When you cook “from scratch”, you can make almost anything…even these amazing Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter!
I probably can’t mark this dish as “easy”, though after you’ve made them a few times–as I have–they come together quickly. Mine were made with a sweet potato stuffing but you can easily replace the sweet potato with cooked pumpkin or butternut squash if you can’t find sweet potatoes.
So let’s start with the filling. You can make as much or as little filling as you want. My quantities will be enough for about 5-6 adults. I began by pricking two sweet potatoes with a fork…
…and I microwaved them on high for about 4 minutes. The time will depend on how big your potatoes are and how powerful your microwave is. If you can’t easily poke them with a fork after that time, add another few minutes, checking them occasionally. (If you use pumpkin or butternut squash you can either microwave, bake or steam them until tender.)
While the potatoes were cooking, I sauteed a few tablespoons of finely minced onion in a little butter…
Once the potatoes are soft, and cool enough to handle, I cut them in half and scooped out the flesh, adding it to the softened, but not browned, onions…
I mashed the sweet potato with a fork…
…and then added a few tablespoons of heavy cream…
…and mixed it all together…
What you’re looking for is a mixture that’s the consistency of mashed potatoes–not too dry but not too runny either. Now we’ll set the mixture aside and make the fresh pasta. Generally two eggs makes enough pasta for two medium-sized sweet potatoes, so I recommend beginning with two eggs. Read here for the recipe for fresh pasta. If you don’t have a pasta roller, you can roll the dough by hand, though I’ll quickly admit that it’s a lot more work.
One of the things I enjoy most about my new job here in Belgium is the opportunity to spend time with students, such as Anna, a student from Romania. What fun we had one evening making ravioli together!
As you can see, we rolled out the pasta into long strips, which were the width of the machine. Next we used two spoons to place dollops of the sweet potato filling down one side of each strip of pasta…
Keep placing the dollops down one side…
After the filling is placed along the entire strip, use a pastry brush (or clean paint brush, or even your finger, if you don’t have a brush!) to brush water along the edges…
It’s important that ALL of the edges of each piece of ravioli are brushed with water so they stick together better. Since water doesn’t show up in the photo, I’ve “enhanced” the picture with “blue” water marks to show you where you need to brush the water…
Be sure to brush all outside edges, as well as in between each “square”. Next we lifted the side without filling over the filling. What’s important here–and hard to show in photos–is that you need to press out the air around each dollop as you seal each square. Your temptation will be to press the two outer edges together first, but then air can get “trapped” around the filling, making it hard to cook them later without them bursting open.
Once all of the squares of ravioli are sealed…
…I cut each one apart…
If you don’t have a ravioli wheel, you can use a knife, of course. The rippled edge makes it look kind of classy, right? If the filling seems too close to either the front or back folded edge, I sometimes leave that untrimmed. Otherwise you can trim all of the edges…
I place the ravioli on a floured dishcloth…
…and then they can be cooked immediately, or placed in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Unless I’m going to serve them in a few hours, I flash freeze them on the cookies sheet, and then place the frozen squares in a plastic bag to seal and use later…
It’s so nice knowing I have a bag of frozen, homemade ravioli ready to pull out of the freezer for a quick meal!
I’ve made two types of sauce for these Sweet Potato Ravioli. I used to make a thin Bechamel sauce (white sauce) with 2 T. butter, 2 T. flour and about a cup of milk and a bouillon cube. But since living in the Torino area, I always serve them with Sage Butter, “the” sauce of choice in that area of Italy. All you have to do is to add some fresh sage leaves to some melted butter. I use about 1 tablespoon of butter per person and 3-4 sage leaves per person.
You need to brown the butter very slowly, and the sage leaves will also brown and crisp up…
Once you have those little brown flecks in the butter, it’s time to remove it from the heat. Watch it carefully as it can burn easily at this point!
The ravioli need to be cooked in a large pot of boiling, salted water for 4-5 minutes–if they’re frozen, you’ll need to cook them a bit longer. I usually lift one to the edge of the pan and cut off a corner to taste for doneness. Once they’re drained, I return them to the hot pot they cooked in and gently stir in the Sage Butter. You’ll want 3-4 ravioli per serving…top with Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
Serving Size: 3-4 squares of ravioli per person
Ingredients
- 2-3 sweet potatoes (or equal amount of pumpkin or butternut squash)
- 2 T. butter
- 2-3 T. finely minced onion
- 2-3 T. heavy cream
- salt
- pinch of nutmeg (optional)
- Fresh, homemade pasta (2-3 eggs)
Instructions
- Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and microwave them until tender.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter and saute the onion until tender, but not browned.
- Cut the sweet potatoes in half and scoop out the pulp into the butter and onions. (This is a bit easier to do if the potatoes are a little cool or, just hold the halves with a potholder while you scoop it out.)
- Mash the sweet potatoes with a fork and then add a little heavy cream (or milk), a pinch of salt and nutmeg if you’d like. The mixture should be the consistency of mashed potatoes.
- Roll out the pasta the width of the pasta machine (usually about 5 inches). Place dollops of the sweet potato mixture down one side of the sheet of pasta.
- Brush all of the edges, even between the dollops, with water, then fold over the pasta strip and press around each dollop to seal well, eliminating as much air as possible. Cut into squares.
- The squares of ravioli can be cooked immediately, or placed on a floured baking sheet in the fridge for several hours. If you’re making them more than a few hours before eating them, flash freeze them on a floured baking sheet. Once they’re frozen, they can be stored for several months in a sealed plastic bag in the freezer.
- To cook, place the ravioli in a large pot of boiling, salted water and cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender.
Sage Butter: Melt 1 T. butter per person and add 3-4 sage leaves per person into the pan. Slowly brown the butter and sage leaves, stirring frequently. Once the butter has little brown specks in it, and the sage leaves are crisp and browned, remove from heat. Drain the pasta, return it to the hot pot and then pour the Sage Butter over it. Gently toss and serve with a grating of Parmesan.
For additional recipes, please visit: http://ciaofromdebbie.com
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