Butternut Squash Ravioli, brown butter, walnut crumb, fried sage leaves, crisp shallots
Butternut squash makes a delicious filling for ravioli and is classically served with brown butter and fried sage leaves. I made some changes to the tradition and combined it here with goat cheese in the filling and walnut crumb as topping for a nice crunchy element.
Making the pasta at home is part of the adventure in making this recipe so I encourage you to try. I made egg pasta with 2 1/3 cups flour and 3 eggs and it yielded about 20 ravioli of good size which was just about enough for the filling, with a little filling left over.
The sauce is simple butter that has been simmered until golden with the white milk solids skimmed off during the cooking. The crumb mixture is made with toasted walnuts and bread crumbs mixed in a food processor and sprinkled on top. Serve this with plenty for freshly shredded parmesan or grana padano.
Recipe:
Homemade Pasta:
2 1/3 cups flour
3 eggs
Place the flour in a mound on your work surface and make a well in the center wide enough to hold the eggs.
Break the eggs into the well and mix with a fork like you would scramble eggs.
Once the eggs are mixed begin adding flour from the inside of the well until the mixture is thick enough to knead.
Knead the dough until smooth, incorporating just enough flour as needed. You may not use all the flour.
Once you have reached a smooth dough, wrap it in plastic and leave on the counter to rest for 30 minutes.
When ready to proceed with the ravioli divide the dough in three pieces and run through a pasta machine to create ribbons of pasta.
Using a small ice cream scoop place the butternut squash filling in mounds along the dough strip.
Moisten the dough around the filling, not too much, just to help it stick, then fold it over the dough, pressing your fingers around the filling to remove any air bubbles..
Cut the ravioli with a ravioli cutter or a knife. The ravioli cutter creates a seal. If you cut them with a knife then press edges to seal.
Cook the ravioli in plenty of salted boiling water until done, about 3 minutes.
Remove with a slotted spoon, garnish with items below and serve.
Butternut squash filling:
1 small butternut squash
Olive oil
1 small log goat cheese
Cut the squash in half, brush with oil and roast in 400F until soft.
Scoop out the flesh and while warm, mix with the softened goat cheese, mashing it all together.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Brown Butter sauce:
1/2 cup butter
Melt the butter in a small pan or skillet over medium heat.
Continue cooking the butter, scooping out the milk solids, until it begins to run golden with brown specks, remove from heat.
Walnut crumb:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup toasted sourdough bread crumbs
Toast the walnuts in 350F oven until they are fragrant begin to turn golden.
Remove from oven, let cool, then chop in a processor together adding the bread crumbs for the last couple fo pulses. Don’t over process as it needs top have texture.
Fried shallots and sage leaves:
Heat some oil in a small pan or a skillet.
Add shallots and cook until crisp and golden. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Add sage leaves and cook until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels
Assembling:
Arrange a few ravioli in each plate, drizzle brown butter sauce over, sprinkle with walnut crumb.
Add sage leaves and scatter fried shallots over.
Grate parmesan over and serve warm.
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