Butternut Squash Ravioli to Tempt the Palate

Our first thanksgiving on the easy coast consisted of my wife and me, a few good friends from long ago that had found themselves on the east coast, and a few new friends we had made in the area. We sat around our little apartment in Old Town, Portsmouth, VA, and ate Mama Gleaton's Tofu Turkey with Dressing (which, by the way, is still one of my favorite recipes), a store bought tofurky, salad, and maybe pudding… honestly, I don’t really remember but outside of the tofu turkey bake, it really wasn’t that impressive, but it did mark our first annual east coast thanksgiving. Five years later and there was no tofurky or pudding to be found, but there was awesome ravioli, that, after a debate over boiling or baking, was plated and eaten before I ever made it to the table. 

Course Two: Butternut Squash, Sage, and "Goat Cheeze" Ravioli with Toasted Hazelnut Sauce

Makes 30 ravioli, serving 6

Filling:

1 2-pound butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground sage

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, minced

2/3 cup “goat cheeze” (recipe follows ravioli. Make “cheeze” first)

Sauce:

1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine (I use earth balance)

1/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted lightly and skinned and chopped coarse

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. and lightly grease a baking sheet.

Make filling: Put squash halves, flesh sides down, on a baking sheet and roast in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until flesh is tender. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh into a bowl and discard skin. Mash squash with a fork until smooth.

While squash is roasting, cook onion and sage in butter in a skillet with salt and pepper to taste over moderate heat, stirring, 5 minutes, or until onion is golden brown. Stir in garlic and cook1 minute.

Cool onion mixture slightly and add to squash. Add “goat cheeze” and stir to combine well.

Prepare pasta dough and stuff ravioli with filling

Cook ravioli in 3 batches in gently boiling eater 6 minutes, or until they rise to surface and are tender (do not let water boil vigorously once ravioli have been added). Carefully transfer ravioli as cooked with a slotted spoon to a large shallow baking pan and add enough cooking water to reach 1/2 inch up side of pan. Keep ravioli warm, covered.

In skillet cook margarine with hazelnuts over moderate heat about 3 minutes, and immediately remove from heat (nuts will continue to cook). Season hazelnut mixture with salt and pepper and keep warm, covered.

Plate ravioli (transfer using slotted spoon, just be sure to knock out all excess water) and cover with hazelnut mixture

Goat Cheeze:

Ingredients:

1 cups raw pine nuts

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon, zested, then peeled and quartered

½ small shallot

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 garlic clove

3/4 cup water

Sea salt

Directions:

Soak pine nuts for 1 hour. Drain, and then put pine nuts in a food processor with extra virgin olive oil, lemon quarters, lemon zest, and shallot. Process for about 7-8 minutes until all ingredients are well combined - it will clump together.

Add nutritional yeast to mixture in blender and blend on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until mixture is thick and smooth. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate uncovered for 1 hour.

Bring vegan cheese out of refrigerator and season with sea salt.

 Thanks to Deedra for the pictures!