Sweet Potato Ravioli with Pecans and Herb Brown Butter Sauce

It’s fall! Summer was great, but it’s time for something new. I’m not sure what it is about the fall air, but it makes me feel adventurous. So guess what we’re going to make today? Homemade ravioli! Without eggs! Or a pasta maker! We’re doing this all by hand! Don’t freak out, this is totally gonna work out fine. Seriously, it’ll be delicious.

OK, let’s do this.

First, you add exactly one cup of hot water to exactly 2 ½ cups of flour. Resist the urge to add eggs; I know it’s probably difficult.

Stir that up with a spoon or your hands until you have a nice little dough ball. Allow to sit for a few minutes so it can cool down a bit. Now separate this into two balls. See? We’re doing so well!

Set one of the dough balls aside. Take the other one and roll it out into a rectangle.  Or a sort of rectangular oval like I did. It’s okay, this will still work. Be sure to flour the board and your rolling pin really well since the dough should still be sticky. Roll it pretty thin, cause these things plump up when you cook them.

Now it’s time for filling. I decided to use sweet potato cause sweet potatoes make me think of Thanksgiving. As in, I feel warm and fuzzy inside, and I can always use some warm fuzzy fillings. Spoon roughly 1-2 tablespoons of filling near the edge of the dough, leaving a little room. Then spoon some more about an inch away from that, until you have a nice little row.

Now, fold the dough over the little balls of filling. Pinch the edges all the way around the filling to seal it in.

Take a glass, or a ravioli cutter if you have it (I don’t), and cut out the little mounds of filling. Repeat this process until all of the dough has been used.

Voila! You’ve just made your own ravioli. Way cool, right? Now that you have all these raviolis you have choices to make – do you want to cook them all right now and get fat on sweet potato heaven (yes please!)? Or do you want to flash freeze these to be used again later? Totally up to you, just make sure that you thaw them out before cooking if you decide to freeze.

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Pecans and Herb Brown Butter Sauce

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Filling & Sauce recipe adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
Pasta recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Filling:
1 lb sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup dried bread crumbs

Pasta:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup hot water

Herb Brown Butter Sauce:
4 – 6 tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make the filling:
Cook the sweet potato in boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, add butter and beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To make the pasta:
Make a well in the center of the flour, and add in the hot water. Gently stir together with a wooden spoon, using your fingers if necessary to fully combine the ingredients. Allow to sit for a few minutes so it can cool down a bit.

Separate the dough into two separate balls. Set one of the dough balls aside. Take the other one and roll it out into a rectangle. Be sure to flour the board and your rolling pin really well since the dough should still be sticky. Roll it pretty thin, cause these things plump up when you cook them.

Spoon roughly 1-2 tablespoons of filling near the edge of the dough, leaving a little room. Then spoon some more about an inch away from that, until you have a nice little row.

Now, fold the dough over the little balls of filling. Pinch the edges all the way around the filling to seal it in. Take a glass, or a ravioli cutter if you have it (I don’t), and cut out the little mounds of filling. Repeat this process until all of the dough has been used.
Cook the ravioli in gently boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain, and toss in sauce.

For the sauce:
In a large skillet melt the butter with the sliced garlic, sage, 1 tablespoon parsley and thyme and cook over medium heat until the butter is lightly browned. Add the pecans, remaining parsley and cooked raviolis to the sauce and cook for 10 more seconds. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Tagged as: Nuts, Sweet Potato