Pumpkin Ravioli with Brown Butter Pineapple-Sage Sauce

I had already baked a pumpkin and harvested the flesh yesterday (and its juice), so today it was time to do something with it. I had decided to use some of the pumpkin to make a pumpkin ravioli. Pumpkin ravioli requires a delicate sauce to showcase the subtle flavors inside the ravioli which would otherwise be muted by a sauce too rich or strongly flavored. I almost hate using the brown butter sage sauce because it's beaten to death and all too common, BUT there is a reason for it. It's a delicious sauce that is delicate and pairs so well with pumpkin and squash. It's very simple to make. I added my own little twist by using a pineapple sage. It's a unique sage that smells just like pineapple. It was given to me by some friends a few months ago and is now thriving in my garden. It think it'll add an interesting flavor to the dish. (Thanks Charlie and Heather).

Filling Ingredients:

1 TBS Butter
2 Cups of baked pumpkin flesh
1 TBS shallots finely chopped
1 tsp garlic finely chopped
1 TBS dried sage
1 1/2 TBS Honey
1 tsp lemon zest
pinch of nutmeg freshly grated
1-2 TBS Parmesan freshly grated
salt and pepper
Serves 4

The pumpkin needs to be DRY so that it does not make the ravioli soggy. Blot it completely dry with paper towels. Chop it into small pieces

In a saute pan over med-med high heat, melt butter. Add shallots and sage and allow the shallots to slightly caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the pumpkin and lightly season with salt and pepper and cook off more of its moisture for a few minutes. Remove from stove and empty contents into a bowl.

Add the remaining ingredients and taste. Adjust as necessary to make it to your liking. Place the filling in a pastry bag and place in the fridge.

Making Ravioli

The next step is to make the pasta. If you already know how to make pasta, skip down to the next picture. If not, I direct you to my post about making pasta when I wrote about Agnolotti with the following adjustment to the ingredients:

I normally use the following ratio for my pasta
100 g flour
1 egg
pinch of salt.

The egg introduces the necessary moisture for the pasta dough to form, but you can use any combination of liquids instead of using only egg. For this recipe I wanted to infuse the essence of the pumpkin into my pasta so I used the following ratio:

100g flour
1/2 egg
25 g baked pumpkin juice (that I saved from yesterday)
pinch of salt.

400 grams of flour makes enough for 4 medium sized servings. 

Pasta Ingredients:

400 g flour
2 egg
50 g baked pumpkin juice
4 pinches of salt

Roll out the pasta into thin sheets and cut them into strips as shown below. Lay them out on a floured surface

Pipe a dollop of the filling for each ravioli

place another sheet on top

Pinch the sheets together taking care to 

remove air bubbles

Pinch down the edges to seal in the filling

Use your ravioli cutter to form each ravioli

Peel

Scoop and place on a floured sheet tray

Bring a pot of salted water to boil

Fresh pasta only needs a few minutes to cook Al Dente

Place in a colander to drain while setting up the sauce

Sauce Ingredients:

2 TBS butter
several sage leaves
freshly grated parmesan for garnish
finely chopped chives
Salt and Pepper
Pineapple sage flower for garnish (optional)

On Med-Med High melt butter. Allow the butter to foam then add the sage leaves. Continue to cook until the butters slightly browns. It will have a wonderful nutty aroma at this point. Lower the heat and add the ravioli

Salt and Pepper to taste. Toss for a couple of minutes

on low heat

Plate and garnish with parmesan and chives. Enjoy!!