There are no words… you have to try this. But prepare yourself because there is some work involved.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Creamy Pistachio & Brown Butter Sage Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butternut squash, mashed
• 1/4 cup ricotta
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped sage
• 1/4 cup pistachios (plus some for garnish), shelled and chopped
• 1/8 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper

Making the Ravioli

You have some options here– make your own pasta or buy pasta sheets from the store. I’m not going to get into how I make my own pasta in this post, but if its something that you know how to do, do it!

For the filling, combine the mashed butternut squash and ricotta.

Lay out a single layer of pasta on a lightly floured surface, the pasta should only be the width of one ravioli (think long and skinny). I use a cookie cutter to get my ravioli shape, you can use whatever you want. I mark the pasta with my cookie cutter (by lightly pressing down, not all the way through) so I know how far to space the filling . Top the middle of each of the marked spaces with about 1 tbsp of filling.

Using your finger, wet the pasta around the filling (this is so that the top pasta will stick). Keep in mind your top layer of pasta will have to be slightly longer than the bottom layer because you are now also covering the surface area of the filling. As you lay the top layer of pasta on top, lay it one ravioli at a time, pressing it against the side of the filling (don’t worry about sealing it all the way around, just press it to the right and left sides of the filling). Once you’ve covered all the filling, go back and seal the raviolis all the way around. Using two fingers, start at the bottom, pressing the two pasta sheets together against the filling. Go all the way around the filling, with your fingers meeting in the middle on top, making sure there are no air bubbles.

Cut each ravioli with the cookie cutter or whatever you’re using and prepare the sauce.

Add the ravioli to salted, boiling water. Cook until pasta is tender but al dente, about 6 or 7 minutes.

Making the Sauce:

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium high heat. Watch over the butter and as soon as you see it starts to brown, lift it off the heat and lower the temperature on the stove to medium low. Return the butter to the heat and add the cream and garlic. Whisk until the mixture is well combined. Add the parmesan, sage, pistachios, salt and pepper and continue to whisk. Bring to a low simmer. Sauce will thicken as it simmers.

Toss the raviolis in the sauce, garnish with more chopped pistachios, and enjoy!

This recipe comes from my sister and it’s my mom’s  favourite dish! Theres a lot going on in this recipe, but don’t worry, there are a couple of cheats. 

Ravioli- You can probably find butternut squash ravioli at the store if you don’t want to make it. (I find package “fresh” ravioli really thick which isn’t great. Also they sometimes add cinnamon/nutmeg to the filling making it taste kind of pie-ish to me…)

Pasta Sheets- you can get them at the grocery store instead of making your own

If you make your own raviolis, you can also freeze them. So if you’re bored some afternoon, you can whip them up  or mass produce them and then have them ready whenever.