After nearly a month, our kitchen reno is complete. What better way to celebrate than to have a family cook night. Our island now has space for chairs, which makes it way more cosy and it is a great space to hang out together. After a morning spent raking leaves and getting the lawn ready for winter, we were all ready for a good meal and a quiet evening together. What made it even better was that Dear Daughter had nothing on her social schedule.
My pantry is bursting with various different kinds of squash. As it has been difficult to actually cook recently, now that the kitchen is finished, I have no excuse but to put together some dishes. I am actually not a huge fan of squash but this ravioli dish is super good and super easy. I will admit that it was almost a disaster. We tried to use pre-made pasta dough but we could not get the sides to seal no matter what we tried. I suddenly remembered that we had wonton wrappers and Dear Husband did an exceptional job with the brown butter sage sauce. In the end, we had enough for appetizer portions with plenty of squash puree set aside for another attempt sometime. We all had a good laugh with the near dinner disaster and that made the evening that much more fun. So, squash ravioli for an appetizer and good prosciutto and cheeses to follow.
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Sauce
I used a combination of butternut and honey nut squash. Honey nut is new to me...they look like miniature butternuts. If you cannot find them, then just use butternut.
Butternut Squash Puree
2 large butternut squash, sliced lengthwise.
1 onion sliced
1T butter
1/2 tsp ground ginger
S&P
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Place the squash cut side down on the baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes or until you can put a fork easily through them.
In a saucepan, melt 1T butter. Add the onions and lightly sauté until translucent. Add the ground ginger and cook for an additional minute. Scoop the squash pulp from each half and add to the onions. Cook for one minute, stirring to combine the ingredients. Puree the mixture in a blender. Check the consistency. If it has too much liquid, then place back in the saucepan and lightly reduce until the puree is thicker.
Ravioli
Wonton wrappers
3T diced shallots
3T grated Parmesan Cheese
2T heavy cream
Salt and white pepper
1T butter
Pinch of nutmeg
Saute the shallots in butter for one to to minutes. Add the puree and cook for an additional two minutes. Add the heavy cream, checking to make sure that the consistency is not too runny. Cook one more minute. Remove from heat, add the cheese, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.
Set aside to cool.
Construction: Place 1 1/2 t of filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Swipe water around the edges with your finger. Bring one corner to the opposite corner to make a triangle. Press the sides together to seal. Set aside and continue until you have the amount you want. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the wontons three to four minutes. You may have to do this in batches.
Brown Butter Sage Sauce
8 T Butter
12 Sage leaves
In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the sage leaves and lightly crisp. As the wontons are finished, transfer them to the sauce and stir lightly.
To serve, place ravioli in a warmed dish. Spoon butter sauce over the top. Sprinkle grated cheese and a few sage leaves over the top.
Enjoy!
