Pumpkin ravioli, you guys.
You might have gleaned between this and the previous post that I went pumpkin picking, and now I’m reaping the considerable benefits of pumpkin eating.
I got about 8 cups of pumpkin meat and some tasty pumpkin seeds from my preparation adventure, and since then I’ve been putting it into everything.
Yesterday’s adventure was pumpkin ravioli. You might remember this post, in which I had no fancy tools and did the whole process of homemade ravioli by hand, but had delicious results. As Brian’s mom was present for the food testing, she was kind enough to get me a pasta roller and ravioli maker for my birthday (perhaps a hint…), so I got to use fancy equipment this time. If you want a more in-depth look at my ravioli-making, check out Ravioli Adventures.
It bears mention I didn’t learn from last time when I got flour/egg mix all over my kitchen, and I set up on a flat surface again, determined to get it right. Things were going well…
And I emerged victorious, without my cabinets and floor a sticky mess.
Like last time I used this recipe for the dough, and since it didn’t end up on the floor this time I can say I’m pleased with it. I think I used a little more water than the recipe called for, but all you need to do is add it gradually and see for yourself how much it takes to make the dough workable. Pro tip: Keep some additional flour on hand for workability; you’ll want to keep your surface and tools (and hands) nicely coated so you aren’t a gluey mess.
Pumpkin Cheese filling:
yields more than 36 1.5″ ravioli
-2c pumpkin puree
-1c ricotta cheese (I used part-skim)
-1/2tsp ground dried sage
-pinches of salt and pepper
You can see from that amazingly short ingredient list that I wanted to keep my filling simple. The ricotta muted the squashy flavor, and gave a creamy consistency. I find ricotta has a slight nutty flavor as well, which I liked (especially since I would have added nuts, if I had anything other than peanuts in the house).
With my filling and my dough prepared, it was time to learn to use tools. Predictably, I made a mess of my kitchen, dropped things on my foot, and engaged in a lot of swearing at inanimate objects. Surprisingly, the pasta roller gave me more trouble than the ravioli maker; the crank handle kept popping out and it was jerky on the wider settings. I can’t say whether this was user error or defective equipment (likely the former). Still, it was a huge help in getting evenly thin and workable strips of pasta.
The ravioli form worked surprisingly well; out of the more than 4 dozen pieces I made only 8 or so failed to seal nicely (again, likely user error. I get sort of sloppy in the kitchen).
But those broken ones got to be my test snacks; I put them on a baking sheet and baked them at 425 for about 10 minutes until they were crunchy and golden brown, more like a hotpocket than a pasta.
I wanted to make a sage gravy to be a savory compliment to the sweetness of the pumpkin cheese filling. It looks hideous but tastes pretty good.
Sage gravy:
Yields approx. 1c gravy
-1 small onion, chopped
-3tbs butter
-Fresh sage (I used about 3x what is shown above)
-1tbs minced garlic (I used jar, but would use fresh next time)
-approx 1c chicken stock (I used homemade)
-salt and pepper to taste
In a small saucepan, melt butter. When hot, add onions and saute, allowing the butter to brown a bit. Add garlic and sage (Note: if you’re using dried sage you’ll probably want a few teaspoons of it.), then add chicken stock. I’d like to note here that I use poultry seasoning and a lot of fresh herbs when making my chicken stock, so if you’re using supermarket broth you might need to fiddle with the seasonings to taste; I expect stuff from a can would be saltier but less savory. Let sit at a low simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
This gravy is thin, though I suppose there’s nothing stopping you from putting in a bit of flour or cornstarch in the pre-broth stage to make a thicker gravy. It’s also ugly, full of wilty delicious sage leaves, so if you care about things like presentation rather than feeding your face you might want to strain it and garnish with fresh pieces of sage that don’t look like some sad raggedy kelp washed up on a beach. I just stuck it in my face hole and was pretty happy.
Related articles by other people!
- Pumpkin and Pancetta Risotto (crowneplazalouisville.wordpress.com)
- Pumpkin Sundays: Pumpkin and Pesto Lasagna (themodernhomekitchen.wordpress.com)
- Bachelor in the Kitchen: Homemade Quick and Easy Pumpkin Pizza (nestleusa.wordpress.com)
- Sage pumpkin pork chops (snixykitchen.com)
Let’s see some finished product pictures, woman! Especially during the act of being ingested into your face-hole. I want to see some pretentious plating, as well. 🙂
Maybe I’ll take some at dinner tonight. Or maybe not! Note my pretentious instagram photos! To hell with my real camera!
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