Homemade Cheesy Butternut Squash Ravioli

Goooooooood morning everyone!

I hope you are all having a splendid Tuesday so far! I didn’t get around to posting yesterday because it was monday and well…Mondays just stink. Actually I have a picture that encompasses EXACTLY how I feel about Mondays.

Hahahaha! I can’t stop laughing every time I look at this picture. Cats are the best.

Anyways, this past weekend was really nice. My sister was still home from University so on Saturday we planned a girls day with myself, my two sisters and my Mom. We went shopping and then had lunch out (including wine) and it was a really great time!

Then Saturday night Chris was fixing a friends car and he invited us over, along with a couple of other friends, and we had a nice dinner (and more wine.) All in all a really relaxing and fun weekend.

Okay so we’re continuing on with pasta week! Last week I covered making and rolling the pasta dough and how to make a lasagna with the noodles we made. Now we’re moving on to ravioli!

I have two different recipes for the ravioli fillings, then we will have another couple recipes for sauces to make with them, which will take us to the end of the week. Hopefully by then I will have some more new recipes to share with you next week!

First up for the Ravioli is…..BUTTERNUT SQUASH.

My favorite as you can tell from this, this, this, and this.

I already have a recipe for butternut squash on this site from back in but that one was using store bought ravioli, so you could always make the homemade ones and try the Brown Butter and Sage sauce from that recipe.

That sauce is to die for. And by “sauce” I mean butter…and by “die for” I mean butter.

Wait, what?

Anyways butternut squash.

LETS GO.

K so you’re going to get a big ol’ butternut squash. Actually you probably only want a small squash, I just wanted to say big ol’. Lop that baby right in half and then dig out the seeds with a spoon, place the halves on a baking sheet. Also grab a head of garlic and lop that thing right in half too. We’re doing lots of lopping today.

Drizzle the squash and the garlic with some olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Like so.

Now this is the fun part. Flip the squash over so the garlic ends up sitting in that concave where the seeds once where.

Taa Daa!

I know that may not have been fun for you, but I’m easily entertained.

Now bake that off in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Woah. That looks messed up.

Don’t fret though, it will soon be just fine.

Flip the halves over and you will see the squash should be perfectly cooked through and the garlic will be soft and buttery.

Let them cool a bit so you can handle them, but while they are still hot scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place it into a large mixing bowl. Squeeze in the garlic cloves making sure to leave behind the outside skin, it should come out super easy.

Nommy nom nom. Make sure you scrape up any brown bits from the pan, those are pure flavor, baby! Season generously with salt and pepper.

Now mix it all up so it’s nice and combined. If you wanted a smoother texture you could put this through the food processor, but I kind of like the texture of the squash when it isn’t pureed. Your choice!

Now you’re going to add in the good stuff. A good amount of grated fresh Parmesan cheese and also some goat cheese! Oh yes.

Now mix it all up, because it is still warm it should just melt right in.

Now lastly, add some fresh chopped sage!

Sage + Butternut Squash = Love.

If Sage had a Lisa Frank trapper keeper like I did when I was 12, it would definitely have that written all over the inside of it. It would probably also be written with a Lisa Frank pen with neon pink feathers on the end of it….but that’s beside the point.

This is when you need to break out those pasta sheets we made earlier.

Now for this method I’m using a ravioli press. I got mine at home outfitters but you can also find them online like here. Trust me, they will make your life a million times easier, and are so worth the $20.

You’ll start with one pasta sheet and cut it just slightly larger than the ravioli mold. Lay it over the metal part of the mold.

You can see the little ridges that will later cut the pasta. Now using the other piece of the ravioli mold, you will lay it on top and press. This will create spaces for the filling to go.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of that.

Now fill each of the spots with about a teaspoon of the filling. You don’t want to overfill them or they wont seal properly and it will all leak out.

Voila!

Now place another cut sheet of pasta on top.

And then roll over the mold with a rolling pin until the edges are sealed and the mold starts to cut through the pasta.

Like so!

Now flip it over and give it a good whack on the table or a cutting board, and the raviolis should just pop right out.

They will probably be kind of stuck together but they easily pull apart to separate.

Now separate them all and place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Repeat until you run out of either pasta sheets or filling.

Now if you want to make them fresh for that day, you can just toss them right into a pot of salted boiling water. However I really do suggest freezing them first as I find they seal better.

I always freeze mine on the baking sheet and then when they are totally frozen, I just place them all into a ziplock freezer bag. That way they are all frozen separately and you can take out as many as you want!

And you’re done! Check back near the end of the week for an awesome recipe to use these in.

Miss Delish asks:

What helps you get rid of your case of the Monday’s?

What is your favorite recipe to make and freeze?