Fall is here! Hip, Hip, Hurray!
Fall is here and don’t you just love this time of the year. Thoughts of comfort foods start filling my head and this recipe turned out soooo good I almost knocked the breath out of myself patting myself on the back.
Our leaves haven’t started falling yet; sometimes that doesn’t start until December or even January before we see the sky full of floating leaves. But, with a fading summer and those nice cool nights ahead of us it won’t be long before we are seeing piles of leaves raked up just waiting for some kid to jump and play in them.
While in Chicago several weeks ago Fall was starting to show its prettier side. On our walk to take our grandson, Oliver, to school one day we enjoyed flowers still blooming but also sidewalks full of leaves that gave way to a crunchy sound as we strolled on top of them. We cooked some roasted chicken one night on the grill and a grilled salmon another night and the two sides that couldn’t wait to make their appearance again were Stephanie’s Magic Beans and my Cauliflower Mash with Kale which went perfect with both dishes and to top one of the meals off we cooked some chopped apples and cinnamon which we ladled over ice cream and I think this recipe is going to go onto my favorites list of things I have blogged.
I took a shortcut making the ravioli and used wonton pieces instead of making my own pasta. We all look for shortcuts and I think this is one shortcut you won’t mind taking. And, the good thing about this recipe is that you can freeze the uncooked raviolis for an easy meal some winter night ahead. (If you freeze the raviolis, put in a single layer and put in freezer until they are frozen then put enough in one bag for a meal.)
At the Firefly restaurant in Nashville back in the summer my husband had a Butternut Squash Ravioli with goat cheese and what better to go over it than a Browned Sage Butter. I think this ravioli screams for the browned butter and browned butter and sage are a perfect pair.
There’s a lot of pictures here but I wanted you to see all the steps.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Sausage Bread has always been one of my favorite breakfast items to have in my freezer in the winter months.
Some of the ingredients.
Cut in half and scoop out all the seeds.
Bake on cookie sheet for about an hour until tender when poked with a knife.
Scoop out the pulp. You will need about 2 cups.
Saute the chopped onions for a few minutes then add in the garlic.
Put the pulp in food processor and pulse a few times and then add in the goat cheese.
Transfer the squash mixture to a bowl and stir in the onions and seasonings.
Put two teaspoons mixture into the center of each wonton circle. Dip your finger in water and wet the outer edge.
Put another pasta round on top of the filling and using the tines of a fork crimp the edges together.
Put the proscuitto on a cookie sheet and brown in 350° oven until crisp.
Crisp proscuitto and fried sage leave, both for garnishing the cooked ravioli.
Add 4-5 raviolis at a time to slowly boiling water and cook until they float to the top and then cook another 3-4 minutes. Carefully lift from water with slotted spoon or spider strainer.
Add the strained pastas to a large with the butter you have browned. Spoon some of the butter over each squash. Plate, top with some fried sage leaves and crumbled proscuitto and pour a little more of the butter on top of each of the raviolis.
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Browned Sage Butter
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/2 c. finely minced onion
- 1 medium-large size butternut squash you need 2 c. squash puree
- 1 egg yolk
- salt and pepper to taste
- dash of nutmeg
- 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
- 4-6 oz. goat cheese
- 2 pkgs. wonton wrappers round or square
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 2 clove garlic
- 16 fresh sage leaves
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scrap out the seeds and membranes. Place the squash halves cut side down in the pan and bake for about an hour or until tender. Let cool slightly and then scoop out the squash. Either mash by hand or put through food mill or you can even puree it in a food processor. You will need 1 1/2 cups of the squash.
- Melt the butter in a skillet and when hot add the minced shallots and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the shallots to the butternut squash. Stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the crumbled goat cheese and stir until it has melted somewhat, then stir in the egg yolk and 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- Put a row of the wonton wrappers out on a sheet of waxed paper. Put about 2 teaspoons of the squash mixture into the center of each wonton and then dip your finger in water and go around the outside each of each ravioli and. Top with another wonton piece and press down to seal. You can use a fork if you want to leave little crimped marks. Continue making these and then set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter slowly in a small skillet, when it starts to bubble, add the sage leaves and cook slowly until the butter starts to brown and when the sage leaves get crisp, remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Reserve the leaves for garnish
- Bring pop of water to a boil and then salt with a couple pinches of salt. Drop the raviolis into the boiling water and cook until they float to the top, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from water with slotted spoon.
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