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butternut squash ricotta ravioli

Butternut Squash Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter

Homemade butternut squash ricotta ravioli with fresh pasta dough, nutmeg and cinnamon filling, tossed in a crispy sage brown butter sauce. A private chef fall recipe worth every minute.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Dough Rest 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 550
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Butternut Squash Ricotta Filling
  • 1 lb butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup onion finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ¼ cup ricotta cheese
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • salt and pepper to taste
For the Pasta Dough
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil optional
For the Sage Brown Butter Sauce
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 8 fresh sage leaves
  • ¼ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated, plus more to serve
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice optional
  • salt and pepper to taste
For the Roasted Mushrooms
  • 8 oz cremini mushrooms halved or quartered if large
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar optional, adds depth
  • salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Method
 

Make the Filling
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss butternut squash cubes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast 25-30 minutes until tender and caramelized. Let cool slightly.
  2. In a skillet over medium heat, sauté the chopped onion in a touch of olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes more.
  3. In a large bowl, mash the roasted squash, leaving some texture — not completely smooth. Fold in the cooked onion and garlic, ricotta, parmesan, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool completely.
    4. Roasted squash holds a lot of moisture. Spread it on a sheet pan after mashing and let the steam escape before mixing with ricotta. Wet filling makes soggy ravioli.
Make the Pasta Dough
  1. Mound the flour on a clean surface and make a well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well, add salt and olive oil (if using).
  2. Beat the eggs gently with a fork, gradually incorporating flour from the inner edges. Continue until a shaggy dough forms.
  3. Knead by hand for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding a dusting of flour if sticky. Wrap in plastic and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. This resting time is non-negotiable for tender pasta.
    4. The dough needs a full ten minutes of kneading. Stop early and the gluten has not developed enough, which means your sheets will tear when you roll them thin.
  4. Divide the rested dough into 3 portions. Using a pasta machine or rolling pin, roll each out to about 1/16-inch thickness.
Roast the Mushrooms
  1. If the squash oven is still hot, bump it to 425°F. Otherwise, preheat oven to 425°F. Toss the mushrooms with olive oil, garlic, thyme, salt, and cracked pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet — no crowding or they steam instead of roast.
  2. Roast 18-20 minutes, shaking the pan once halfway, until deeply golden and caramelized at the edges. If using balsamic, drizzle it over the hot mushrooms as they come out of the oven and toss to coat. They can rest at room temperature until the ravioli is ready.
Assemble and Cook
  1. Cut rolled pasta into 3-inch squares. Place a level teaspoon of filling in the center of half the squares. Brush edges lightly with water, lay a second square on top, and press firmly to seal. Crimp edges with a fork.
    2. Press the air out as you seal each ravioli. Any trapped air pocket expands in boiling water and can burst the pasta open.
  2. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook ravioli in batches for 2 to 4 minutes until they float and are cooked through. Do not overcrowd the pot.
  3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl occasionally until golden brown and nutty, 5-7 minutes. Add sage leaves and cook 1-2 minutes until crispy and fragrant. Season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.
    4. Sage brown butter goes from perfect to burnt in about ten seconds. Keep the heat at medium and swirl the pan constantly once the foam subsides. Pull it when you smell hazelnuts.
  4. Drain ravioli gently and add directly to the brown butter. Toss to coat, plate immediately, and finish with freshly grated parmesan.

Notes

Plating: Five ravioli per person in a shallow wide bowl, piled loosely in the center. Roasted mushrooms scattered through the ravioli so every piece gets one. Brown butter spooned over the ravioli while still foaming, about two tablespoons per bowl. Two or three whole crispy sage leaves laid on top of each bowl for color and crunch. Parmesan grated at the table over the bowl, not in the kitchen (it melts and clumps if it waits). One crack of black pepper on the butter.
Wine: A lightly oaked Chardonnay or Italian Pinot Grigio works beautifully here. The butter richness needs a wine with enough acidity to cut through.
Make Ahead: The filling and pasta dough can both be made a day ahead. Keep dough wrapped tightly in plastic. Store filling in an airtight container in the fridge. Assemble and cook the day you serve. Assembled uncooked ravioli also freeze well — single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan, then bag once solid. Cook directly from frozen, adding 2 extra minutes.
Scaling for service: To 8: double dough, filling, and mushrooms, but only 1.5x the brown butter. A larger pan browns milk solids faster so the butter darkens before you are ready. Boil ravioli in two batches of 20 so they do not stick. To 12: triple the filling, but make the dough in 3 separate single-recipe batches for even gluten development — large dough batches knead unevenly. Rest each batch a full 45 minutes. 2.25x the butter done in two stovetop batches, fresh sage crisped per batch or it goes soft.
Dietary swaps: To make it GF: the pasta dough is not worth converting, GF fresh pasta cracks on the seal. Use 1-to-1 GF fresh pasta sheets (Jovial works) and drop boil time to 90 seconds. The filling and brown butter are GF as written. Not easily dairy-free: the ricotta, parmesan, and brown butter are all load-bearing. If you have to, sub almond ricotta and a good olive oil browned with sage, but it reads like a different dish. Nut-free as written (check your ricotta brand).