Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce
Recipe Notes Adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse.
Ingredients
9 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
1 cup butternut squash puree (see instructions below)
Salt and white pepper to taste
A pinch nutmeg
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
6 large pasta sheets (use store-bought if you don’t have time to make fresh; the sheets from my local pasta shop are about 8″ x 11″)
1 dozen or so fresh sage leaves
1 egg, beaten
Directions
To make the puree: Split one butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and place the halves cut-side up on a cookie sheet covered with oiled aluminum foil. Bake at 350°F until fork-tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool, then scoop out the flesh and pulse in a food processor until smooth.
To make the ravioli filling: Sauté the shallots in 1 tablespoon of butter until softened and add to the squash puree in the food processor. Season with salt and pepper, and add the nutmeg and 3 tablespoons of the cheese. Pulse until mixed well and smooth. Remove the mixture to a separate bowl and let it cool completely.
To make the ravioli: Lay a sheet of fresh pasta on a flat, clean surface. Scoop heaping teaspoons of squash mixture at intervals onto the pasta sheet, leaving adequate space around each mound to press down when you form the ravioli. In the spaces between, use a brush and coat the pasta with egg wash.
Place a second pasta sheet on top and, using your fingers, carefully press around each squash mound to begin forming your ravioli. When the two sheets are fairly well adhered, use a large knife to cut the pasta and make individual ravioli. Make sure to leave enough pasta around the edges to hold the ravioli together (you may use a fork, pressing fairly hard around the edges of each raviolo to ensure it won’t open up during cooking). Repeat with the remaining filling and sheets of pasta.
In a large pan, melt the remaining butter. Add the sage to the butter and cook until the butter starts to brown. Remove from heat.
Add your ravioli to a pot of boiling salted water. Cook about 3 minutes, until pasta floats and/or is pale in color. Drain well.
Place several ravioli on each plate and dress with sage butter sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve hot. Mangia!