Red Pepper and Sausage "Christmas" Ravioli with Alfredo

Christmas is almost here, and football season is winding down.  Two great things.  I love football, but only when my team wins (Yes, I'm  fair-weather fan, blah, blah), and only when I get to tailgate and eat yummy food.  This year, my Hokies did not do diddly-squat, my Fantasy football team lost in the first round of the finals, and my NFL team, well, they are doing OK, but I don't really need to pay attention until the Super Bowl, right?  

Anyway, Sundays during football season usually consist of watching lots... and lots... of football.  If anyone else has this same dilemma, making this Christmas pasta dish might be just the thing to get the football game turned off.  Actually, I believe it stayed on in the background, but hey, we can't win them all.  My hubby is awesome at making pasta, and I don't think I could do it alone!  (wink, wink).  Well, I just don't WANT to do it alone!  It's a long process and I have a short attention span.  

OK, now on to the actual food....

I wanted to make a festive dish for Sunday dinner, so, we put our heads together, and since we are oh so creative, we came up with this red and green dish.  Hahaha.  Man we're tricky!  

Anyway, we made and canned this roasted red pepper puree with our red bell peppers from the garden this past summer.  It is so vibrant and red, I figured it would be the perfect way to make some RED pasta!  I love me some roasted red peppers.  

We were going to use pesto for the green, but since there is no good basil this time of year, we settled on tons of sage in our sausage filling (somehow we still have sage growing in our garden!).  So that is how this dish came about.  It does take some time to make, but it sure was worth it.

Ingredients:

For the pasta:
4 - 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups roasted red pepper puree (You can buy a jar of roasted red peppers in the store, drain them completely, and puree in a food processor or using a stick blender)
1 egg, beaten (for an egg wash)

For the filling:
1/2 onion, chopped
3/4 lb ground hot Italian sausage
1/4 cup chopped sage
1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta

For the Alfredo:
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups fat free half and half
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Since I got my fancy new Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas last year, I've been making all my pasta with it.  You can do it by hand as well, if you prefer.  Combine the flour, eggs, and red pepper sauce in the bowl of your mixer and mix on low for about 5 minutes. 

Add more flour if needed to keep the dough from being sticky.  Remove the dough and knead for a few minutes by hand on a lightly floured surface.  Cover and place in the fridge for about an hour.

Saute the onion with a little olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat.  Add the sausage and brown over medium high heat until there is no pink left.  Remove from the heat and drain completely.  

De-glaze the pan with the white wine. Add the half and half, increase the heat to a simmer, and reduce the cream sauce by half. When the cream sauce is the desired consistency, stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Set aside until ready to use.

Add the chopped sage and ricotta to the drained sausage.  Mix to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Remove the pasta from the fridge, and separate into 4 equal pieces.  Lightly roll out with a rolling pin into a strip so it will be easier to fit through the pasta roller.  Roll out the pasta into long sheets using the flat pasta roller attachment. 

We hang our sheets on the back of clean chairs until we're ready to use them.

To make the ravioli, lay a sheet of pasta on a floured surface, and using a teaspoon, place a dollop of the sausage filling onto the sheet, and repeat, so there is about 6 inches between each dollop.  Using the egg wash, brush some egg all around the dollops.  Place another sheet of pasta over top, and gently press the pasta down enclosing each dollop, making sure to push out any air bubbles.  

Using a cookie cutter, or the rim of a glass, cut out each ravioli.  

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add a few ravioli at a time, so they aren't crowding the pot.  Boil for about 2 minutes, or until they float to the top of the water.  

Remove and place on a cooling rack or pan in a single layer so they don't stick together.

Heat the Alfredo sauce back up in the pan, and add the pasta to coat with the sauce and heat through if cold.

Merry Christmas!