BUTTERNUT RAVIOLI
Reheating time: 5-10 minutes- boil a pot of water!
Nothing better than fresh pasta. These ravioli are fluffy pillows of goodness. I want to rest my weary head down in a big bowl of butternut raviyoyos and fall into a state of pasta-induced bliss. It’s not just the pasta that makes tonight’s dinner special. A roasted squash and brown butter sauce, made from over-wintered butternut and candied delicata squash, provides another layer of richness and depth. Top it all off with some toasted marcona almonds, and a dollop of truffled buckwheat honey ricotta, and you’re living your best life. Sweet dreams are made of pasta. Who am I to disagree. Extra sauce? Not for long- we got fig focaccia to take care of any remnants of buttery butternutty goodness. Any good dinner must be followed up with an even better dessert- and tonight’s dessert is salad. Yes, salad. The ultimate palate cleansing, cool and crisp finale to a feast. Weather hardened winter chicories, shaved fennel, torn mint, and maple dijon vinaigrette. Forget ice cream. I want to sit on the couch and eat pints of this chicory salad all day. What are you waiting for?! Get in there!
For the ravioli:
Boil some water! While you wait for your water to boil, warm the brown butter + delicata sauce up in a large saucepan over medium heat. We don’t need this to be ripping hot- just hot enough that it thins out and is nice and silky.
Once your water is boiling, season it aggressively with salt, drop in the ravioli, and set a timer for two minutes. Stir them around to prevent them from sticking together. Once the timer is done, use a slotted spoon to scoop out a piece of ravioli, and check the doneness. The easiest way to do this is by pinching the edge, or seam, and testing how firm it is. I like al dente, so I usually stop cooking after two minutes, but osme people like softer pasta! Just don’t boil them for too long, or they will explode 🙂 Once you’re happy with the doneness of the pasta, using a slotted spoon, scoop the ravioli into the pan with the brown butter sauce. Turn the heat up to medium, add a splash or two of pasta water to the sauce, and swirl the ravioli around to coat.
Here’s where you have some options! You can either add the almonds and ricotta directly to the pan, or plate up the ravioli and put them on top.
Either way, taste the sauce, season with some salt or black pepper, and cook down/thin out to the desired consistency. Once you’re pleased, scoop the ravioli into a shallow bowl, and get ready. Pasta bliss incoming.
For the focaccia:
We recommend toasting this up, and murdering it with soft butter. Or, you can just go for it cold. I love how the balsamic and figs work with the squash!
For the salad (dessert):
Toss this beautiful salad mix in a bowl, drizzle the maple dijon vinaigrette around the sides of the bowl, and turn the leaves onto themselves until they are evenly coated. Season with some salt and fresh black pepper, give it a taste, and plate it up! If you have any leftover almonds, now is the time to use them 🙂
That’s it! Dinner is served, and solved.
We hope you enjoy tonight’s dinner, and thanks again for ordering 🙂
ASPARAGUS RICE BOWL
Thanks for ordering!
A lot of the bowls that we make over here are riffs on dishes or flavors that we have encountered in the past. This one is the lovechild of this amazing maki roll I once had, with roasted asparagus, egg omelette, parmesan panko, and brown rice. Cool, crisp, rich, and insanely satisfying. The second bit of inspiration comes from asparagus gribiche, a dish made up of seared asparagus, maybe hollandaise sauce, and sauce gribiche- which I don’t honestly like in concept, but it’s actually delicious. Capers, white wine, parsley, those flavors are all here- but so are the fresh, delicate flavors of that amazing maki roll. We basically tried to turn two things into one amazing dinner. I think it worked. I mean these bowls look so good- I’m gasing at them longingly as the team packs them away in bags… Goodbye, bowls… I hope we messed up and made a few extra…!
I’d go ahead and enjoy this bowl cold. I like the textures and delicate flavors here, and sometimes heat can mute that. But feel free to pop the whole thing in the microwave, or scoop it into a casserole dish and bake it in the oven for a few minutes. Either way, drizzle the parsley and white wine vinaigrette over the top, mix it all up, and enjoy!