This recipe is being posted due to popular demand—yes, it tasted as good (maybe better) than it looks! Here, I provide a short-cut version of how to make ravioli at home using pre-made pasta dough that can be found in most supermarkets. Look in the refrigerated compartment in the produce section for something called egg roll, wonton, potsticker, or round wraps. They look like they are meant only for these Asian-style dishes, but are actually pasta dough that can be used in a variety of ways for savory or sweet dishes with any flavor profile.
Below is an example of what ravioli made according to the recipe look like when using the Round Wraps pictured above. Alternatively, you can make homemade pasta rolled as thin as you can get it, and use a 4-inch diameter, round cookie cutter to get the same look—but that is WAY more work. I have written a lot of details in the recipe, because the technique requires explanation for someone making ravioli for the first time. I promise that once you get the hang of it, this can be made any night that you have a few extra minutes for making dinner. I was able to make the ravioli, cook them in 3 batches, and sit down at the table with my family in 45 minutes. I would budget an hour (at least) for the first attempt, because of the learning curve.
A note for those using non-dairy butter—only a cultured version with both fat and solids will do this recipe justice. Do not use margarine or a non-dairy spread, like Earth Balance. I used Miyoko’s Vegan Butter which is widely available in California and is made from fermented cashew cream and coconut oil. The cashew component browns when heated much like milk solids do when browning dairy butter. It is almost impossible to tell the difference between Miyoko’s and dairy butter in cooking.
The down side is that most studies of highly-processed coconut oils show it can negatively affect cholesterol levels and is bad for the heart. However, there are not good studies of the health impacts of minimally-processed, unrefined coconut oils, so the jury is out on how healthful or not less-processed coconut oil is. Most people groups with high intakes of minimally processed coconut-containing foods had very low rates of heart disease until a Western/American-style diet was introduced and caused rates of heart disease to skyrocket. I suspect it may be a nutritionally-superior choice to butter which is clearly linked with worsening cholesterol levels. But, again, there isn’t good evidence to support or refute the healthfulness or lack thereof of unrefined or minimally-refined coconut oil.
Regardless, there is very little non-dairy (or dairy) butter in this dish compared with similar pasta dishes, because I cut the amount of butter used with a healthier oil—olive oil. You can certainly up the nutritional game (and reduce the price) of this recipe by using all olive oil in place of Miyoko’s or dairy butter.
There is also no requirement to follow this recipe at all! If you have been craving ravioli, but squash isn’t your thing, try another filling—the same technique outlined in the recipe will work for any filling provided the filling is not watery and you only use about 1 teaspoon per ravioli. One delicious option would be sautéing minced mushrooms and garlic with herbs as a filling and then just topping the ravioli with a good, jarred tomato sauce. This would make for a much quicker, but still impressive and delicious, weeknight meal.
Happy ravioli-making!
PrintRoasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Browned “Butter” Sage Sauce & Fresh Peas
- Yield: 26–30 ravioli | 5-6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 package Round Wraps (pictured above)
- 1/2 of a small butternut squash, roasted, peeled, and cooled
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Olive oil
- 1–1/2 tbsp Miyoko “butter” (can use any non-dairy or dairy butter)
- 8 oz. sugar snap peas, strings removed, sliced on a bias
- 8 oz. broccoli stems, peeled and diced, or florets chopped small (<1 inch)
- Couple handfuls fresh sage leaves, minced
- Couple handfuls fresh parsley, minced
Instructions
- Heat a large pot of water to a boil, then add salt until it tastes about half as salty as the ocean (use your imagination—it doesn’t have to be perfect).
- Meanwhile, arrange work station with 1-2 sheet pans lined with parchment or wax paper. Get pre-roasted squash out of the fridge, mash it, season with salt and pepper, and set it at your station. Finally, get a cup of cool tap water.
- Arrange half of the pasta rounds in a single layer on the sheet pans. Top with 1 tsp of mashed squash. Then, working on only a few rounds topped with squash at a time, wet your fingers in the cup of tap water and lightly moisten the outside 1/2 inch of the pasta rounds. Top each round with a round from the remaining half of the pasta, and press around the edges to join the top and bottom rounds as best you can, without squishing out the filling. The water on the edge of the bottom round is what sticks the two rounds together. Make sure to try to get as much air out as possible since the air can cause the ravioli to break open while cooking.
- Repeat the process above until all pasta rounds are used and you have about 26-30 raviolis.
- Boil several raviolis at time for 2 min 30 seconds, or until they float. Make sure not to crowd the pan or they will stick to each other. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon when done while preparing the sauce and vegetables. I often make no more than 2 servings at a time to prevent sticking.
- In a skillet, heat 1/2 to 1 tsp Miyoko’s “butter” (or dairy butter) with 1-2 tsp olive oil over medium heat and add 1/3 of the sliced peas and chopped broccoli. Once the “butter” smells nutty and browns slightly, add about 1/3 of the herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, then toss in ravioli to coat and serve immediately. (If you don’t have a cultured, non-dairy “butter”, then just use olive oil and know that there won’t be as much browning—it will still be delicious!)
- Repeat 2 more times to finish cooking and serving all of the ravioli. Alternatively, take any ravioli you don’t plan to eat, uncooked, still in a single layer on the sheet pan, and place in the freezer for a couple of hours until frozen and then transfer to a freezer bag for storage up to 3 months. These will take 3-5 minutes to cook from frozen at a later date. Otherwise, the recipe will be the same.
Notes
- Roast the squash for a meal earlier in the week and use leftover, cold squash to make the ravioli.
- You can also add other seasonings, herbs, and spices to the squash mix to make the filling even more interesting.
- Substitute any winter squash for the butternut squash.
- This recipe is a great one for using up broccoli stems in a delicious way, but florets work great, too.
- You can substitute the filling with anything else you like and otherwise follow the instructions.
- You can substitute the sauce with a jarred sauce to save time.
Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 370, Total Fat 12.8g, Saturated Fat 4.6g, Cholesterol 41.5mg, Sodium 152mg, Total Carbohydrate 56g, Dietary Fiber 6.2g, Sugars 4.6g, Protein 11.4g, Vitamin A 50%, Vitamin C 115%, Calcium 10%, Iron 20%
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