Pumpkin Ravioli

Last fall, when I made some pumpkin dip for a party, I put half the batch in the freezer, with the idea that I would use it as a ravioli filling. Rather than making pasta from scratch (not hard, but time-consuming, and imprecise for ravioli without a pasta roller), I filled wonton wrappers - purchased ready-to-go in exactly the right shape and size. Suggestions from other blogs were to use two wrappers layered on top of each other, otherwise they are too thin and will break when cooked. This worked fine for me, with about 2 teaspoons of dip spooned into each, moistened the perimeter with water, then folded diagonally into a pyramid shape. A gentle crimp of the edges with fork tines served both to help seal and add a decorative touch.


These are a tad delicate, so instead of just dumping them into a pot of boiling water, I laid them in a single layer in a steamer basket and cooked in batches. It's okay for them to be submerged in water, as long as they aren't roiling around in the pot. I cooked about three minutes per batch in simmering, salted water.


While the raviolis were steaming, I prepared a sauce of thinly sliced onions sauteed over medium heat in a mixture of 1/2 T butter and 1/2 T olive oil, with salt and freshly ground pepper. Once the onions were soft and starting to carmelize - but not to brown - I stirred in just enough cream to coat (for about 1/2 cup onions, I used 1/3 cup cream.) For just the right punch of flavor and a smoky, salty contrast to the savory mellow sweetness of the squash filling, I blended just a couple of teaspoons bacon jam into the sauce. Bacon jam is the signature product of local gem Skillet Diner. The restaurant serves bacon jam as a spread on sandwiches, but also sells jars to take home with house and user-submitted recipes on their website. It gave a nice glazed consistency to the sauce to perfectly coat the ravioli with just the right sheen of silky flavor.

Garnished with shaved parmesan cheese and roasted garlic brussels sprouts.