Butternut Squash Ravioli with Parmesan Broth

Before I had a pasta machine, I never cared too much about ravioli. It seemed like such a heavy dish, filled with cheese, and often covered in more cheese. This all changed when I discovered other fillings that made me truly appreciate ravioli. This recipe for butternut squash ravioli with parmesan broth may be one of my top 3 ravioli dishes. The warm filling covered in a creamy broth is incredibly satisfying but not too heavy. Serve with crusty garlic bread and you have the perfect meal.

Recipe

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Butternut Squash Ravioli with Parmesan Broth

Total Time1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pasta, vegetarian

Servings: 4

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Ravioli dough

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs

Butternut Squash Filling

• 3 cups butternut squash peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoon shallots minced
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup ricotta
• salt and pepper

Parmesan broth

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ small onion peeled
• 2 whole garlic cloves
• 1 inch parmesan rind
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup grated parmesan plus extra for serving
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• Prepare the ravioli dough. Pour the flour onto a clean work surface, creating a well in the center. Crack the eggs and pour into the well. Using a fork, carefully whisk the eggs, slowly dragging in the flour into the well. Continue to whisk until the flour and eggs are incorporated. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Place the butternut squash in a medium pot. Fill with enough water to cover the squash, cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 15 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Drain. Mash butternut squash until smooth.
• Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, about 1 minute. Add the squash and cook until slightly dry, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream and ricotta. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and let cool.
• Prepare the parmesan broth. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot. Add onion and garlic and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add parmesan rind and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain broth, discarding rind, onion, and garlic. Bring back to heat and add heavy cream and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
• Prepare the ravioli. Using a pasta machine, roll out the dough until it is ⅛ inch thick. Start by rolling out the dough at the thickest setting 6-8 times. Move the machine up one notch and repeat. Repeat once more at the 3rd setting. At the fourth setting, roll the dough 1-2 times. Continue to move up the settings until you have the desired thickness.
• Heavily flour the ravioli press. Lay one sheet of dough on top, making sure to cover the entire mold. Place about 1 tablespoon filling in the center of each ravioli. Lay another layer of dough on top. Roll a rolling pin over the mold to seal the edges. Flip the mold over and gently tap on the counter to remove the ravioli from the press. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the ravioli into individual pieces. Lay the ravioli on a baking sheet coated with flour. Cover and repeat with remaining dough and filling.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the ravioli for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the top.
• Remove ravioli from the water with a slotted spoon into the sauce. Toss to coat. Portion on to plates and finish with more parmesan. Serve immediately.

Step-by-step instructions

This butternut squash ravioli is the perfect recipe for winter with comforting flavors to warm you up on those chilly days. If you're not a big fan of butternut squash, feel free to substitute it with acorn, kabocha, or even sweet potato!

For details on how to prepare ravioli dough, check out my ricotta ravioli recipe.

If you want to add semolina, I say go for it! Just substitute ½ cup of the all-purpose flour for ½ cup semolina. In my opinion, regular pasta is better with semolina and flour (rather than just flour) but ravioli can be made either way.

While the dough is resting, make the filling. Combine mashed butternut squash with a little bit of ricotta and heavy cream until creamy. Season the filling with salt and pepper and taste it before adding it to the ravioli.

Using a ravioli press makes life much easier when making these butternut squash ravioli, but you can always make them by hand. The great thing about ravioli is that you can make a large batch and freeze the extras. Just be sure to dry the ravioli for about 1 hour before freezing them.

Brown butter sage sauce is the most popular sauce for butternut squash ravioli, and rightly so. It's light enough not to overpower the squash, and the browned butter works perfectly. I wanted something a little different, so I went with a Parmesan broth. I've made soups before by adding the parmesan rind and found it added great flavor. So why not make a broth from just the rind?

Finish with a little heavy cream and grated parmesan, and you have a wonderful sauce with just the right amount of "cheesy-ness".  Put it together with the pasta and get ready to do a happy dance. This butternut squash ravioli with parmesan broth was a great success in my household - hopefully, it will be in yours as well!

More vegetarian pasta recipes

Looking for more vegetarian pasta ideas? Try these: