So I left the "blogosphere" for quite some time. Had a lot going on you know! My son has grown into full blown toddler stage, and my 10 month old daughter is now mobile. So I'm going to keep this short and sweet. On top of everything else I've got going on, managing South Beach Grill, putting together a new fall wine list (I'll talk about that next week), and working on plans for my own restaurant, I've been, as some of you know doing regular cooking classes here in Wilmington.
I've been keeping the recipes for the classes as simple as possible, but retaining a nice elegant feel to them.
On Tuesday, I did a class featuring a roasted butternut squash ravioli using wonton wrappers instead of going through the trouble and mess of making homemade pasta and rolling it out.
So like I said, short and sweet, here you are:
Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli With Toasted Pine Nuts And Sage Butter
Butternut Squash, small 1
Extra Virgin Olive Oil ¼ cup plus 1 Tbs
Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper ½ Tbs
Yellow Onion, small, rough chopped 1
Garlic Cloves, large, rough chopped 2-3
White Wine (preferably Chardonnay) ¼ cup
Chicken Stock 1 cup
Grated Parmesan ½ cup
Toasted Pine Nuts ½ cup
Won-Ton Wrappers 40
Cornstarch as needed
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Peel squash, and cut into 1 inch cubes. Place in a large mixing bowl, and toss with ¼ cup olive oil, Kosher salt and ground black pepper. Bake for about 1 hour to 1 ½ hours until squash has become soft, and just starts to brown.
While squash is baking, saute onions in remaining olive oil with the garlic until lightly browned. Deglaze with wine, and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature.
Remove squash from oven, and let cool. Working in batches, blend squash in a food processor with onion/garlic mixture, chicken stock and Parmesan until well combined and smooth. Set aside.
In a small bowl, mix a little cornstarch with water to make a thin paste.
Lay won-ton wrappers on a lightly floured board, and place about ½ tablespoon of squash mix in the center of wrapper. Brush the edges of the wrapper with the cornstarch/water, and lay another wrapper on top. Make sure to press on all edges to remove any air pockets and get a good tight seal.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in small batches of 4 or 5, boil ravioli for about three minutes, and using a slotted spoon, remove from the water and place in a colander to drain.
For The Sauce:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 3 Tbs
Butter 3 Tbs
Fresh Sage, minced 10 leaves
Heat olive oil and butter over medium low heat. When butter starts to lightly brown, and give off a slightly nutty aroma, add minced sage leaves. Immediately remove from heat, and let stand for two to three minutes to let flavor develop.
Arrange five ravioli on plates, pour sauce over top of each, and top with toasted pine nuts. Garnish if you like with grated Parmesan and chopped Italian parsley.
Serves Four
