Butternut Squash Ravioli with Orange-Butter Sauce

Well, I can't turn down a challenge, right? So, here is a picture of the ravioli we made a week ago. All from scratch.

For the dough, you can just look up any pasta recipe. I don't have much advice. Our ravioli were a little tough after cooking, which, after some reading, I think is due to the dough being a bit too dry. I guess you really want to make sure to keep it moist enough and not add too much flour. Other than that the dough worked out well. We used our little kiddie IKEA cups to 'cut out' circles to make into ravioli. Sophia helped with that and loved it.

And here is the recipe we used for the filling:

9oz winter squash puree ( I used the frozen stuff in a box from Meijers)
1 oz grated Parmesan
3 tbsp hazelnut flour (I couldn't find hazelnut, or hazelnut flour, so I used 3 tbsp of chopped pecans)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp fresh sage leaves (I think I may have used a little more than that)

If you use frozen squash, make sure it's fully thawed and squeezed out before you use it. Put all the other ingredients in a food processor (blender) and mix well. Then stir it into your squash puree. This will be your ravioli filling. I doubled the filling, and it makes plenty of food.

For the sauce you'll need:

juice of two large oranges
2 oz butter
a pinch of ground mace
salt and pepper to taste.
1 tsp potato starch

You melt the butter, and stir in the juice as well as your starch. I don't know what mace is, so I didn't use it. Stir the sauce well throughout. It should thicken some. Mine got pretty thick.

Anyway, so...as I said, the ravioli ended up a bit tough, but the filling with the sauce was actually really tasty I thought. However, be warned - it was very rich, and quite sweet somehow. The sauce is also way more buttery than it's orangey. If you add any sides/veggies I would highly recommend something light, not sweet, and inconspicuous flavors (maybe green beans or zucchini?).

And so you'll know what you can expect from me this week: I'm planning on making a corn & poblano chowder, as well as an Afghani Biryani. Both looked superdelicious on foodgawker. I'll post pictures and recipes if they turn out well.