Recipe: Butternut Squash Ravioli and a Brown Butter Sauce

Sneaking veggies into Liam's meals can be challenging at times. I'm the type of person who hates making the same thing too often. I like variety, and I like my family to have variety. That's why I'm always on the search for something new and tasty that also incorporates those delicious fruits and vegetables.

Butternut squash is such a wonderful vegetable....well technically, it's a fruit but it just gives me a veggie vibe. It's high in complex carbs, vitamin A, and vitamin C. It's also a great source of beta-carotene, calcium, potassium, manganese, and magnesium. This winter squash is not only nutritious though. It has a wonderful flavor and sweetness mixed with a slightly starchy texture that works well in many dishes.

We usually get most of the winter squashes for a very good price at our local grocery store. That's why there's usually some form of winter squash in our home each week. This week I thought that I just had to try a butternut squash ravioli since both the squash and the Korean dumpling wrappers were on sale.

This recipe saves you a lot of time when you compare having to make the pasta from scratch. I know that buying premade ravioli can be convenient and tempting, but it can also be very expensive. This recipe allows you to save money and time while satisfying your family's taste buds....all in a semi-homemade fashion!

Butternut Squash Ravioli
(makes about 24 ravioli)

1 package of Korean dumpling wrappers or wonton wrappers
1/2 of a large butternut squash
1 tablespoon of canola oil
1 cup of Muenster cheese (shredded)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg (I used a 1/2 teaspoon for a more mellow nutmeg taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of salt for the pasta water

-  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-  Remove all of the seeds and stringy center from the squash.  Rub the canola oil all over the squash.  Bake in the oven flesh-side down for about an hour or until the flesh is tender.
-  After the squash cools, remove the skin from the flesh of the squash and discard the skin.  Put the squash into a large bowl and mash.  Mix the cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper into the mashed squash.
-  Put one dumpling wrapper on a flat surface.  Place a heaping 1/2 tablespoon of the filling in the middle of the wrapper.  Wet the tip of the finger with water and moisten the wrapper around the edges. Place a second wrapper on top and press firmly around the edges.  I like to use a small spoon and press around the edges to ensure that the ravioli is sealed.  Repeat this step until all of the dumpling wrappers are used.
-  With a large pot, fill it with enough water to adequately cover the pasta while cooking.  Bring the water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water to help season the pasta.  Boil the ravioli for 3-4 minutes or until the ravioli float freely to the top.  You can boil the pasta in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot.  When the ravioli is cooked, remove the pasta from the water, and reserve 2 ladels of pasta water for the brown butter sauce.
-  Serve the ravioli with a cream sauce or brown butter sauce.  I prefer the brown butter, because it allows the butternut squash to remain the star in this dish.

Brown Butter Sauce
6 tablespoons of butter
1 teaspoon of dried sage or 1-2 tablespoons of chopped fresh sage
Juice of 1/2 of a lemon
2 ladels of reserved pasta water

-  Melt the butter in a saucepan.
-  Add the sage to the butter and cook until the butter browns but is not burnt.
-  Turn the heat off and add the juice of half of a lemon.
-  Add the reserved pasta water and stir until combined.
-  Serve over the butternut squash ravioli.