Ravishing ravioli

Handmade ravioli with fall squash filling, in a butter and spinach sauce

Even though I’m the type of person that rates a recipe based on its simplicity, how fast I can make it and how I can avoid making a mess in the kitchen, sometimes I just feel like channeling my inner master-chef and making something with that wow factor. These ravioli have been on my mind since last year, but when I actually came around to making them, the ingredients were out of season. That’s why this fall, I was eager and prepared to try it out ASAP. I combined two recipes I found online, and tweaked them both by adding ingredients and changes that suit my taste, and for once I actually remembered to write everything down. I guess that’s a good enough sign that I should share it with you guys.

Honestly, the recipe isn’t difficult to make but it’s a bit of a longer process so it might seem tedious, but trust me it’s well worth it, especially if you want to impress someone with your cooking skills.

The filling can be made with virtually any squash. I used what I had at home at that moment, which was half a butternut squash and a smaller Hokkaido squash, which turned out the perfect combo! The ravioli can be made as a stand-alone dish (which is then vegetarian), or as a side-dish to something more “concrete”.

Without further ado, it’s delicious, fun to make, and here’s the recipe!

Ingredients:

Fall squash filling

Half a butternut squash
1 smaller hokkaido squash
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
A bit of olive oil
Seasoning to taste
A bit of brown sugar (about one teaspoon)
Grated Parmesan to taste
2 tablespoons of herb-infused cream cheese

Pasta:

250 grams of flour (add a bit extra if the eggs are larger than average)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Butter and spinach sauce

Half a butter (125 g)
3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar
125 g of spinach leaves
3-4 dried bay leaves
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of herb-infused cream cheese
Season to taste (salt, pepper…)

Preparation of the filling:

Heat up your oven to 250 C
Peel and dice the squash
Mix with the onion (diced), garlic cloves (whole), olive oil and seasoning (I put some himalayan salt, cayenne pepper and dried basil)
Bake in the oven until it gets that golden-brown color and is really soft (around 20-30 minutes)
Put it all in a blender and add the brown sugar, parmesan (parmesan cheese is strong so add it based on your personal preference) and herb-infused cream cheese (I used Philadelphia, but you can use any brand really)
Blend until smooth

Preparation for the pasta:

*It’s best to start making the pasta while the squash is in the oven so you save some time

In a large bowl mix the flour, eggs and olive oil
Work the dough until it becomes a unified mass (this is a lot easier if you have the dough attachment on your mixer)
Take the dough “ball”, wrap it in cellophane and put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes
Divide the dough ball into two parts and roll into thin sheets

Take a clean and dry ice tray and cover it with one sheet

Gently press into the holes and fill each of them with a teaspoon of the filling
Cover the tray with the other dough sheet and press on all sides so the dough sticks together

Flip the ice tray over, remove it and gently cut the ravioli cubes (it’s easiest if you have a pizza or dough cutter)

Put the prepared ravioli in boiling water (slightly salted) and cook until they rise to the surface of the water

Preparation for the butter and spinach sauce:

In a deeper pan add the butter and brown sugar, stirring on a medium heat until it melts into a nice brown sauce
Add the bay leaves and stir briefly
Add the spinach leaves and minced garlic cloves and keep stirring on low heat until you spinach leaves are cooked
Add seasoning to taste (I again use himalayan salt, cayenne pepper and a bit of dried basil)
Add the ravioli and stir (still on low heat), coating all of the ravioli with the sauce

Your fancy handmade ravioli are done, a perfect delicacy for these fall days! We like to pair them up with a juicy pork loin (as you can see on the picture). I really ought to praise my husband who made this pork loin all by himself for the first time and it turned out absolutely perfect!

There you go, I hope you’ll try out the recipe, no matter that it takes a bit longer to make. Let me know how it turned out for you and if you have any advice on how to make the recipe even better!