I always thought making pasta from scratch at home is super complicated, therefore, I never dare to try.  As it turned out, I couldn't be more wrong! Ever since I got my KitchenAid stand mixer and the pasta and ravioli attachments, I have been dying to try to make some myself. I researched tons of recipes for homemade pastas and as well as watched tons of tutorial videos on YouTube to learn how to use the attachments. I couldn't believe how easy it was to prepare your own pasta! Even the kids can help. Within 2 hours, you can have a delicious bowl of homemade pasta on the dining table. 

For today's recipe, I decided to show you how to make something slightly more complicated (compared to make plain pasta), ravioli, in three different flavors, beetroot, butternut squash (or pumpkin) and spinach. You can find the full recipe on KitchenAid's blog, The Kitchenthusiast. Have a great start of the Autumn!

What you'll need:

For the ravioli dough

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 1/2 tablespoons beet puree (or butternut squash or spinach puree)

For the ravioli filling (beet, butternut squash or spinach)

• 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

• 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated

• 2 teaspoons basil, finely chopped

• 1/2 tablespoon honey

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• Pinch of salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons beet puree (or butternut squash or spinach puree)

• 1 to 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

For the orange butter sauce

• 6 tablespoons butter

• 1/2 orange

• Salt and pepper to taste

How it's made:

1. Roast the vegetables (beets and butternut squash, respectively) in the oven at 350° F for about an hour. Add roasted vegetables and some water to the jar of your KitchenAid® Pro Line® Series Blender and puree. Set aside. You can pour hot water on the spinach, then sqeeze out the excess water. Set it aside.

2. Place eggs, olive oil, salt and beet puree (or butternut squash or spinach puree) in the bowl of the KitchenAid® Stand Mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add the all-purpose and whole wheat flours and begin mixing the dough on the lowest speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium-low and knead until smooth. Occasionally stop the Stand Mixer to pull dough away from dough hook and add more all-purpose flour as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Knead dough for about 10 minutes. Wrap with plastic wrap and leave it to rest for at least 30 minutes before using.

3. While the dough is setting, mix ricotta and parmesan cheese, chopped basil, pepper, nutmeg, honey and vegetable puree. Add breadcrumbs to bind the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the filling and set aside.

4. Once the dough is ready, attach the Pasta Roller from the KitchenAid® Pasta Roller & Cutter Set to the power hub of your Stand Mixer. Then, turn the Stand Mixer onto speed 2 or 3 and run the dough ball through the Pasta Roller. Continue adjusting to a thinner setting to ensure that the sheet gets longer with each pass-through of the dough. Make sure your dough remains the width of the roller as that will be important when it’s time to fill the ravioli. Lightly flour the pasta sheet and set aside.

5. Remove the Pasta Roller and replace it with the Ravioli Maker. Gently drape one of the flattened pasta sheets over the Ravioli Maker, then turn the knob slightly so the pasta sheet feeds down into it. Place the hopper onto the Ravioli Maker. Add 2 scoops of the ravioli filling to the Ravioli Maker. Once added, press it down and smooth it out. Then, begin to turn the knob, continuing to turn until the filling is almost depleted. Add an additional 2 scoops per ravioli, smoothing and pressing down after each row of ravioli have passed through. Continue turning until all ravioli are made. Set aside to dry.

6. For more information on how to use the Ravioli Maker, follow KitchenAid’s instructions (view the Use & Care Guide).

7. While the ravioli is drying, begin to make the orange butter sauce. Juice half an orange and zest about 2 tablespoons of orange peel. Set aside. Heat butter in the 3.0-Quart Saucepan from your KitchenAid® Professional Hard Anodized Nonstick 10-Piece Set over medium-low heat, until melted. Add the orange juice and zest to the Saucepan and stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm and set aside.

8. Boil water in the 8.0-Quart Stockpot from your KitchenAid® Professional Hard Anodized Nonstick 10-Piece Set. Add the ravioli and cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to 3.0-Quart Saucepan with the melted orange butter; toss to coat. Divide ravioli among serving plates; sprinkle with parmesan and garnish with fresh basil.

9. Chef’s Note: The ingredients listed above are good for 1 variety of ravioli. If you intend to make all varieties, please ensure to triple your ingredients accordingly.