Buck-Up: Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Ravioli

Fate was calling at my door with this recipe….almost taunting me.  Hence “buck-up” in the title…it was time for me to “buck-up” and make pasta from scratch.

I received the pasta attachment for my KitchenAid as a wedding gift from a very good friend (and another very talented cook!).  I have had EVERY intention of using it before now, but something always comes up. When I received my recipe from the WC recipe exchange, it was fate telling me that it was time to get at it.  In my defense, we don’t eat pasta that often, so that’s probably why I haven’t made it to date….

Annie’s Eats to the rescue again.  She has an incredible step-by-step pasta tutorial that minimized a lot of my fears and made it much easier to attempt this recipe.  I used Annie’s pasta recipe as my base and then used the filling recipe I received from the exchange, with a few tweaks of my own (you guessed it, goat cheese!).  The creamy sauce with a touch of tomato was a mix of a recipe from Annie’s Eats and some personal additions to make it a little more our style.  The sauce really accompanied the butternut squash goat cheese filing well.  The filling is quite rich, so the light and fresh sauce complimented it well.

Will I make homemade pasta again? ABSOLUTELY.  I have full intentions of spending a lazy Sunday in the kitchen very soon, making large batches of homemade pasta and freezing them for future use.  Was it A LOT of work? Yes.  I did really enjoy it though, and seeing the end result was worth it.

A tip – for those of you who don’t want to tackle the pasta dough from scratch, Olivieri makes fresh pasta sheets that you can find in almost all supermarkets (along with the other fresh pasta).  So, you simply grab a pack of these, make the filling below and stuff them (which, in my opinion, was the fun part!).

This was a fabulous Friday dinner and a welcomed distraction from my education paper!  Thanks to Does Not Cook Well With Other’s, a fellow food blogger who submitted this recipe to the exchange!

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Ravioli

Yield:  26 large raviolis (4 large servings)
Prep Time:  2.5hrs (including pasta making and butternut squash roasting)
Cook Time:  15 minutes (cook in batches)

INGREDIENTS:

For the pasta:

• 1/2 batch homemade dough from Annie’s Eats

For the filling:

Roasted Butternut Squash:

• 2.5 cups butternut squash, cubed in 2inch pieces
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Remaining Filling:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp shallots, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 5 tbsp soft goat cheese
• 3 tbsp Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1.5 cup of milk
• 0.5 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, diced
• salt & pepper, to taste
• parsley, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Begin by roasting the butternut squash.  Simply place the cubed butternut squash on a parchment lined baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 – 45 minutes, until nice and golden brown.  Remove from oven, place on paper towel to absorb remaining oil and let cool completely.

While butternut squash is cooling off, prepare pasta according to Annie’s directions.  Be sure to let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, prepare your filing.  In a small skillet, heat butter over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook until translucent (3 to 4 minutes).  Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).   Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

In the bowl, along with the shallot and garlic mixture, add the butternut squash, goat cheese, cream cheese and grated parmesan.  Mix well to combine.  Using a hand-held blender, puree the mixture until smooth.  (Alternatively, place all ingredients in your standmixer and mix on high-speed until well combined and smooth).  Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside until ready for use.

Once the dough is ready and the mixture is cool, roll out your dough and stuff the raviolis according to Annie’s directions.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

While waiting for the water to boil, begin preparing your sauce.   In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter.  Once butter is melted, add the flour and whisk well.  Cook the butter/flour mixture for 2 minutes, until the mixture is golden brown. Add the milk to the butter/flour mixture and whisk well.  Bring sauce to a gentle boil and continue whisking until sauce is smooth and thickened.  Add tomatoes and parmesean cheese to the sauce and whisk to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.

Once water is at a rapid boil, cook the raviolis in batches (approximately 5 at a time).  Cook for approximately 3 – 5 minutes, or until al dente. Drain well and serve on a platter, topped with sauce, freshly grated parmesan and springs of parsley!

Enjoy!

Recipe Adapted From Does Not Cook Well With Others. Pasta Dough & Instructions from Annie’s Eats