Butternut Squash + Goat Cheese Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce and Sausage
I know it's summer but I had a hankering for a meal fit for Fall. This should come as no surprise to my friends - they all know I live for October.
Truthfully, this meal was inspired by some leftover sausage. After making some homemade pizza, we had some spicy and sweet sausage that needed to be used. For some reason, I just couldn't get the idea of pairing it with butternut squash and sage out of my head. It just sounded good, ya'know? Then I thought, "oh! Let's make some ravioli...with goat cheese!" and that's how this one came to be.
Homemade ravioli is another one of those dishes that seems scary but really isn't. You don't even need a ravioli mold to make ravioli. Sure, they do help create a nice shape and pocket for that filling, but don't feel like you need to rush out and buy one! However, if you do feel like adding one more tool to your kitchen, I recommend this one.
The trick with ravioli is making sure there's a good seal around edges so that the mixture doesn't spill out into the water while boiling. I've used egg as the binder before, but did use water on this recipe.
If you are using a ravioli mold, flour is your friend. Make sure you properly coat your mold with enough flour so that the dough doesn't get stuck. Been there, done that, never want to do that again kind of situation.
Okay! Back to these raviolis! So. Stinking. GOOD. The sweetness of the squash, the tartness of the goat cheese and a little heat from the added spices and garlic make for a perfect filling. All this paired with a browned butter sauce and sausage WORKS, you guys! Gosh! So many different layers of flavor and texture. Mmmm...I'm craving it all over again.
Enjoy!
Butternut Squash + Goat Cheese Ravioli
with Browned Butter Sauce and Sausage
Prep Time: 45 minutes (includes resting time for pasta dough)
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 45 Minutes
Servings: 4-6
INGREDIENTS:
1 Medium Butternut Squash, peeled + seeds removed and cubed
5oz Goat Cheese
3 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese, grated
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Honey
1 tsp Fresh Thyme, finely minced
1 tsp Red Pepper Flake
Salt + Pepper
1lb Ground Sausage (1/2lb Spicy + 1/2lb Sweet)
4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
10 fresh Sage leaves
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Toss cubed butternut squash with a little olive oil so that everything is lightly coated. About 1 Tbsp.
Place the cubed butternut squash onto a prepared baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 30-45 minutes. You want the squash to be soft so that it will blend smoothly.
While the squash is in the over. Make the fresh pasta dough and set aside.
When the squash is done, remove from oven and transfer to a food processor.
To the food processor, add goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, thyme and red pepper flake. Blend together until smooth. Season with salt + pepper.
Cook the sausage over medium-high heat. When cooked through, transfer to a plate with paper towels to drain excess oil. Set aside.
By now, the dough should be ready to work with. Cut up your dough ball into 4-5 pieces. Roll your pasta into lasagna sheets. You want the sheets to be around 1/8" thick - if you can kind of see your hand through the dough, you've nailed it! If using a pasta rolling machine, or attachment for your stand mixer, start rolling the dough on the "8" setting (the largest) and slowly work your way down to "2". I was taught to go in the following sequence: 8-6-4-2. Making sure to pass the dough through each setting twice.
Make the ravioli. Methods listed below.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, salt the water.
While waiting for water to boil, heat a large saute pan of medium heat. Add butter and sage leaves. Brown your butter and cook the sage until crispy. Once crispy, remove from butter and pat dry with paper towels. Dice up crispy leaves. Set aside.
Add sausage to browned butter and stir to combine.
Boil the ravioli. This should only take 1-2. Immediately transfer to browned butter and sausage mixture. Thoroughly mix so that the pasta is coated in sauce. Top with crispy sage leaves.
RAVIOLI METHODS:
Ravioli Mold:
Make sure you have enough flour coating the mold so the dough doesn't get stuck. Remember, flour is your friend!
Place one of your lasagna sheets onto the the mold, cutting away any excess. Reserve the excess dough as you can use it create another lasagna sheet.
Using an egg, press down into each well. This helps to create a defined space for your filling to go.
Spoon about 1 Tbsp of filling into each well. Using a small brush, carefully apply a little water around each edge of each ravioli.
Take another pasta sheet, place over the top of the ravioli and run a rolling pin over it to properly seal it.
Turn the mold over and carefully pop them out. While the rolling pin should have helped define and shape each ravioli, they should pop out as an entire sheet. You'll need to use a knife or pastry tool to fully cut them out.
Combine any leftover excess dough, roll it through the pasta machine to create another sheet and use.
Place onto a heavily floured surface such as a large baking sheet. Repeat until dough runs out.
You should be able to get 36 raviolis.
Ravioli by Hand:
Flour a flat surface and place one of the lasagna sheets onto it.
Starting about 1 inch from the edge of the sheet, spoon 1 Tbsp of the mixture onto the dough. Work your way down the lasagna sheet, spooning the mixture onto it, making sure to keep 1 inch in between each spoonful.
Brush the dough with water, making sure to create a square around each mound of mixture.
Place another lasagna sheet over the top and press down around each mound of mixture to create a seal and ravioli shape.
Using a pastry tool or knife, cut out each ravioli. Using a fork, work around each edge, pressing down to create ridges to create a better seal.