I bought this big ol’ butternut squash the other day totally
on a whim. I love squash, but had
nothing in particular in mind that I was going to do with it. Today I decided I wanted to do
something with that squash and some pasta, and then I remembered I had some cheese ravioli…it sounded like a
fantastic idea (and it was a really fantastic,
that’s why I’m sharing). I really wish I could tell you that I made the ravioli, and then give you an awesome recipe for it, but I've never made pasta in my life. So anyhow, I did a
quick interwebs search and found this recipe, which was perfect because I also
have a shit-ton of 2 different types of basil growing in my garden. I only very
slightly strayed from the recipe I found, and here’s what I did. This was so delicious, you should go
get a squash right now and start cooking.
Yep, that's Beeb, eating squash out of the food processor. |
Ingredients
Your favorite cheese ravioli (in whatever amount you want)
1 medium to large butternut squash, roasted
(I’ll give roasting instructions, in case you’re not sure
about that)
1-2 cups half &half
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
3 tbsp fresh basil, torn
cayenne pepper (optional - use as much as you'd like, I like my food spicy!)
cayenne pepper (optional - use as much as you'd like, I like my food spicy!)
salt & pepper to taste
1) Cook ravioli according to package instructions.
2) While your ravioli is cooking, place squash, approximately
1 cup half & half, cheese, basil and cayenne pepper in food processor. Blend, and add half & half until
the sauce reaches a consistency you like (I like it thicker, so I only used
about a cup). Add salt &
pepper to taste, if desired (I didn’t add any, I thought it was perfect as is).
**My squash was still hot when I put it in the food
processor, so I didn’t heat it at all after I blended it…you may want to heat
your squash sauce after blending it.
Roasting the squash:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds, place in
a 9”x12” baking dish (cut side up), put approximately 1 tbsp butter in each
side and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper (I also sprayed a little bit of
olive oil all over the squash, but it’s not necessary). Place the squash in the oven for 30-45
minutes (until the squash is all soft and can be easily scooped out).
Enjoy!
~ j