Butternut Squash Ravioli: Using Produce

My husband had a delicious Butternut Squash Ravioli at Macaroni Garden a few months ago. I enjoyed his food so much that I attempted to replicate it almost immediately at home. My first attempt was good enough that my entire family raved about it. But, I forgot to take pictures, I didn’t time the meal real well and some things were cold, and a couple things needed improvement. So, I worked out a few kinks and waited a few weeks. This time I took pictures. Here are the instructions for the resulting recipe.

Start by peeling a butternut squash. Once you have it peeled, slice off the top just as it starts to flare out. This is the part you will be cooking with. Throw the seedy part away. Divide the butternut squash in half. One half will get a very small dice. The other half can be chopped into chunks to be boiled. Place the chunks into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

While you are waiting for the boil, dice an onion the same size as your diced butternut squash. Take a moment now for putting water onto boil for your ravioli. I purchased frozen ravioli and I think that turns out very delicious. It takes a while for the water to boil, but you won’t want to cook your ravioli until the very end. Once your water is on to boil, throw the onions in hot oil and sautee for a couple minutes. Add the diced butternut squash and three cloves of minced garlic. This can be fresh or from a jar in your refrigerator. Also add coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sautee with occasional stirring until the butternut squash is cooked through and browning a bit. While you are sauteeing this, you can remove your boiled butternut squash and drain it. Put 1 Cup of heavy whipping cream in the empty hot sauce pan with three tablespoons of butter. Cook it until the butter is melted and it begins to thicken a bit. That takes just about two minutes. Check your pasta water and throw those raviolis in if the water is boiling. Add 1 Cup of the drained butternut squash to your hot cream sauce and let it simmer for a few minutes. Add a pinch of nutmeg. Then puree the sauce.

At this point your diced squash and your sauce is finished. Grate two cups of parmesan and put half of the parmesan in a bowl for serving at the table.

Remove the pasta from the heat as soon as it is done (about five minutes according to package directions) and drain it. Toss the pasta with the sauce, a cup of parmesan and more kosher salt and pepper.

Serve the pasta with a nice helping of diced butternut squash and onions and a sprinkling of parmesan on top.  You can serve this with a nice crunchy bread and a salad.  Delicious cheesiness!

[Please note that I doubled the sauce recipe for my large family, and the diced butternut squash and onion will make enough for a double recipe. If you followed the recipe above, you can save half the diced veggie mix in your freezer for next time, and you also have an extra cup or more of the boiled butternut squash to save for next time.]