Sunday, September 18, 2011

9-18 BUTTER NUT SQUASH WONTON RAVIOLI

In a few days we are having company for dinner, and one of the guests, who shall remain nameless, is very fond of stuffed pasta. To keep her happy I will be preparing a “ravioli medley”, a mixture of ravioli with different fillings. In an effort to make my life easier I began preparing the fillings before hand, and today I made the butternut squash filling. Since I made far more than I’ll need I decided Patience and I will “test” things tonight. Instead of making pasta dough, which I’ll do for our guests, I’m using wonton wrappers as a delightful time saving substitute.




INGREDIENT:

Wonton wrappers
Butternut squash
Butter
Ricotta cheese
Parmesan cheese
Nutmeg
Maple syrup
Fresh sage, finely chopped

PROCESS:

After peeling the squash with a sharp knife and removing the seeds, cut it into small pieces and add to a pot of boiling water. Cook until the squash is soft, about 20-30 minutes. (An alternative is to roast the intact squash, cool, cut open, and scoop out the meat.)

In a suitable bowl begin mashing the squash with a large fork, adding about 4 tablespoons of butter, the ricotta cheese, nutmeg, and maple syrup, Salt to taste. I judged by taste how much of each ingredient to use.

Arrange the wonton wrappers on a flat surface and place a teaspoon of filling in the middle. Wet the edges with water and cover with a second wrapper, sealing the ravioli with pressure from you finger. It is ok of some air remains trapped in the pasta. With a little practice it becomes an easy exercise.





The sauce is simple butter and fresh sage cooked for several minutes and poured over the ravioli which take only 3-4 minutes to cook in boiling water.

The final touch is fresh parmesan cheese grated over the ravioli.

COMMENTS:

Soooooooo good! I can’t wait to use this filling in the traditional home made pasta dough.

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