Spinach ravioli with butternut squash filling

For Christmas this past year, my future sister-in-law got me a ravioli plaque for our Secret Santa exchange. I loved making pasta before and I enjoyed making ravioli, but it was always so time consuming to fold and crimp each individual ravioli by hand. It wasn't worth it. But this place sped up the process so much. I can make ravioli in less than half the time it took me before, and with a lot less aggravation. 

I decided to make this ravioli because we had all the things in our house. We had a butternut squash that needed to be used as well as some spinach that was looking a little tired. It seemed like the perfect use of both items.

This was a delicious pasta and great ravioli. It made an excellent dinner with salmon and arugula salad that evening. Best of all, we have leftovers in the freezer for several nights in the future.

Spinach ravioli with butternut squash filling

Ingredients

• 1 recipe spinach pasta dough
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 cups of meat)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
• nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• bread crumbs
• fresh parsley

Directions

1. Cut the butternut squash in half and remove seeds. Roast squash for 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool
2. Remove meat from the squash and place in a food processor or mash with a fork. Use the neck only if you can, as it will be less stringy than the bulb.
3. Mix squash with ricotta, parmesan, bread crumbs and spices. Season appropriately. You can use more or less cheese depending on your preference. 
4. Roll out your pasta dough until desired thickness (I use setting 6 of 9 on my pasta roller) and cut to the desired size. 
5. Fill ravioli and crimp the edges either by hand or with a ravioli plaque
6. Boil ravioli in well salted water until done. Freeze any unused ravioli by by freezing them on a baking sheet and then moving them to a plastic bag.