Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Mascarpone Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage - It's the Best Thing Since Wonton Skins!

If I suggested you make homemade butternut squash ravioli as an appetizer for your holiday meal, what would you say? You'd say no. That's because you would envision some long complicated process fraught with disappointment.

People throw around the "best thing since sliced bread" line for all kinds of things, and rarely do they deserve such a tribute. Ready-to-use wonton skins, however, are not only the "best thing since sliced bread," they are better than sliced bread…much better.

Anyone can slice bread (except those cooks on Hell's Kitchen), but how many people make paper-thin, perfectly round wonton skins. Hopefully this video recipe shows you just how easy ravioli can be when using this easy-to-find, and very liberating product.

I've used them for tortellini, pierogi, dumplings, ravioli, and yes, even wontons, all with terrific results. There are eight million known ravioli fillings, so once you get this simple technique down you have a lot of recipes to try. I've also posted a few (very) old videos that use the same product. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
1 cup cooked butternut squash
1/2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
1 package round wonton skins
butter, garlic, and sage as needed


More Wonton Magic - click on title to read original post
(Warning: old videos with minimal production value)


Wonton Soup



Salmon Ricotta Tortellini with Spring Peas and Lemon





23 comments:

Pyrofish said...

I thought Azumaya was Japanese for Whale's Va... err ravioli?

Great stuff. Making my own ravioli always looked like a daunting task, but not now.

blogagog said...

Ack! Why are you making me hungry at midnight CST? RSS has come back to bite me it seems.

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef,

I think the pasta are called mezzelune (half-moons) in italy.

A very merry christmas!

Väös

Daniel Vu Tran lol said...

LOVE IT , LOVE IT , LOVEEEEE IT.

Your videos are what I watch when I am feeling hungry late at night (Like now it's 3:03 am and your ravioli video is making me HUNGERRRR)

BAH, I still love your videos though even though my stomache is growling now rofl.

Anonymous said...

These look like Polish "pierogi".

Anonymous said...

Hi Chef, so my little boy (almost 6) was watching the ravioli vid with me and asked when you wet the wontons with your finger 'why doesn't he just lick them like an envelope'? He just learned about xmas cards so this was still on his mind I guess. I figured I would let you explain as I am still dieing laughing. Ah, the simplicity of kids. thanks for the tastee recipe and merry christmas!

Chef John said...

tell him had they just been for me, I would have! :)

Anonymous said...

A tour de force of why this site rocks!

... that little wooden spoon, he's pretty amazing, isn't he? I hear the silicon mat hasn't been doing so well... Hey Chef, how about a Where Are They Now: Utensils Unit vlog?

Scott - Boston

Chef John said...

you are quite the idea guy!

Anonymous said...

Hahaha @ "Around the outside"! You were always great, but now you just became hip also!

This looks so delicious. I have a sad little Lean Cuisine frozen Butternut Squash Ravioli dinner sitting in my freezer right this very moment that I am positive will be so very disappointing now that I've watched this video. Thanks for ruining my pre-packaged frozen dinner. :( And on Christmas Eve too... The nerve.

:) Merry Christmas Chef :)

Anonymous said...

if you're still wondering i think the raviolli are called mezza lunas

because mezza means half and luna means moon so half moon, it's kinda like the chopping instrument knife tool :]

Anonymous said...

Hey, John. Can this filling be frozen without wrecking it? As a single non-entertaining cook, I'd like to make a few at a time :(

Chef John said...

yes!

Peter said...

can i deep fry these bad boys instead of boiling them?

Chef John said...

never tried!

Diane said...

Yummm, I'm going to make these! Though I'm wondering if goat cheese instead of mascarpone would be good. Different, but still creamy... Hmm. :p

Unknown said...

I just made these. They're pretty incredible. I did have to roast the squash for about 1.5 hours, but that could have just been my oven. Also, a strainer is an absolute must. Slotted spoons cause mess! But anyway, great winter dish and way to get rid of some squash I had lying around from my farm subscription. Will eat again tomorrow!

Ramona W. said...

Chef John, such an inspiration! Last night 4/26, I made your homemade tomato sauce, ricotta meatballs and classic spinach riotta tortellini. I would have never made tortellini (which is too easy not to do folks)I was so proud I took a picture. Thank you so much for your humour, it played a part in me making this recipe :) PS, everthing was from scratch except the wonton wraps. SO PROUD!

Chef John said...

I am SOOOOOO proud!!! So glad you are enjoying the site. Where is this picture??

Unknown said...

Chef John... Dude! You are the GREATEST!... But, Aren't these really "Pierogies"? Oh well... you know what they say..."A rose by any other name..." :)

Unknown said...

Outstanding!!! You are an awesome teacher Chef John. Thank you!! These were absolutely deliious.

Unknown said...

Let me tell you how much I love the tiny wooden spoon. I bought one that came with a tiny wooden fork. Long handles that are actually chopsticks on the other end. (Church Lady strut)

megaseeker said...

Hi Chef! I love your video tutorials (AND your cute sense of humor)! I just discovered this recipe from your archives and I look forward to trying it, as I love, love, love butternut squash (and other winter squashes). One commentor asked if the filling could be frozen, to which you replied "yes". My question is - can I pre-fill the ravioli and freeze them, so that all I need to do is boil them? If so, I might even buy fresh garlic for making the sauce! (That's a big step for me, too!)