Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

Continuing on with my valiant effort to use up all my fresh herbs while summer is still summer, I bring you one of my most favorite, easiest, most crowd-pleasing dishes ever. There is something a dish with the words "browned butter" in the title that just makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over. Well, it works for me, anyway. Browned butter is exactly what it sounds like: butter that has been melted and simmered over low heat until it starts to turn slightly, well, brown. And with that browning it takes on a bit of a nutty taste that is rich and wonderful.

So this sauce calls not only for fabulous brown butter, but also for a generous amount of this:

That would be the acres and acres of sage in my back yard. Okay, it is only a wooden barrel-ful of sage, but this stuff is tenacious, and it needs to be dealt with. And one of the most satisfying ways is with this scrumptious recipe. Start by boiling up your favorite ravioli - I like the nice big round cheese kind. While the ravioli is cooking, you melt some butter in your favorite skillet and add some chopped shallots, stirring them around until they soften. Then toss in those fresh sage leaves and cook them until they just start getting crispy. All of this is going to take about 5 minutes, and by now the butter will be getting just a little brown. Add a little salt and pepper and pour the whole thing over your cooked ravioli. Last but not least toss very gently with some grated Parmesan cheese, and there you are! The entire process took you about 15 minutes, and you are in ravioli heaven.

More herb-using strategies to come in the next post.

Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage, adapted from Real Simple

1 package cheese ravioli

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium shallots, sliced thinly

20 fresh sage leaves

Salt and fresh ground pepper

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook ravioli according to package directions.

2. Heat butter in a skillet over medium low heat until it foams. Add shallots and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the sage and cook until leaves turn slightly crisp, another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add cooked ravioli to the skillet and toss gently. Add 1/3 cup parmesan and toss gently again. Divide among dishes and top with remaining parmesan and another grinding of fresh pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Ravioli with Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce

'Tis the season of the butternut squash, and oh how I love it. I've already rhapsodized about this wonderful roasted butternut dip, and of course butternut is just awesome baked up with some oil oil and herbs. But this recipe today uses it as the base for a pasta sauce -- in this case ravioli. Creative, right? This is another one I found on the Everyday Foods website, and I'm pretty much sticking with their version in the recipe below, but I do have to admit that I got to skip the hardest part of the whole thing, which is cutting up the usually hard as a rock butternut. My beloved Fairway supermarket always has butternut already peeled and chopped and ready for me to roast. And those times that I have actually set food in another supermarket, I have also seen peeled and chopped butternut for sale there, too. Yes, it is definitely more expensive than tackling the butternut preparation yourself. But trust me, it's worth it.

Anyway, once you get past the butternut-chopping, it is all an easy downhill cruise from there. You roast those happy little butternut chunks with some garlic and sage, and then whiz them in your handy food processor with a little bit of light cream and water. Season it as you like and you have the most wonderful and different pasta sauce. I tossed mine with some little beef ravioli and sprinkled it with chopped walnuts and chopped fresh sage, but go crazy with your own ideas. Tortellini, pappardale, roasted pistachios, chopped parsley....you really can't go wrong.

So, happy butternut season...yum, yum.

RAVIOLI WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA SAUCE, from Everyday Food

• 1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 5 cloves garlic, peel on
• 1 cup half-and-half
• Pasta (ravioli or any short pasta), about 1/2 pound depending on what kind you are using.
  
• Your choice of toppings, such as grated parmesan cheese, chopped toasted walnuts, finely chopped fresh sage, etc etc etc
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using a large, sharp knife, trim ends; halve squash crosswise to separate bulb from neck. Peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut both pieces in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out seeds; discard. Or, do like I do and pick up the already peeled and chopped butternut at your favorite supermarket.
2. Cut squash into 2-inch chunks; transfer to a small rimmed baking sheet. Toss with oil and sage; season generously with salt and pepper. Scatter garlic around squash. Roast until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes, tossing once halfway through. Remove skin from garlic.
3. Transfer squash and garlic to a food processor; puree. With motor running, add half-and-half through the feed tube; process until smooth. Add 1 to 2 cups water; continue to process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Season again generously with salt.
4. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta; toss to coat. Add some pasta water to thin sauce if necessary. Serve with desired toppings.

Click here for printable recipe

Chicken with Apples and Sage

Summer is slowly fading away, the evenings are getting brisk, and that always makes me think of apples and pumpkins and butternut squash...mmmmmm. Autumn comfort food, it's the best. This snazzy little recipe is another one adapted from Mark Bittman's newest book, KITCHEN EXPRESS. Which I am developing a love-hate relationship with, because as I mentioned in an earlier post, it is not a collection of recipes, but more a description of quick dishes that can be assembled in 20 minutes or less. Sometimes he gives instructions on the ingredient proportions. Sometimes not.

To which I say: AAARRRGGGHHH!

Okay, I feel better now. I forgive you, Mark, because the ideas for these quick meals are so wonderful and creative. So as a service to all humankind, I am trying out my favorites and creating the Actual Recipes that go with them. This one is a sauteed chicken with an apple and sage sauce created from chicken broth, butter and a little brown sugar, served on a bed of buttered noodles. Truly ready in less than 20 minutes, and delish.

CHICKEN WITH APPLES AND SAGE

Adapted from KITCHEN EXPRESS by Mark Bittman

Serves 4

• 
  
• 4 chicken breasts, pounded to a thickness of about 1/2 inch
• 2 apples, cored, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped sage
• Cooked buttered egg noodles

1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken breasts on both sides, approximately four minutes per side. Set aside.

2. Add butter to skillet and heat until melted. Add apples, shallot and brown sugar and cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add chicken broth, vinegar and sage and cook until sauce reduces slightly, about 2 minutes.

4. Return chicken pan with any accumulated juices and cook until chicken is heated through and sauce is slightly more reduced, about 2-5 minutes.

5. Serve chicken and apples over buttered noodles with pan sauce poured on top.

Click here for Printable Recipe