Homemade Butternut Squash Ravioli

One of my new favorite dishes is Butternut Squash Ravioli. I've made this dish twice now, each time basing the recipe on the one found here , each time making a few changes.  Yes, even with the use of wonton wrappers, this dish is pretty labor intensive, but the ravioli can easily be prepared a few days in advance, the sauce takes only minutes to whip up, and really, the taste and texture and the satisfaction at having made this beautiful dish by hand, make all the effort well worth it.  Definitely make this on a night you have guests, as this is a dish sure to wow. 

Homemade butternut squash ravioli

The recipes I have found online for this dish usually call for using one cup of butternut squash.  But one butternut squash yields more like 2 1/2 cups of fleshy squash, so I double the recipe and change the proportions a bit.  This dish is vegetarian, not vegan, but I could see a cashew or other nut "cheese" making a nice substitute for the cheeses I have used.  Here's my recipe:

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

kosher salt (~1/2 tbsp + more to taste)

fresh cracked black pepper (~1 tsp + more to taste)

nutmeg (~ 1 tsp + more to taste)

cayenne pepper (~ 1/2 tsp)

1 cup soft cream cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

3 tbsp heavy cream

1 package wonton wrappers (seek out egg-free brands if cooking vegan)

2 tbsp butter

fresh sage (or dried, if you can't get your hands on fresh like I couldn't)

pumpkin pie spice

2 tbsp olive oil

sliced blanched almonds (optional - I did not have these on hand)

To start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees in order to roast the butternut squash.  Wash the outside of the squash, cut off the ends, then slice it in half lengthwise.  Use a spoon to remove the seeds and the stringy surrounding flesh.  Place the two halves in a roasting pan, fleshy side up, and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Then, pour water over the squash, also filling the pan with a shallow (less than a cm) layer of liquid.  (The first time I made this dish, I poured a combination of orange juice and water over the squash for the roasting, which worked nicely.  I would have done the same this time around only I didn't have any juice on hand and none of the recipes online called for the use of anything other than water as far as I could see.)  Cover the pan with tin foil and roast for 35-45 minutes.  Then go have a drink, because you really can't proceed until the squash is done roasting and has cooled a bit :)

Spiced butternut squash and cheese ravioli filling

Once the butternut squash has fully cooked and cooled a bit, scoop it off the rind into a mixing bowl.  You will probably have about two and a half cups of squash, which is going to make a lot of ravioli filling.  If you don't want so much, cut the recipe in half.  Or freeze half the filling.  Or use it for something else, like I did - I used about half of the filling to make 44 ravioli, then I used the leftover mixture to make butternut squash risotto two days later.

Add to the butternut squash the cream cheese, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and pumpkin pie spice.  The amount of spice is something you really need to determine by tasting the butternut squash mixture.  It will also largely depend on how ripe and flavorful the butternut squash was to start, so each time you make this dish the spice amounts may vary greatly depending on the particular squash.

Once the butternut squash filling is seasoned to your liking, set up your ravioli work station: a flat dry surface on which to lay the wonton wrappers and a finger bowl of water.  (Begin heating water to boil the finished ravioli around this point.)  Scoop about 1/2 tbsp size dollops of filling into the center of each wonton wrapper.  Use either a basting brush or your finger to moisten the outside edges of the wonton so that you can then fold and press the ravioli closed. 

As the water is almost ready to boil, heat butter and olive oil in a saute pan.  Add sage, salt, pepper, sliced almonds and pumpkin pie spice and heat over low heat stirring frequently.  Cook the ravioli in the boiling water for approximately four minutes.  Remove from water with a large pasta utensil, add butter sage sauce, top with some more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and viola! Delicious homemade butternut squash ravioli!!