SQUASH RAVIOLI WITH HERBED BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the filling. Heat the oven to 350°. Arrange the squash on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast it until tender when pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Allow the squash to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer it to a medium-size bowl. Blend the squash with the milk, cheese, and nutmeg until it has a smooth, mashed potato-like consistency. Note: The squash can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.
• Make the pasta. On a clean work surface, mound the flour and make a well in the center. In a small bowl, use a fork to lightly beat together the salt and the eggs. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the well. Using the fork, gently incorporate the flour into the egg mixture, a small amount at a time. With your hands and a spatula or dough scraper, work the dough until it pulls together into a smooth, pliable ball.
• Halve the dough, then form each piece into a 1/2-inch-thick disk. Cover the disks with plastic wrap and set them aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Lightly flour your work surface and halve each dough disk. Roll out one of the dough portions as thinly as you can (to about the thickness of a dime), then use a 2½-inch-diameter drinking glass, biscuit cutter, or cookie cutter to cut rounds from the dough. Arrange them in pairs. Repeat with the remaining dough. Each half disk should yield about 7 pairs of dough rounds.
• Further thin the dough rounds by pinching them between your thumb and forefinger. Each round should increase in diameter by about 1/4 inch.
• Use a pair of dough rounds to make each ravioli. With a pastry brush or your fingertips dipped in water, paint a 1/2-inch perimeter around one of the dough rounds. Spoon 1/2 tablespoon of the squash filling into the center.
• After filling the ravioli, press the other round of dough on top of it along the moistened edges. Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges.
• Bring two large pots of water to a boil (using two pots allows all the pasta to be cooked at once). Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sage and continue to cook the sauce until it's light brown and has a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat.
• Line a large plate with paper towels. Add half the ravioli to each pot of boiling water. The pasta will float to the top after 2 or 3 minutes, but continue cooking it until tender, about 15 minutes more (take one out and test its tenderness before draining an entire batch). When the ravioli are done, use a slotted spoon or spatula to scoop them out and transfer them to the paper towels to drain. To serve, place the ravioli on individual plates and drizzle them with a spoonful of the Herbed Butter Sauce. Sprinkle on more Parmesan, if you like. Makes about 30 ravioli.