Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Ravioli
I love making ravioli. It's fun and really easy and very rewarding because you end up with lots of ravioli in the freezer. My favorite is my Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Ravioli that I make every fall/winter. Here's two of my recipes!
small square wonton wrappers (I usually buy 4 packages to I don’t run out mid-assembly)
butter
parmesan cheese
8 cups butternut squash, cubed
8 cloves of garlic, whole and unpeeled
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Tools:
Ravioli edge cutter
small pastry brush (1-2 inches)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl toss the squash with the olive oil, the whole cloves of garlic (not peeled) and all of the seasonings (black pepper, salt, thyme, tarragon, parsley, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, brown sugar, onion and garlic powder) until the squash and garlic is totally coated. Transfer to a baking sheet and roast for about one hour or until the garlic is tender and the squash is nice and caramelized and easily pierced with a knife. Allow it to cool.
Meanwhile, clear and clean a work surface. Combine the two eggs and the water in a small bowl and set aside with the pastry brush, the edge cutter and the wonton wrappers.
When the squash is cooled, peel all of the garlic cloves. Put the garlic and squash in a food processor and blend it. Then toss in the egg, the fresh sage leaves and the cottage cheese and blend again. When it's well combined, transfer it to a bowl and head to your work area.
Lay out 6 wonton wrappers on a cutting board. Paint a small amount of the egg mixture on the wonton wrappers (if they get too wet they will crack when you freeze them!). Using a spoon, put about one tablespoon of the mixture onto the center of 3 of the wrappers and top with the other 3 wrappers. Be sure to seal them well and gently squeeze out any air bubbles. Then trim the edges with the edge cutter. Place the finished ravioli on a cookie sheet. Continue to do this until you've used up all your wonton wrappers or run out of mix! Keep a few out fresh (5-6 is usually a good serving size per person) and pop the rest in the freezer. Once they're frozen you should gently pop them off the cookie sheer and put them in a plastic ziploc bag. I always loose a few when I am removing them from the cookie sheet because they tend to stick a bit. Next time I am going to use parchment paper to line them! I would definitely recommend doing this if you have some on hand.
To cook the ravioli, bring water to a simmer in a large shallow pan (like a nonstick pan) and gently place the ravioli into the shallow water and allow to heat through, usually about 3 minutes when fresh and 6-7 when frozen. Meanwhile, heat a small pan over medium heat and toss in a couple tablespoons of butter with a fresh sage leaf or two. Allow the butter to melt and begin to bubble and froth. Stir it constantly with a spoon and watch it until it begins to turn a light golden brown color and remove it from the heat. Carefully remove the ravioli, one by one, from the water with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain before placing them on a plate. Drizzle with a bit of the browned butter and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Yum!
Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli
Ingredients:
small square wonton wrappers (this recipe uses 2 packages)
fresh sage leaves (optional)
Filling:
15 crimini mushrooms, chopped
10 oz. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and throughly drained
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 egg
olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
Makes about 30 ravioli.
Directions:
Set up a clean work station. Combine the two eggs and the water in a small bowl and set aside with the pastry brush, the edge cutter and the wonton wrappers.
Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pan and sauté the mushrooms until they are golden brown, transfer to a large bowl. Sauté the shallot and garlic in the same pan just for 1-2 minutes, until they are fragrant, transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms. Add the spinach, parmesan and ricotta and mix until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper before mixing the egg in.
From there the assembly and cooking directions are the same as above! You could skip the fresh sage for the brown butter in this one if you don't have any on hand.
Poppy loves to help make these but she can be a bit heavy handed with the egg wash which causes the ravioli to crack when frozen. So you've gotta keep an eye on the kiddo's "painting" if you are having them help. For this recipe I actually let her choose (with some persuasion) the ingredients so that she would enjoy eating them. She insisted she wanted only cheese but when we picked everything out she got excited and ate five and has the rest stashed in the freezer for easy, healthy dinners for all of us.
Printable Recipe:
Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Ravioli
Christian believes that the three most important things to creating good food are: salt, 
Meanwhile he was searing the pre-cooked duck leg to get it crispy.
