Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli — Ravioli à la courge musquée et sauge

Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli

I never get tired of eating squashes. I love their funky shapes, varied colors, the sweetness of the vegetable and the numerous dishes that can be prepared with them, ranging from savory to sweet food. I can still remember a Paul Gayler’s cake that P. prepared a long time ago — he made it even twice — made with butternut squash. One of my favorite squashes. I like its deep orange color and the delicate taste it diffuses. Despite my obvious comments on how much I loved P.’s cake, how much he impressed me with it and how much especially I would love to see him repeat the experience, I have not yet managed to convince him to head back into the kitchen to bake it for me. “Mais non, tu les fais mieux que moi”, (You do it better than I do) he answers when I try to insist a tiny bit more. Is this an answer, I ask? I mean, he is really missing the point. “Ah non, ne dis pas cela, ce n’est pas la même chose. J’aime juste quand c’est toi qui le fait. Ça a un autre goût”, I replied in a louder voice (Don’t tell me this, I just like when you do it, it tastes nicer). Hear this because it is true. Food always tastes much better when someone is preparing it for you. There is magic inside. Not ready to give in, I had to use another strategy and make a deal with my little stubborn hubbie. He makes the cake for me again and I prepare ravioli. I wonder how comes that I started first. I am still waiting for the cake.

When I spoke to you last week about my recent Italian phase, I was really seriously meaning it. I have been fascinated and obsessed with working pasta dough for a few weeks now, and after making lasagna a few times, I moved swiftly to preparing fresh ravioli. It was about time to get out the round ravioli maker bought months before to prepare sunny flowers full of deliciousness. Because they really are. I fumbled in the freezer where I had a bag of frozen roasted butternut squash purée (Thank God for thinking ahead!) and set myself to work.

Ravioli fillings are fun to play with. They offer a panel of endless possibilities. This one is simple and relies on the addition of hazelnut flour added to the vegetable. It adds a nutty taste to the sweetness of the squash. Then, the orange sauce that accompanies the dish complements it beautifully, and is easy to make. There is one thing however. How comes it takes two minutes to eat them when I obviously needed more than that to prepare them. Have you noticed how often this is the case with food?

We sat at the table to eat dinner and then it happened again. Like any time I prepare dishes like this one, whenever I cook anything remotely saying Italian and pasta, comfy yet also dressed-up, P. and I were greedy. I had initially planned to keep some ravioli for our respective lunches the following day, but my plan failed. We could not stop. One more, and one more again, until it became obvious that lunch for the next day was slowly becoming more of a wish than a reality. In the end, there was only barely enough for a one-person lunch. Only one! I cannot believe that P. is even the one who got it! I think I could call this love!

Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli

(For 4 people)

You need:

For the Ravioli Dough: see my post here

For the Filling:

  • 9 oz cooked butternut squash purée
  • 1 oz grated parmesan
  • 3 Tbsp ground hazelnut
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp sage leaves, chopped

For the Orange Sauce:

  • Juice of 2 large organic oranges
  • 2 oz butter
  • 6 sage leaves
  • 1 inch ginger root
  • Salt and pepper


Steps:

  • Start by preparing your pasta dough ahead of time following the instructions here.
  • In the meantime, prepare the sauce. Bring the orange juice to a boil, with the ginger sliced. Stop the heat and let infuse covered for 15 mns before adding the pieces of butter.
  • Discard the ginger, season with salt and pepper and keep warm. When ready to serve, add the sage leaves finely cut.
  • To prepare the filling, mix together all ingredients in a food processor.
  • Use a pasta machine if you have one to make thin pasta sheets (or roll by hand). Make sure to cover the dough with a towel while working as it dries quickly.
  • Cut your first ravioli sheet and place a small amount of filling on each.
  • Use some egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little bit water) to brush the edges of each ravioli and place the second sheet of ravioli on top. Seal by pressing on the edges so that they stick.
  • Cut with a ravioli cutter.
  • Cook them in salted boiling water for 3 mns or so, until the dough is Al Dente.
  • Serve the ravioli with the orange sauce and shaved parmesan.
Le coin français
Ravioli à la courge musquée et sauge

(Pour 4 personnes)

Ingrédients :

Pour la pâte à ravioli : voir les instructions ici

Pour la farce :

  • 250 g de purée de courge musquée cuite
  • 30 g de parmesan, finement râpé
  • 3 Tbsp de poudre fine de noisettes
  • Sel et poivre
  • 1 échalote, hachée
  • 1 càs de feuilles de sauge

Pour la sauce à l’orange :

  • Jus de 2 grosses oranges bio
  • 60 g de beurre
  • 6 feuilles de sauge
  • 2,5 cm de racine de gingembre
  • Sel et poivre


Étapes :

  • Commencez par préparer la pâte à ravioli à l’avance en suivant les instructions ici.
  • Pendant ce temps, préparez la sauce. Versez le jus d’orange dans une casserole et amenez à ébullition avec le gingembre coupé en rondelles. Arrêtez le feu et laissez infuser à couvert pendant 15 mns, puis ajoutez le beurre en morceaux.
  • Retirez le gingembre, assaisonnez de sel et de poivre et gardez cette sauce au chaud. Au dernier moment, ajoutez la sauge ciselée.
  • Pour préparer la farce, mettez tous les ingrédients de la farce dans le bol d’un robot mixeur et mixez.
  • Utilisez votre machine à pâte si vous en avez une pour étaler de fines feuilles de pâte, ou étalez à la main. Placez un linge sur les feuilles de pâte déjà étalées pour éviter qu’elles ne dessèchent.
  • Pour préparer vos ravioli, placez une petite cuillerée de farce sur chaque emplacement pour former vos ravioli.
  • Humidifiez les bords avec un oeuf battu avec un peau d’eau et placez une autre feuille de pâte par-dessus. Pressez les bords de chaque ravioli ensemble pour vous assurer qu’ils sont bien soudés et fermés.
  • Coupez avec une roulette à ravioli.
  • Faites-les cuire dans de l’eau bouillante salée pendant environ 3mns, Al Dente.
  • Servez les ravioli avec la sauce à l’orange et des copeaux fins de parmesan.

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Posted in Grains, Vegetarian

42 comments

  1. Pretty, as always! I cannot find butternut squash anywhere here, so I need to wait until I (or my mum) grow(s) some next year:(

  2. Beautiful! And those sage leaves…a reminder of the summer herb garden. Butternut squash and sage are the perfect combination.

  3. Oh, my heart be still! Butternut squash with sage is one of my all time favorite flavor combinations! Your photos are even more beautiful than ever. Wow.

  4. divine! I want to see what this flavor combo is like, not sure I have done that before. Are you going to attend the BU Food Photo/styling conference? I am considering just blowing the budget and going (great networking opps)

  5. Oh they look delicious. The first time I saw someone make ravioli was in Italy, and it was a pumpking ravioli. How I would love to eat some of these! But I know what you mean about the frustration of seeing them disappear quickly after putting so much love and work into them. I once made gyoza from a recipe from Kuidaore, they were fabulous, but I can’t imagine putting all that work in again. So I don’t know if I feel brave enough to try making your utterly delicious-looking ravioli. Anyone out there have good experience with making ravioli fairly quickly?

  6. Magnifique! Tu es courageuse de faire ta pate à ravioli, moi je prends de won ton (oui je suis un peu flemmasse!)!

  7. Ils sont supers! très sympa cette empreinte à ravioli (jamais vu en Italie, d’ailleurs ;-))
    Je vois que tu as mis de la poudre de noisette, c’est une bonne idée, d’ordinaire dans les ravioli au potiron, on met des amaretti. C’est dans la lignée!

  8. Exquisite as always, Bea! By the way, besides the beautiful ravioli, the dishes are lovely! Did you paint them yourself?

  9. A-mazing! My ravioli are hiding under sauce to conceal their ugliness, but yours are out strutting around, showing their beautiful selves off!

  10. Mmm…butternut squash ravioli is one of my favorites! I’ll definitely try out this recipe…I’ve been looking for one for awhile.

  11. Your raviolis are so delicate , yet plump and invitingly tasty! No wonder you don’t have any left over. You miscalculate your appetite once again! I also have the same problem. I make dinner on sunday hoping to make an additional meal out of it, but before I know it — all gone!

  12. So pretty! You are really inspiring me to make my own pasta…these ones sound so delicious and look so adorable at the same time!

  13. I made butternut squash raviolis with a sage brown butter sauce for New Years. I cheated and used egg roll wrappers for the pasta. It was very quick, but your beautiful photographs have me rethinking my strategy. I think I’m going to try it again. Thanks for the great post!

  14. These raviolis are wonderful, Bea!!

    My husband has been asking for homemade raviolis since he saw Deb’s post in Smitten Kitchen.

    If he sees yours… I’m toast! 🙂

  15. Béa, I am madly in love with this dish. I also a ravioli making dish/tray..whatever you call it. The moulds are square ones and I have been looking for a few ideas fillings. I am fascinated by the ingredients in yours : not only the butternut squash but the orange, the hazelnut..You are always coming up with wonderful creations.thank you!!

  16. Qu’est-ce que ça doit être bon ça ! ET PIS j’adore tes raviois-marguerites !
    ah la la la saveur de la sauge !…

  17. I love this combination for ravioli. So good. And I LOVE those dishes. Where did you get them, may I ask?

  18. Pille, this is too bad. I guess you are right, convince your mum to grow some. Have you managed to try them before?

    Lydia, yes you are quite right. A nice flavor of summer indeed! Thank you once more.

    Bergeou, merci 😉

    Mrbunsrocks, mais de rien. Merci!

    Veronika, oui, c’est une bonne idee en effet!

    Matt, of you are so sweet. Now that makes me REALLY happy!

    Nika, thank you once more. As per my email to you, this conference is definitely on the list. We will be in touch!

    Kat, thank you. Yes I digged these plates.

    Astrid, ahah, yes if anyone has the answer to how to make them quicker, I am a taker too. Maybe we need to be born Italian!

    Adele, oui, c’est vrai. Mais tu sais, le plaisir vient vraiment de travailler la pate. Et en plus, pour trouver des wontons, il faut que j’aille a Chinatown, alors 😉

    Peggy, ah les amaretti, quelle bonne idee. Il va vraiment falloir que je m’y mette. C’est sur ma liste depuis un certain temps.

    Lynn, thank you. No, I did not make the dishes myself. Bought them at a local store here in Boston.

    Brilynn, oh no, I am sure your ravioli must have been divine.

    Carla, thank you. Cannot wait to hear what you think.

    Veron, ah, this is a good point indeed. I will know next time for the next batch. Make more!

    Peabody, thank you.

    Joey, oh yes, I am glad I am inspiring you to try. You will see, once you do it the first time, it is not that bad. All is practice, after all.

    Eric, that recipe of yours sounds wonderful. I love sage butter.

    Kitchenette, merci.

    Ellie, thanks so much. You are sweet.

    Patricia, ah, I am putting you in trouble. Funny!

    Gracianne, oui oui, tu as bien raison! Pourvu que ca dure.

    Jeff, yes nice, eh?

    Valentina, thank you. I am glad you like it. 😉

    Lilizen, merci beaucoup a toi. Ravie que ca te plaise!

    Tammy, thank you. I got the plates in a store in Boston called Black Ink!

  19. Yes, Bea, I ate butternut squash in Edinburgh every now and then:) I was especially fond of the roasted version – the beautiful colour was even more intense!
    I’ll speak to my mum:)

  20. Ha, yes this is funny like your comment about my pineapple upside down cake. Over Christmas while our boys were here we tried butternut squash ravioli! It was good but I didn’t have a really good pasta recipe at that point. Now, I have one I’m much happier with. Neither did we have the – what is it called – form gadget to put the pasta on and then fill. That looks perfect. I looked at William Sonoma and they don’t carry them. Where’d you find that? You’re not going to tell me it was your greatgrandmother’s are you?
    It’s nice to know that you sometimes just keep having one more!

  21. Tanna, there is a link on the post to buy the molds. Check it out 😉

    Merci Sophie!

  22. Hi Bea, hazelnut flour sounds tempting, can’t wait to try on some chinese pastry, never used it before, interesting 🙂 The chinese tends to use arrowroot or potato flour when comes to this sort of dumpling-ravioli style of cooking. Thanks for sharing, cheers !:)

  23. Butternut squash and sage is one of my very favorite combinations. And with nut flour… yum.

  24. yum yum yum, I have made this type of ravioli before although I have never tried making the filling with hazelbut before, I think I will give this a go. Thanks!

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