taste of fall. [homemade butternut squash ravioli w. brown butter sauce]
Every Thanksgiving, I always look forward to the homemade butternut squash ravioli made by the host, Kitty. The pasta is absolutely delicious. My mom randomly bought two butternut squashes and told me to decide on something to make with the squash. Since we hadn’t made homemade pasta dough in a while, I thought it would be fun to use the squash to make my favorite ravioli.
I searched online for potential recipes and chose Bobby Flay’s butternut squash ravioli with a brown butter and sage sauce. I know Bobby’s recipe are typically more gourmet and time-consuming, but I was ready to take on the challenge. Although the entire process of cooking the squash, making the filling, sauce and dough took more than a few hours, it was more than worth it in the end.
Making the dough from scratch made all the difference. The tenderness and smoothness of the ravioli was delectable when paired with the delicate butternut squash filling. Drizzling the butter and hazelnut sauce over the ravioli boosted the flavor tenfold.
Initially, I was hesitant about adding chipotle sauce to the filling because of its heat. However, after tasting the filling without the spice, I realized that the orange flavor was too sweet. The two teaspoons of adobe sauce balanced the sweetness of the orange—Bobby Flay really does know what he’s doing.
Eating this pasta increased my anticipation for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to indulge in this savory dish again next month!
Butternut squash filling recipe:
2 butternut squash, halved and seeded
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg
1 tbsp. finely chopped orange zest
2 tsp. chipotle adobe sauce
1 tbsp. dry parsley
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 eggs mixed with 2 tbsp. water, for egg wash
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Place squash on baking sheet and roast until soft, 45 minutes to an hour. Scoop out flesh and run through a food processor. Place the puree into a medium saucepan and cook over low heat until almost dry. Add the remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Lay a sheet of pasta dough on a lightly floured work surface and distribute a heaping teaspoon-sized portion of the filling at least two inches apart. Use your fingertip or a brush to moisten the edges of the pasta sheet with the egg wash. Carefully place a second sheet of the pasta dough on top of the first and press with your fingertips to separate the rows of filling. Repeat with the remaining dough.
With a ravioli cutter or pastry wheel, cut along straight lines on the vertical and horizontal to form each ravioli square. Press the edges closed with your fingertips to seal well.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Carefully drop in the ravioli and cook for about 5 minutes. Drain, plate and spoon butter sauce over pasta.
Ravioli dough recipe:
4 large eggs
1 tbsp. water
3 1/2 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
Sift flour in a pile on a clean work surface or cutting board. Add salt to flour. Create a well in the middle of the flour and crack eggs into well. Mix eggs with fork, then incorporate eggs into flour with hands or fork. Add water to create dough, adding additional if necessary for dough to form. Texture of dough will not be smooth and will seem dry.
Let dough rest for 20 minutes. Divide dough into four pieces before processing with pasta sheet roller attachment.
Brown butter sauce recipe:
2 sticks butter
1/4 cup coarsely ground hazelnuts
1/4 cup heavy cream
8 sage leaves, chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
Melt butter in a medium saute pan over low to medium heat. Add hazelnuts and cook until hazelnuts are golden brown. Add the heavy cream and cook for 1 minute. Add sage and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
