just use a spoon) and let cool while you roll out your pasta.
• Cut your rested pasta into 3 equal triangles and place two back in the fridge to rest. On your work surface, lightly flour your pasta dough and run through a pasta machine first on the “1” setting to flatten. Then run through “3” and finally “5” until you have a long, thin pasta sheet. Keep dough lightly floured to prevent sticking.
• Pipe or dollop 1 heaping tsp of your ricotta mixture onto your pasta sheet. The mounds should be about 1 – 2 inches apart. Cut squares around your ricotta piles until you have each on an individual small pasta sheet.
• Fold your pasta squares in half over your ricotta mixture and secure around the edges to prevent ricotta from bursting out. Then, take a circle cutter and cut a half-moon shape, leaving the flat side of your pasta flat and the other round.
• Lightly flour your mezzelune (half-moons) as you make them to prevent sticking and transfer to the fridge to chill before cooking. When you are ready to cook, heat a large stock pot of water over high heat with about 8-10 cups of water.
• Heat your large sauté pan (used for the sausage filling) over medium-high heat with a little oil or butter. Cook the rest of your diced apples until soft. Remove and chill.
• While your water boils, heat the rest of your butter and a little olive oil in your sauté pan. Cook until caramelized and browned, about 5-10 minutes. Then, add fresh or ground sage to taste.
• In the meantime, boil your pasta in your stock pot and season with salt. Then, boil your filled pasta for 1-3 minutes until they begin to float. Immediately transfer to your browned butter and swirl to combine. Spoon in a few teaspoons of pasta water to help your sauce emulsify.
• Top your pasta with the rest of your parmesan and a sprinkle of salt. Add your pre-cooked apples and walnuts. Swirl pan to combine and serve.

Notes

• You can use cooked pumpkin in place of sweet potato if you’d prefer.
• You may be tempted to cook your pasta for 3-5 minutes, but make sure it’s al dente by cooking for only 1-2 minutes. Fresh pasta cooks very fast!
• This is easy to make vegetarian, and instead of sausage in the ricotta filling you could use mushrooms. I would love to make this again with fresh sautéed mushrooms on top.