Pumpkin Ravioli in Orange Sage Cream Sauce – Recipe
I am sure that you all have memories of dinners out, of meals so amazing they stay with you. There are three that constantly come back to me when I think back over all of the amazing food I have eaten. Three out of hundreds of dinners eaten in I don’t know how many states and several different countries. That tells you how good these meals were. One I had in Rome; it was half a chicken. Yes, a simple chicken but it was the most amazing chicken I have ever eaten. I have tried to replicate it and I have come close but it still eludes me. Another was the first time I had scallop sushi. It was in Hawaii and the sushi chef and mixed the cut up raw scallops with a tiny bit of mayonnaise and a shot of hot sauce. It.Was.Amazing. I’ve had scallop sushi since but never quite as good as that restaurant in Hawaii.
The third is pumpkin ravioli. I had it at a restaurant in New Jersey. It was the type of restaurant where you went in not knowing what you would be eating. There were five courses and each one was described as it came out. These pumpkin ravioli were delicious. I keep trying to replicate them. I keep trying but I haven’t matched them yet. Each time I make a tasty meal but each time I fall short of the memory. These were good but still not quite there. The quest will continue!
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Pumpkin Ravioli in Orange Sage Cream Sauce
Serves 2 – 3
homemade pasta or wonton wrappers – enough for 24 ravioli
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cardamon
For the Sauce:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp dried sage
zest from one orange
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
Add the the olive oil to a large saute pan over medium high heat.
Add the chopped garlic and swirl until it just starts to cook.
Add the pumpkin and the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and cardamom. Let cook until just heted through. Remove from heat and set aside.
If you are using pasta dough you can either use a ravioli maker (as I did) or freehand them. I will continue with the ravioli maker.
Lay a sheet of pasta over the ravioli maker base. Gently press to make indentations.
Add about 3/4 teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture to the raviolis.
Dampen all the edges with water.
Lay another sheet of pasta dough over the top and roll with a rolling pin to seal the ravioli.
Make 24 and set aside until ready to boil.
If you are using wonton wrappers or freehanding place the same amount of filling in the center of the wrapper/ravioli dough. Seal the edges with water and cover with another wrapper or piece of dough. Make 24.
Bring 4 quarts of water to boil.
While waiting for the water to boil start the sauce.
Add the orange juice, sherry, orange zest and sage to a large saute pan. Bring to a simmer and reduce by half.
Add the cream and heat through. Adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground pepper.
If you are going to plate with fresh orange slices as I did after you make the supremes add the juice from the fresh orange to the sauce.
When the water comes to a boil add the ravioli and after they rise to the surface – it won’t take long – remove them to the pan with the sauce.
Stir very gently and let them heat through for about a minute or two.
Serve with toasted pumpkin seeds on top.
For a vegetable I made simple roasted green beans. Instead of regular olive oil though, I used blood orange olive oil to complement the sauce on the ravioli. I also added some orange slices for brightness. It was delicious even if it wasn’t what I wanted it to be. The sauce was perfect with the pumpkin filling and the seeds added a lovely crunch.
One day I’ll get where I want to be with this recipe but until then we will eat our way through a lot of tasty attempts!
