Chef Boyardee it Aint: Squash, Spinach & Bacon Ravioli

Hello Cheapskates,

It's been a while since my last update. No, I haven't given up on the project and no, I certainly haven't stopped cooking. This week I bring you something that I haven't tried before- a Ravioli made entirely from scratch.

What's great about this recipe is that what you put inside of the ravioli is entirely up to you. I came up with this one through rustling through the vegetable crisper, and pulling some unused bacon stuck to the back of the fridge (let's be honest, we've all been there).

If you can't find Yellow Squash, you could just as easily use butternut squash. This recipe takes roughly 30 mins to make, serves 3, and costs around $2 a head.

It Took me 10 minutes to take this photo. This is not a joke.

Go Get:

1 Yellow Squash

1 Bag of Spinach

2-3 Rashers of Bacon (The ball of cheap cooking bacon available at most UK supermarkets works just fine)

2 Handfuls of grated cheese, preferably Parmesan.

4 White Mushrooms

3 Cloves of Garlic

3 Eggs

300-400g Flour

Olive Oil,

Salt & Pepper

The Action:

1. Put some water on to boil. Shred the squash using a cheese grater, finely cut the garlic and combine in a bowl. Crumble the mushrooms with your hands into rough piece mix with the squash and garlic.

2. Roughly chop the bacon and fry using a small amount of oil. After the bacon bits have started to turn crispy, throw in the garlic squash & mushroom. Fry for a further few minutes, drain the excess fat & water and put back into the bowl.

3. Roughly chop your spinach and combine with the bacon, mushroom and squash. Throw in the cheese and season the mixture with a large pinch of salt and pepper. It should look something like this:

4. Time to make the pasta sheets. If you have a blender, crack three eggs and combine with the flour in the mixing bowl. Add 3/4th tsp of salt and 1tsp of olive oil. Blend until mixed. Keep adding flour until the mixture has lost it's stickiness. If you don't have a blender, pour the flour onto a counter-top, create a well in the middle and crack your eggs into it. Get your hands dirty and mix.

5. Kneed the dough for around 8 minutes. Cut the dough-ball in half and either run it through a pasta maker (I don't have one), or roll it out using a rolling pin covered in flour.

6. Place your fillings on one of the pasta sheets 2 inches apart from each other. Take the yolk of one egg, beat it, and spread around the fillings. This will be the glue that holds the ravioli together.

7. Cover with the second sheet of pasta, and cut out the individual ravioli pieces. Press down to get out all of the air inside the ravioli and make sure to seal the sides and edges. Boil for 15 minutes and serve with a dash of olive oil and pepper.