Sauce for Pumpkin/Squash Ravioli?

[Mikayla]

You people rocked it with my brownies, so now I'm baaack

I love pumpkin and also squash ravioli, and now I have one of each in my freezer.  But I can never figure out what to put on top of them.  I had a frozen one a while back that came with a marinara sauce and it was ghastly.

Anybody have any ideas?

[Outdoor Girl]

I think I would go with some sort of creamy sauce, maybe even with a little cheese, like romano or parmesan.  Or I'd be tempted to serve them more like perogies with some sour cream and crumbled bacon (if you aren't veg*an, of course).

I can't imagine why anyone would combine squash with tomato.   

[Lorelei_Evil]

Brown butter and sage would be my vote.

[Zilla]

Browned butter sauce and a grating of parm on top.  Just place real butter in a pan over medium heat, let it melt and then it will bubble up.  No need to stir just watch.  When the bubbles deflate take off the heat and let them all "pop".  Then you will have beautiful brown butter sauce.  Pour over hot ravioli and grate parm over it.

[Outdoor Girl]

Mmmmmm...  I've never done a brown butter sauce - that sounds amazing!  And not very healthy.   

[Zilla]

Mmmmmm...  I've never done a brown butter sauce - that sounds amazing!  And not very healthy.   

Actually it's a bit healthier than a cream sauce as you would use very little since it's so flavorful.  I use a half of stick for a platter of ravioli along with the parm.

[Outdoor Girl]

I would have a very hard time using very little of the butter.  I love butter.  I just finished my Christmas cookie baking - about 120 dozen cookies - and a forensic analyis of my garbage this week would show about 20 one pound butter wrappers.     I don't usually use more than 5% cream when I make a creamy sauce so it wouldn't be too rich.

[Mikayla]

Wow, that was fast.  Thanks!

Zilla, on the brown butter, I've always wondered about that.  So the goal isn't to get it brown?  Also, what setting do you use to cook it?  I guess I'm trying to see the diff between hot melted butter and brown butter.

Also, Outdoor Girl, tell it to Buitoni   Really, these were expensive and I thought I was getting something really good.

[Zilla]

Wow, that was fast.  Thanks!

Zilla, on the brown butter, I've always wondered about that.  So the goal isn't to get it brown?  Also, what setting do you use to cook it?  I guess I'm trying to see the diff between hot melted butter and brown butter.

Also, Outdoor Girl, tell it to Buitoni   Really, these were expensive and I thought I was getting something really good.

The bubbles helps.  You leave it on medium heat or slightly higher like 7 if it's electric and 5 is a clear medium.  You let it melt, then it will start bubbling furiously. (water popping/drying out) then when the bubbles start to die down or slow down is when you remove it from the heat but let it still finish.  Then you should see the liquid a clear brown color.  But you do have to watch it as it will burn quickly.  And use a rubber spatula to get every bit out of that pan, it's delish.  It's surprisingly how much the flavor profile changes.  I actually use brown butter to butter my toast in the morning.

[ITSJUSTME]

Browned butter with sage would be a classic.

A restaurant near us used to serve it with a balsamic glaze - near as I can figure they just reduced balsamic vinegar by about half until it was thick and syrupy and may have added herbs like sage or thyme.  It was delicious.

eta the sister restaurant to this one serves it in a "balsamic cream" sauce.  Not sure quite what that is.

[blarg314]

I second the brown butter and sage.   Grated parmesan and melted butter is also very good.

I suspect sauteed mushrooms would be good as well, cooked in butter, and seasoned very simply. One mushroom topping/side dish I really like uses dried shitakes. Start with fairly small dried shitakes - you want ones about 2 inches/3cm across.  Rinse and then soak to rehydrate. Squeeze them dry, trim off the stems, and slice. Saute in lots of butter in a small pot until they just start to brown, season with coarse salt, and serve immediately.
 

[Sheila Take a Bow]

When I want something quick, I toss pumpkin ravioli with olive oil and parmesan.  It's super-easy and pretty tasty.

I'm also a fan of brown butter and sage.  Pretty much what Zilla says except I drop some fresh sage leaves in the butter as it's cooking.

I once had a divine butternut squash ravioli in a light, delicate cream sauce with a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts.  Yum!

[Dazi]

I like a light cream sauce with walnuts for butternut ravioli (funny thing, I do not really care for walnuts, except in this dish). Though I would probably eat it tossed with some olive oil/butter sauteed with garlic and onions (that's how I like pirogis).

I have a friend that likes it with a sweeter tomato sauce with grated carrots...not bad, but not the way I prefer it.

[greencat]

Butter and white wine and optional garlic would be my go-to sauce for stuffed pasta like that.  It's good on everything!

[sweetonsno]

The reason it didn't turn out too well, in my opinion, is because the sweetness of the filling clashed with the acidity of the tomato sauce. (It could also be that the textures didn't enjoy one another that much.)

Browned butter and sage is also my suggestion. The Parmesan on top is great, but if you are trying to keep your saturated fat intake down, it's not going to break the dish. I had the pleasure of eating that dish just a couple of weeks ago. This was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I'd overeaten two days in a row prior to that. It didn't stop me from eating every bite. (Like the pizza cat, I regretted nothing.)

I generally don't go for sweeter entrees, but this was good. The Parm and sage added enough salt and savory that it worked. If you are the type to enjoy sweeter things, try a simple white sauce with some nutmeg and maybe a dash of onion, like you'd toss with creamed spinach.