Butternut Squash Ravioli with Maple Cream Sauce

We successfully made homemade ravioli! Much as it was with the gnocchi, our second attempt at making this pasta style was much better.

First, make slices in a large, whole butternut squash and roast it for an hour and fifteen minutes at 375°. Then cut the squash in half, peel the skin off and scoop out the seeds. This should be super easy to do after all of that roasting. Transfer the roasted squash into the bowl of a food processor, add in freshly shredded mozzarella cheese, a dash of half and half, until the the desired texture and flavor is achieved. Add salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, and some chopped sage for seasoning.

To make the ravioli, follow the basic pasta dough recipe and roll it out in a pasta machine. We rolled our dough out to the fifth setting, so it didn't get too thin to hold in the filling. Next, use a ravioli mold and follow all of the instructions given including flouring the inside of the mold, wetting the dough with your finger where you want to seal the ravioli dough together, and don't peel off the excess dough from the ravioli until each ravioli has been removed from the mold.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then cook the ravioli for about 6 minutes or until they float to the top. Remove each individually as they are finished cooking.

While the water is coming to a boil, chop an onion and cook it with a tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat along with 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic. Add in a tablespoon of butter, allow it to melt, then add in a tablespoon of flour, cooking for a minute or two until golden. Add in approximately 1 cup of half and half and stir until it thickens. Add in a tablespoon of maple syrup along with salt, pepper and some extra chopped sage. Dustin was worried about the maple syrup, but it really only adds a mildly sweet flavor.

This recipe was really just a matter of me adding ingredients and adjusting until I was happy with the result. I'm becoming much more comfortable and confident in myself just throwing ingredients into a pot and forgoing a recipe.

Plate the ravioli, pour the sauce over, and top with toasted pine nuts for a little crunch!