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Made this last night and it went down brilliantly! The squash filling is so delicious, and the pesto tasted so good. I challenged myself to make my own pasta which was (to use one of your other readers words) an insane amount of work. Wonton wrappers are going on shopping list! Thanks for another impressive recipe. 🙂
Swapna Sarangdhar
Butternutttt Squaaaash!
There they are, sitting in that big bin at the grocery store, looking all rustic and farm-y and kind of scary to cook with. It’s squash season! Welcome to our first squash recipe of fall 2016.
Fall – aka squash season – is the time of year I start saying things to Bjork like: remember when we went to that restaurant 7 years ago and I ordered the butternut squash ravioli with brown butter sauce and sage? and remember how light and delicate the pasta was? and how sweet the squash was, and how it perfectly complimented the salty butter sauce with those earthy fresh herbs? remember? remember? remember?
And he looks confused.
And then I ask him, what did he order from that restaurant again? because the butternut squash ravioli was so life-changing that surely he, too, remembers his order? was it a lasagna bolognese or maybe a fall-inspired risotto? And then he looks at me with a blank stare and I realize that some people literally do-not-have-food-memories. Does not compute. Cannot process. They hold exactly zero delicious, mind-blowing foods of days gone by floating around in the memory bank of their brains, and in its place sits logical information and other “important” things of the boring, wise brain. Is it sad to live like that?
I would be half of a person without my food memories.
HOW TO MAKE OUR BUTTERNUT SQUASH RAVIOLI:
This is that ravioli that I remember from 7 years ago at that random little restaurant in St. Paul, but revisited in my own kitchen in easy weeknight form.
Friends, allow me to shatter your ravioli worldview.
You don’t need to make fresh pasta for this. (Naturally, someone right at this second is writing a comment that you DO need to make fresh pasta because it’s so much more wonderful, and to that person, we award you all the gold medals and we will be over later for dinner! You’re hosting and we can’t wait.)
But truly, you don’t need need fresh pasta.
Just use (ahem) WONTON WRAPPERS.
And suddenly, the fog is lifted and everything becomes clear and you envision yourself experiencing ravioli greatness. Amiright?
You mash your roasted squash with creamy ricotta and salty Parm for a creamy-dreamy filling. You fill those little wonton guys with squash mixture, seal ’em up, boil to soft goodness, and then serve with your sauce of choice, which will obviously be kale pesto because you are that much of a boss right now.
Do I recommend tossing crumbled bacon on the whole thing if you just HAPPEN to have some laying around? Um, actually, YES I DO. Yes I do, very much very much very much.
My wish for you is today is simple: jumbo, weeknight-friendly butternut squash ravioli served up right to your very own couch – errr, table – in this crisp, vibrant, dark-by-6pm October season.
Pretty sure these are the days of our lives.
Jumbo Butternut Squash Ravioli with Kale Pesto
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: about 30 large ravioli (about 6 servings) 1x
Description
Butternut Squash Ravioli made with WONTON WRAPPERS! Seriously that easy and so, so good. Awesome meatless dinner idea!
Ingredients
- 1 whole butternut squash, peeled and cubed and roasted, OR steam-in-the-bag squash, totaling about 4 cups cooked squash
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- nutmeg, garlic, thyme, and/or sage (see notes)
- generous pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 package of round or square wonton wrappers (also gyoza wrappers) (about 50-60)
- Kale Pesto
Instructions
- Place cooked squash, ricotta, Parmesan, olive oil, seasonings, and S&P in a food processor. Pulse until mostly smooth. Mixture should be very thick and sticky, like cookie dough.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil.
- Lay out half of the wonton wrappers. Place 1-2 tablespoons filling in the center of each wrapper. Brush edges with egg wash. Place another wrapper on top, sealing tightly at the edges, and rounding the top with your palm to make a nice shape.
- Boil ravioli in batches for about 5-8 minutes. Drain gently (they break easily) and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking. Serve with that yummy kale pesto and extra Parmesan cheese!
Notes
The garlic and herbs (I’ve used both fresh rosemary and thyme, separately) can be sautéed in the oil if you want to increase the flavor of the herbs and remove the bite of the garlic. I just add a TINY touch of nutmeg to warm it up, but I don’t love nutmeg so it’s seriously the tiniest little dusting ever – too small to measure. If you love nutmeg, go for it – but start with less and taste and adjust as needed. Too much nutmeg and suddenly you’re not having fun anymore. I know from experience.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian-Inspired
Keywords: squash ravioli, ravioli, kale pesto
I love when you keep it real – as always! Crumbled bacon and my couch sound like the perfect additions to this recipe!
bring it on! hope you like it Maureen.
Using wonton wrappers is GENIUS!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Rhian!
love the generous amount of veggies (and cheese!). i feel like this would also be good sprinkled with toasted nuts for some crunch (:
YES PLEASE. Pine nuts would be amazing.
Thank you ma’am! You spoke to my heart,(err ..gut) I have made this combo in my past but never with kale and bacon. YOU are the boss
Thanks Karin! 🙂 glad you like the combo too
This looks amazing!!! Do you have any thoughts on substitutes for the dairy in the ravioli filling? My girlfriend, who I’d love to make this for, doesn’t really do dairy, but I suspect ricotta is important to getting the texture of this right… Appreciate any thoughts you might have!
I think you could do without! it would be less creamy obviously, but I think just a squash-based mixture would be great. I might do caramelized onions in there or something just to add some depth.
Wonderful, thanks so much!! I will give it a try and report back 🙂
Daiya cheese (mozzarella flavour, IMO) would be nice. Dairy-, soy-free and so creamy when it melts. That’s my go-to, and it would work really nicely in ravioli.
Silken tofu will add the same texture.
I love it! Butternut squash ravioli is one of the best meals everrr and I can most definitely remember all of the times I’ve had amazing ones at restaurants 🙂
Yep!! Food memory like a steel trap. 😉
This is brilliant. For one thing, you can get some very odd ravioli combos here (ham and brie) but not butternut squash, despite them being everywhere. For another thing, making ravioli by hand seems like a beautiful thing for somebody who can spend all day making a meal. Which is not me.
I am buying wonton wrappers first thing in the morning. I THINK I can get those here.
Bless you for this!
Awesome! I hope you can find them! 🙂 Enjoy!
This seriously looks so yummy! Pinned it to make later (hopefully very soon!)
xo
Olivia
PrepEssentials
Thanks Olivia!
This looks SO delicious! I’ve never made my own ravioli before, but this recipe looks so good and easy, I’ll have to try it!
http://www.justbeingbrooklyn.com
Hope you like it Brooklyn!
I haven’t even made this yet and can just tell that this will HIT THE SPOT! Adding this to the menu for sure! Mmmm Mmm
Hope you enjoy it, Lauren!
oh.my.goodness.
you’ve just recapped every conversation with my husband ever. & it kills me every time.
this recipe looks lovely – love the idea of cutting through the rich squash with herbaceous pesto. YUM!
Thanks, Jess! Enjoy! 🙂
That is such a super awesome dish! Don’t think I could think on how to improve that. Love the idea of the wanton wrappers. The pumpkin with the pesto…Awesome!
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy it!
This looks fantastic – we grown our own butternut so I’m drowning in them at the moment, and they work so well with ricotta. Might try this this weekend (though, I may have to make my own pasta as I may not make it to the Asian grocery store) for the family.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
You can wonton recipes in the produce section of most conventional groceries. Normally by the tofu.
Local grocers carry won ton wrappers and they work well, and by the way am I the only guy that like to create food masterpieces ?
Oh my, what perfection!!!! I am completely sold on the fact that I’ve got to try these!!!
Thanks, Tori! 🙂 Hope you enjoy them!
Holy ravioli, they’re huge! And food memories are the best. <3
I cannot wait to make this! Thanks for sharing!!
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Looks and sounds incredible.
I know exactly what you mean about people not having food memories. My husband is one of them while I have a fantastic food memory! He can build and fix computers though. 🙂
So crafty with the wonton wrappers, Lindsay. I will definitely try this recipe. It looks delicious and great for this time of year.
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy it!
This recipe lookso great and I love your blog! I am not a fan of ricotta, any suggestions for a subistution?
We’d probably just omit it!
Bahahaha oh my goodness… How DO some people live without their food memories?! I also assumed until recently that everyone remembers every.single.item. they have ever eaten (good or bad) and can recall said food items at will to reminisce… But apparently not! This post made me laugh out loud. Thank you for conjuring up my favorite long-lost food memories. (The chicken heart on a stick in Peru, the hot chocolate made from literal melted chocolate in New Hampshire, the homemade curry in Upstate NY…)
All that sounds amazing! 🙂 Thanks for the comment, Michelle!
Looks so yummy! I’d be half of a person without my food memories too! Love your style!!
Thanks for the comment, Gayle!
Yum! I have the exact same food memory from a place in Akron Oh about 13-14 years ago. Quick question: can you freeze the leftovers? 30 raviolis will be a lot for two peeps. Would love to freeze some for quick dinner later. Thanks!
Hmmm we don’t see why not! 🙂 We’d probably recommend freezing them before boiling, with the wonton wrappers raw.
Fall is here! Amazing recipe and the pictures – drooooool. Can’t wait to try it out, thanks 🙂
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Very nice recipe … congratulates the idea 🙂
I have the worst memory, but with food memories, I can remember exactly what I ate, where I was, what day of the week it was, etc. It sounds like Bjork gives you the same confused look that my fiance gives me!! These look so delicious!
(BTW, I’ve read your blog and have received your emails for a long time, but this is the first time I’ve commented! Thanks for a lot of great recipes over the years!) 🙂
Well thanks for the comment and sweet note, Devan! 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!