Homemade Ravioli: Squash-Filled Bundles of Love

It's that time of year when the grocery stores are displaying bins overflowing with beautiful winter squash. I was inspired by the fall bounty of butternut squash that was on sale, so I added it to my basket. I didn't quite know what I was going to do with it, but I would worry about that later.

How do you know which squash to choose? Grab the one with the longest neck! It's easier to cut and contains more of that squashy goodness.

After my squash spent a couple of weeks sitting on my counter (I love that it has a very long shelf life) I decided it would be a really fun family activity to make roasted butternut squash-filled ravioli. And it was!

The first of many jobs in making this recipe was to roast the squash. I cut it in half lengthwise, and placed it cut side down on a parchment-lined sheet tray. I roasted it at 375° until knife tender.

While the squash was roasting I made the fresh pasta dough.  This is a much easier task than you might imagine.

I then got all of my Mise en Place (pronounced meez-ahn-plahs) ready for assembling the ravioli. This included:

• My pasta roller
• 2 sheet trays dusted with flour or semolina
• Biscuit cutter
• Large pot of salted, boiling water
• Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water)
• Pastry brush

Once the squash had cooled, I removed and discarded the skin. I placed the roasted squash in a bowl, and using a potato masher, "pureed" the squash until it was smooth. I mixed in 1 beaten egg, grated pecorino Romano cheese, salt and pepper.

My daughter, Delilah, helped me roll the pasta dough into thin sheets.

We then placed tablespoon-size dollops of the squash mixture on the bottom half of the sheet of dough, spacing them out every 1 1/2 inches. We then placed a small square of fontina cheese on top of the puree.

We "painted" a light layer of egg wash around the filling, and then folded the top half of dough over the filling.

Using a biscuit cutter, we cut the ravioli out and pressed firmly around the filling with a fork to make sure the seams were sealed.

The ravioli were boiled in the salted water for about 4 minutes, and then tossed in a bacon cream sauce. My husband was in charge of that part!

This recipe took some time, but was so worth it! My husband, who is also a chef instructor and connoisseur of delicious food, said these were the best ravioli he had ever had! They were pretty stellar.

This would also make an excellent entrée during the holiday season, as a vegetarian Thanksgiving dish with a different sauce or at a dinner party. You can make the dinner party interactive and get your guests involved. What a great way to spend an evening with friends!

We are making a similar version of this recipe in The Chopping Block's Pasta Workshop hands-on classes this fall. We will also teach you how to make Pappardelle alla Bolognese and Spinach Fettuccine Carbonara.

Our December calendars were just released today, so be sure to check them out!