Butternut Squash Ravioli with Peppered POM Sauce

Ingredients:

• 473 ml POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
• 375g light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons toasted, crushed black peppercorn

• 59 ml POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
• 4 heaped tablespoons of arils from 1-2 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates
• 4 medium fresh figs, peeled and split
• 60mls sherry
• Pinch sugar
• 12 medium butternut squash raviolis (store-bought or homemade – see below)
• 85g butter, cold and diced
• 1 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
• 60mls port
• 4 slices Italian prosciutto, each cut lengthwise into 3 strips
• 60g crumbled soft goats’ cheese log
• 30g flat leaf parsley

• 400g (14oz) ‘00’ flour (it must be ‘double-zero’, which is extra-finely milled, exposing the gluten that will give the pasta it’s characteristic soft and elastic texture.)
• 4 fresh eggs
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) olive oil
• 75ml (5 tablespoons) cold water
• A pinch of salt
• Extra flour for dusting
• Ravioli filling of your choice – e.g. rabbit, spinach & ricotta or crayfish.
• Half a butternut squash, cubed to
• dice-size, boiled or roasted until soft
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Plenty of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese - to taste
• 2 teaspoons of butter
• A touch of freshly ground nutmeg to taste
• 2 shallots finely diced and sweated off in the butter over a medium-low heat until translucent.

Directions:

Combine the light brown sugar and peppercorns with 473 ml pomegranate juice in a small saucepan. Reduce slowly over low heat until it has the consistency of syrup – this will take around 30 minutes. Strain the liquid and allow it to cool to room temperature.

Ravioli (if you are making your own, which is easy!):

Pile the flour on a clean flat surface and make a well in centre. Add the eggs, oil and salt and using your fingers in a circular motion, slowly mix in flour. Once the dough has come together in a ball, knead for 5 minutes until the dough is elastic and springs back when pressed. Add more water and flour if required, otherwise cover the pasta with cling film and rest for 30mins and clean the surface with the flat edge of a pallet knife.

To make the ravioli filling, combine the cooked butternut squash, fried-off shallots, salt, Parmesan cheese and nutmeg until soft, but still with texture and place in a piping bag with a plain nozzle

Once the dough has rested, roll out the dough on the cleaned and floured surface until it is paper thin. Fold in half lengthways, mark a point where it creases and unfold again. Pipe the butternut squash or other chosen filling onto one half of the pasta at 2.5cm intervals. Re-fold the pasta and seal around the filling with your fingers (use a little water as glue if the pasta is dry). Cut out ravioli in squares or using a round pastry cutter and crimp the edges with a fork.

To cook the ravioli, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the ravioli in batches. Once they rise to surface, cook for a 1min, drain and team with the sauce.

Score the fresh pomegranates and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranates under water to free the arils (seeds and their fleshy case). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.)

Toss the peeled and split figs with the sherry and sugar. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt the butter and quickly sauté the boiled ravioli until hot-through. Once they are coated in butter but not coloured, set the ravioli aside and keep warm. Add the shallots and figs to the nowempty pan and cook them off, adding the pomegranate juice and port after a minute and then continue sautéing for another minute or two, leaving the fig warm and moist, but still with their texture and shape.

Place three raviolis onto each plate along with two fig halves and three strips of prosciutto between the raviolis. Crumble the goats’ cheese equally onto each plate and drizzle the pepperedpomegranate sauce over raviolis as desired. Garnish each plate with leaves of flat-leafed parsley and the fresh pomegranate arils.

* For 2 cups of juice, cut 4-6 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.