Butternut Squash Ravioli

Welcome to Day TWO of the Janie-Jean Flavor Savor! I can’t wait to get this ravioli train rolling!

Now I know what you’re thinking…

“Janie-Jean, you must be out of your freakin’ mind if you think I have time to make homemade ravioli! Isn’t it faster to just buy it at the grocery store?”

Yes, friend it is EASIER to buy your pre-packaged “Ravs” at the grocery store to prep for your family dinner, but might I offer the argument that the ravioli is the PERFECT vehicle for reinventing leftovers?

It’s as easy as taking last night’s meat and potatoes, whirring them briefly in the food processor with a few staples in your pantry and VOILA!  They’ve transformed into a delightfully, oozy filling ready to be disguised in an envelope package.  Your family won’t believe their eyes…or tastebuds!

You don’t even have to make the pasta dough from scratch.  The won ton wrappers found in the refrigerated area of the produce section would work great as well.  Done and done…out of excuses.

Put the kiddos down for a nap, roll up your sleeves and let’s get to work!  Mama’s making ravioli!

In this scenario we have leftover roasted butternut squash plus a few pantry staples- cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic and thyme.  Pulse the ingredients till it forms a smooth filling.

*TIP- You don’t want a stiff filling, but rather one that will slightly ooze when you cut into your ravioli.  If you’re filling seems a bit stiff, or starchy add in some Extra virgin olive oil to get that consistency.

Ok, so the filling is ready to go and you’re like…”Ok girl, but I don’t want to spend hours tediously filling these dang raviolis”…AH I hear you and I see you, so here’s my favorite “life hack” for filling raviolis as well as stuffing any other pastas- use a piping bag or a large zip top bag.

Just fill the bag, zip the top, cut the tip off of the bag so the filling can easily transfer onto the pasta sheet.  Filling pasta has never been easier.  This seriously, has changed my pasta stuffing game!

I would pipe about 1-2 teaspoons per ravioli, wet around the edges of the pasta sheet, then place a second pasta sheet on top and press to seal the filling between the sheets making sure to get rid of as many air pockets as possible.  Use a pasta cutter o give a nice finished edge if you want to get fancy!

Repeat until all the filling has been used.  What I like to do is place the ravioli in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets then place in the freezer.  Once frozen, I can store the frozen ravioli in a freezer storage bag to save for later and use only what I need for tonight’s dinner.

When it comes time to make the ravioli all you have to do is boil in salty water until they float.  Once the ravioli floats cook it for one more minute.

While they cook, make a quick brown butter sauce with walnuts, zest and juice of an orange plus 2 sprigs of rosemary.  Toss in your cooked ravioli so that each one is covered in the prepared sauce.

Would you look at that, Leftover night will never be the same again!

High five!  And Bon Appetit!

Love,

JJ

5.0 from 1 reviews

Butternut Squash Ravioli

 

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Ravioli is a great way to use up those leftovers.

Author: Janie-Jean

Ingredients

• Homemade or store bought pasta sheets (in a pinch you could use wonton wrapper sheets)
• 1 ½ cups roasted butternut squash
• ½ cup cottage cheese
• 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ¼ cup walnuts roughly chopped
• Grated zest and juice of ½ orange
• 2 sprigs of rosemary, minced

Instructions

1. Add the butternut squash, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper to the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth. Fill a pastry bag or plastic zip top bag with the filling, snip the corner off of the bat and use to pipe about a teaspoon of the filling in the center of the pasta sheet.
2. Dampen the edges of the pasta sheet with water. Take another pasta sheet and cover the filling. Pressing around the sides to seal the ravioli. Use a pasta cutter to cut down to size. Place on a floured, rimmed baking sheet till ready to use.
3. Once ravioli has been assembled, bring a pot of water to a boil. Season to the salidity of the sea. Add Ravioli to the boiling water and boil until they float. Once they float, cook for 1 minute longer.
4. While the ravioli are cooking make the sauce by melting the butter over medium high heat in a sauce pan large enough to hold the cooked ravioli later. When the butter is finished foaming add the walnuts and saute until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
5. Once the ravioli are finished cooking, scoop from the cooking water using a slotted spoon to the saute pan as well as the juice of half an orange. Toss once or twice until the ravioli are covered evenly with the browned butter.
6. Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle with the rosemary and orange zest and divide among four shallow bowls. Spoon the sauce evenly over the plated ravioli.

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