In recent years on both sides of the Atlantic, January has been renamed as Veganuary to encourage more people to become vegetarian or vegans.  Whilst becoming a vegetarian is not for everyone, it is an ideal opportunity to eat a few veggie meals and shed some of those Christmas and New Year pounds.  So with that in mind I decided to make my first recipes of 2026 vegetarian, because after holidays I need to lose 5-6 pounds myself!

I currently don’t own a pasta machine so just showed the students how it is possible to roll pasta out thinly with just a rolling pin.

Fresh Pasta recipe©Kevin Ashton 2025

For the Pasta Dough

300 g 00 Flour

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

A splash of Olive oil*

Semolina flour, for dusting and rolling

Method:

1. Add the flour, eggs and olive oil (if using) to a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process to form dough, about 30-45 seconds. Remove to your work surface and cover with an upturned bowl for 5 minutes – it will be much easier to knead in the next step.
2. Then, knead the dough into a smooth ball, about 6-8 minutes  Cover again, and let rest for at least 30 minutes to relax the gluten. Tip: Use this resting time to make the ravioli filling.
3. Line 2-3 baking trays with a sheet of parchment paper. Cut a second sheet of parchment paper for each baking tray.
4. Divide the pasta into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out as thin as you can, so you can see through it. Use a tiny amount of semolina to stop the pasta sticking to the rolling pin.
5. Lay the pasta on the parchment paper and dust lightly with semolina flour. Cover the pasta sheets with more parchment paper and a slightly damp tea towel or cling film until ready to use to prevent the pasta from drying out.

Pasta Notes:

When rolling pasta with a rolling pin, it helps if the rolling pin is quite heavy to help roll the pasta out thinly.

Mushroom Ravioli with Butternut Squash Sauce©Kevin Ashton2026 (serves 4 people)

After making the pasta, make the mushroom filling.

Mushroom Ravioli filling 

20 grams butter

300 grams chestnut mushrooms roughly chopped

10 grams dried porcini mushrooms

40 grams shallots or onions finely diced

120 grams ricotta cheese (drained)

25 grams Padano/Parmesan cheese grated

5 grams fresh garlic finely chopped

Method:

1. Soak the dried porcini mushrooms, for 15 minutes, in just enough boiling water to cover them. Drain and squeeze out the moisture then chop finely, keep the liquid.
2. Heat the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, add the finely chopped shallots and sauté until soft and translucent.
3. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook down until the mushrooms are softened.
4. Now add the garlic and the liquid from the porcini mushrooms and continue to cook (stirring from time to time) until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are dry.
5. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool for before processing. Mince the mushroom mix in a food processor until fine, then add the ricotta, Padano cheese and mix briefly until combined. Season lightly with salt and pepper and chill until ready to use.

Butternut squash sauce serves 4

650 grams Butternut Squash peel and diced

1 Tbsp Honey

500 ml Vegetable stock

150 ml water

A few fresh sage leaves

80 grams shallots roughly chopped

20 grams butter

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Making Butternut Sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C
2. Drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil onto the butternut squash and fry in a frying pan over medium heat. Once it starts to brown lightly, transfer to the oven to roast.
3. Check after 10 minutes and add the shallots and return to the oven.
4. When the butternut squash is tender drizzle on the honey then return to the oven for 4-5 minutes.
5. In a stainless steel saucepan heat the vegetable stock on a medium heat, add 3-4 sage leaves and the butternut squash and shallot mixture. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the sage leaves and use a blender or food processor until the sauce is very smooth. Now add the water and season lightly with salt and pepper.
6. Add the final Tbsp olive oil and the butter to the butternut squash sauce just before serving to make the sauce glossy.

Optional wild mushrooms and fresh sage garnish (as I did)

Sauté 30 grams of wild mushrooms per person in a little butter and olive oil to garnish the dish. Season lightly with salt and pepper as you cook them. Finely dice a few small sage leaves to garnish the ravioli with and use a sage leaf if you wish.

Making the Ravioli

1. Us a cookie cutter to cut a top and a bottom for each ravioli. I used a 2⅝ inch (68mm)  cookie cutter which gave me about 6-7 ravioli per person for 4 portions (28 ravioli)
2. Use a  a good teaspoon of mix per ravioli and dampen the pasta with a little cold water to get a good seal.
3. Cook the ravioli until tender in a large pot of boiling salted water, until the ravioli is floating and tender. Drain carefully onto baking paper until you assemble the dish.

To serve

Spoon some butternut squash sauce into a bowl and place 6-7 ravioli per person. Spoon over a little more sauce and garnish with the wild mushrooms and finely chopped sage.

Mushroom Ravioli with Butternut Squash Sauce©Kevin Ashton2026