When it comes to the holiday’s I love to surround myself in the kitchen and make festive meals. Even though Thanksgiving has come and gone fall is still in the air and I felt really inspired the other day to whip up some fresh butternut squash ravioli. Earlier this year I made my delicious Butternut Squash soup. I guess you can say I am a big fan of butternut squash! Growing up in a traditional Italian household, my grandmothers always cooked up fresh meals. Everything was made from scratch. We grew our own produce, we made our own sauce, and we even made our own pasta. There were always a few dishes that I remember eating as a kid that were my favourite.
I was privileged growing up and being surrounded by so many talented Italian women. I always aspired to learn from them so I can provide the same love and experience for my children one day. My Nonna (grandmother) Maria always made the best lasagna. Every holiday season she would make trays and trays of lasagna and it was delicious. My Nonna Francesca makes the best spaghetti and stracciatella soup (It’s seriously to die for, I haven’t mastered this recipe yet). My mom, hands down, makes the best pizza in town. Every time I have a craving for pizza, I never want to order anything else except for her cooking.
A few years back I tried butternut squash ravioli for the first time and was absolutely delicious. Surprisingly, it is the hardest thing to find in the supermarkets and restaurants. With butternut squash being in season I decided to make some of my own. This meant that I had to make my own pasta dough for the first time. That’s okay because I love having fun and trying new recipes! No matter how long it takes or how dirty my kitchen gets, I’m always praying it turns out good! I’ll have to give myself a pat on the back for this one because I’ll let you know now, that it was absolutely delicious! Now, let’s get into the recipe!
- 2 Cups cups all-purpose flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 Large Eggs
- 2 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1 Butternut Squash
- 3 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1 Onion
- 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 2 Tbsp Butter
First, you want to preheat your oven to 375°F to make the butternut squash. Before placing it in the oven cut it in half and scoop out all of the excess seeds in the middle. Then, sprinkle it with salt, pepper, and thyme on each side. Once your done place it on a pan and in the oven for 45-60 minutes until soft.
In the meantime, in a pan over the stove place the butter, onion, brown sugar, and minced garlic and stir until completely sauteed. Once the butternut squash is cooked, scoop it out and place it into a food processor with the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and the sauteed onions. Grind it all up really well and place in a bowl on the side.
While the squash is cooking, in a separate bowl mix together salt, flour, eggs, and olive oil. I find that mixing the dough with my hands allows me to grasp the consistency of the dough a lot better. You can feel the texture better. If the texture is still grainy try adding one egg at a time until you get the stretchy dough-like texture.
Once you get the dough to the consistency that you like, spread some flour onto your counter top and start kneading the dough and rolling it out with a rolling pin.
Once it is rolled out I like to cut it into rectangles. Doing this allows me to run it through the pasta maker a lot easier. I always start off by rolling it with the thickest setting and slowly bringing it down to make it thinner and thinner.
Once it is rolled out take your butternut squash puree and with the size of a teaspoon scoop, place each scoop about an inch apart.
Take another rolled out sheet and place it on top of the scooped squash puree. Take your ravioli cutter and slowly cut out each ravioli.
Once all of the ravioli are cut out place them in a pot of boiling hot water. Let them cook for 4-5 minutes. Make sure to gently stir them to prevent them from sticking to each other and the pan. Once the ravioli has floated to the top that a sign they are cooked.
Once they are cooked, I seasoned them with Nonna Francesca’s homemade pesto. Unfortunately, I cannot divulge her secret recipe but any other pesto sauce would do the trick 🙂
To see some of my other Italian inspired dishes that I made for the first time, check out my homemade turkey meatballs and my gluten-free cauliflower pizza.
What’s your favourite home cooked meal?
I LOVE butternut squash! And I adore pasta. This may very well be my food dreams coming true hahaha. Can’t wait to make some 😍
omg thanks sarah! I hope you so try it out! its so so delicious!
I’m not much of a squash person. The taste always makes my stomach so uneasy, but I do have some family that loves squash. I’ll share it with them, maybe they will enjoy this recipe.
awesome Rikki, let me know if they enjoy the recipe!
This looks utterly divine! All of my favourite things in the one dish. I am definitely going to make this soon. Thank you so much!
yess im so glad to hear that Alexandra:)
This looks delicious! I need to try making this. It would be a perfect recipe for the holidays coming up
Yes such a perfect recipe for the holidays! Let me know how it goes if you end up making it 🙂
I have never seen this unique creation before and I would really love to give it a go. The way you have described it here and laid out the recipe makes me think I might be able to be successful in replicating this – even though I don’t have the same Italian background and family to inspire me.
Yes it is really a simple recipe to make. It does take a long time if your doing it for the first time but it comes out super delicious!
I love butternut squash and ravioli, so this looks amazing. I will have to give it a try.
Yes Tonya please try it out 🙂
I have never had butternut squash, let alone butternut squash pasta. Now, I have to try this and see what happens. Wish me luck!
Yes good luck! You won’t regret it! It’s so delicious!
Oh wow, this looks really delicious! I will have to try this recipe! Thank you for sharing this!
so glad you enjoyed it! Yes definitely give it a try
Oh my god I love ravioli and butternut AND pesto. This is my dream recipe!
ahahah right? they are all my favourite flavours as well 🙂
This looks so yummy! I have never prepared my squashes in this manner so I’m definitely loving the new idea since I do love them. Although getting pesto sauce will be the problem bt I’m sure that if they turn out as great, I can get some other seasoning, right?
yes absolutely you can use tomato sauce or any other pasta sauce recipe you like
I have absolute respect for people who make their own pasta! Whew! I will only eat that. haha I cook pasta dishes at home, but from store-bought pasta.
hahah it is definitely a little harder but so worth the work
This looks so yummy! It’s a bit labor intensive but it would be such a nice thing to do for a special occasion!
yes for sure! I love cooking for special occasions
This looks like a great holiday meal! Homemade pasta is one of families favourite homemade meals.
so glad to hear Alainna! It’s my family’s favourite too!
This looks delicious. I have never made ravioli but this recipe makes me want to try. I will be saving it for future use!
you should definitely give it a try debby 🙂 let me know how it works for you!