The addition of whole wheat flour to pasta dough creates a hearty, healthy version of ravioli that pairs perfectly with a creamy sweet potato and goat cheese filling. Save this recipe for a weekend afternoon; you can make a whole batch ahead of time and freeze it for a quick weeknight meal, or have it right then and there. Toss with a drizzle of olive oil or some melted butter and top with toasted nuts, seeds, greens, cheese, or all of the above.

Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Whole Wheat Ravioli

For the pasta dough:

• 1 cup all purpose flour (plus more, if needed)

• 1 cup whole wheat flour

• 4 eggs

For the filling:

• 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, skins on

• 4 oz goat cheese

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• Pinch of salt

In a large mixing bowl or a floured countertop, combine the two flours and create a dome to crack the eggs into. Add the eggs, then use a fork to whisk, gradually adding more flour as you whisk. Once the dough is too thick to whisk, set the fork aside and use your hands to knead the dough together. Once thoroughly mixed, set aside while you make the filling.

To make the filling, heat a small pot of water until boiling. Add the sweet potatoes and boil until completely soft. Remove from the water and allow to cool, then remove the skins. Mash the potatoes, then add the goat cheese, nutmeg, and salt to taste.

To make the ravioli, roll out the dough with a pasta machine or a rolling pin until the dough is very thin. Using a biscuit cutter, cut out circles from the dough. On half the circles, place a small dollop of filling in the middle. Wet your fingers with a bit of water to moisten the part of the circle not topped with filling (this helps the pieces stick together). Place a circle of dough on top, then crimp the edges with your fingers, pushing out any air bubbles. Place the finished raviolis on a floured baking sheet. If you want to save these for later, you can place the baking sheet in the freezer and then transfer the pasta to a large ziplock bag once hardened.

To cook, bring a salted pot of water to a rolling boil and add the pasta. Cook until al dente.

Toss with butter or olive oil and shower with parmesan. Toasted walnuts or pumpkin seeds, fried sage, and arugula are all delicious toppings.

My go-to egg pasta recipe is 4 eggs for every 2 1/4 cup of flour. It’s surprisingly easy, requiring just two ingredients, and with some elbow grease or a pasta machine, you can create artisanal ribbons of fettuccine or stuffed ravioli in your own kitchen.

Homemade Egg Pasta Dough

• 4 large eggs

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, adding more if needed

In a mixing bowl, add the 2 cups of flour and create a hole in the middle. Crack the eggs into the hole, whisking together with a spoon until the whites and yolks are combined. Gradually whisk in bits of flour, until the dough is too thick to whisk. Knead together with your hands until the dough comes together and forms a smooth ball, adding a bit more flour if it’s too sticky. If it’s too dry or you’ve used medium eggs instead of large, you can add a drizzle of olive oil to help the dough come together.

Allow the pasta dough to rest for 3o minutes to an hour before shaping (this helps it become more pliable).

Using a pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll the dough until it’s quite thin, just enough so you could see the silhouette of your hand through it if you held it up to the light. You can be generous with the flour here - dust the dough as you roll it out so it doesn’t stick. Cut with a sharp knife or pasta maker attachment into thin strands of linguine or fettuccine, or stuff with filling to create ravioli or tortellini. Be sure to toss the finished pasta with plenty of flour so it doesn’t stick together.

To cook, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop in the pasta in small batches. When it floats to the top, it’s cooked through - this takes maybe a minute, fresh pasta cooks fast!

Not going to cook it now? Place the shaped pasta on a parchment lined baking sheet and set it in the freezer until frozen through. You can transfer it into a ziplock bag and save it for another day - simply drop the frozen strands or stuffed pieces into salted boiling water and cook until they float to the top.

A pot of richly fragrant sauce bubbling on the stove can help counter the chill of drizzly weather this time of year. This hearty bolognese sports bits of flavorsome pork and beef perfumed with herbs and simmered alongside onion and celery in a bath of wine and tomatoes. Though it’s up for debate whether the recipe below would be technically classified bolognese or ragu depending on the wine you use, it’s indisputably delicious. I chose spaghetti pasta this last time around, but perhaps an even better (and more traditional) way to enjoy rich, substantial Italian sauces of this sort is with a pasta like tagliatelle, pappardelle, or rigatoni - these pastas have plenty of surface area to carry an ample sauce. However, if you happen to have some spaghetti on hand in a little corner of your pantry like I did, that will do nicely. Be sure to give the sauce a good amount of time to simmer away, about two hours if you can, as this will cut the acidity of the tomatoes and create a rich, decadent sauce with delectable depth in flavor.

Spaghetti Bolognese

• 8 oz ground pork*

• 8 oz ground beef*

• One 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped

• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped

• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, minced

• 1 bunch sage, minced

• 1 bunch basil, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1/2 cup wine - I prefer red, but white is lovely too.

• 1/4 cup cream (optional)

• Olive oil

• A pinch of sugar

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 lb spaghetti or your preferred pasta - tagliatelle, pappardelle, or rigatoni would be wonderful as well.

• Parmesan, for topping

*I prefer half pork and half beef for this recipe, however, a whole pound of one or the other will do. Ground Italian sausage would be a delicious substitute for the pork as well to accompany the beef. Ask at the butcher counter for 8 oz of each, but if you can only find 1 lb portions at your market, you can always make double the recipe and freeze half for another time in a large freezer-safe ziplock bag after cooling the sauce completely (if freezing, omit the cream). If you decide to do so, place the bag of frozen sauce in the fridge the night before you want to serve it to thaw, then heat in a saucepan until piping hot.

In a dutch oven or large pot, heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat until shimmering and add the onion and celery. Stir every so often and once the onions are translucent and beginning to caramelize, add the ground meat. Cook until browned, add the herbs and garlic with a bit of salt and pepper, and cook until the herbs and garlic are fragrant, about a minute. When the meat is cooked through and browning on the bottom of the pan, pour in the wine to sfumare, or deglaze, the browned bits. Stir and allow the wine to reduce for a minute, then add the crushed tomatoes and a pinch of sugar. Turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 2 hours.

When the sauce has cooked for about 2 hours, bring a salted pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Taste the sauce while the pasta cooks and add salt and pepper if needed. Drain the pasta, top with sauce, and grate a generous amount fresh parmesan over the top.