Vegan Pumpkin Ravioli in a Sage “Butter” Sauce

Ravioli are an old favorite in any true Italian household. However, the fillings are due for a face lift. The standard meat and cheese based concoctions just don’t do it anymore. I decided to kick it up a notch by stuffing these puppies with my two favorite gourds and dress them in a savory vegan sage butter.

Filling:

-2 cups cooked squash (I like equal parts pumpkin and butternut squash]

-2 tablespoon olive oil or non-hydrogenated margarine.

-1 shallot

-1 cup  finely chopped walnuts

-2 cardamom

-2 cloves

-1 star anise

-1 cinnamon stick

-1 teaspoon salt

-3 tablespoons vegan  “Parmesan” topping

-1/4 cup rice milk plain or vanilla

-1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine margarine, all spices and shallots in a pan on medium heat until golden. Add chopped walnuts and let simmer. Remove star anise, cardamom, and cloves as they tend to not taste too good when they make it in the ravioli. Add the squash and remaining ingredients and let simmer. STIR WELL.

PASTA:

-2 cups durum flour

-1/2 cup water

-1 teaspoon salt

combine ingredients in a food processor until firm, or knead by hand. Powder a cutting board with flour and place the dough on it. Cover it with a moist towel to settle (about half an hour). When ready roll the dough into a thin sheet, be sure to liberally dust all surfaces and tools with flour. Spoon a teaspoon of the squash mixture every inch and a half or so until half of the dough is covered. Fold the empty side of the dough over the squash mixture as if you were tucking it in for the evening. Press the dough around the squash with you fingertips, creating a sealed pocket of stuffing. Use a ravioli cutter or a knife to cut out the ravioli shapes. collect pasta scraps, roll out and repeat the process.

These will cook rather quickly, so keep an eye on them. Also make sure to oil your water.

SAGE BUTTER

-4 tablespoons good balance soy free margarine

-8 sage leaves

-1/2 lemon, juiced

1/4 cup vegan Parmesan

While your pasta cooks, melt butter in a 12 to 14-inch saute pan and continue cooking until golden brown color (“noisette”) appears in the thinnest liquid of the butter. Add sage leaves and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and set aside. Drain the pasta, but leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into saute pan and return to heat. Add the cheese, toss to coat and serve immediately.