Sweet Potato Ravioli

I had leftover baked sweet potatoes in my fridge that needed to be used up today, so when I found this recipe I was excited to try something a little different for dinner tonight.

This is a really easy recipe using common ingredients--perfect for a quick-to-the-table dinner after a long week.  

Full disclosure--I cheated a little bit.  Instead of making my own pasta dough tonight, I used round wonton wrappers.  You get all the benefits of homemade ravioli in about half the time.  When using the wonton wrappers, brush the inside of both halves with a pastry brush dipped in egg white before adding the filling and decrease cook time from 5 minutes to 3 minutes.

We really loved the flavor and texture of the sweet potato filling, and I think this will probably become a regular dinner for us.  FYI, sweet potatoes are on the list of top 30 super foods from Real Simple magazine.

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Pecans and Herb Brown Butter Sauce

Filling:

1 lb sweet potato, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

½ cup dried bread crumbs

Pasta:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup hot water

Herb Brown Butter Sauce:

4 – 6 tablespoons butter

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped sage leaves

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make the filling:

Cook the sweet potato in boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, add butter and beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To make the pasta:

Make a well in the center of the flour, and add in the hot water. Gently stir together with a wooden spoon, using your fingers if necessary to fully combine the ingredients. Allow to sit for a few minutes so it can cool down a bit.

Separate the dough into two separate balls. Set one of the dough balls aside. Take the other one and roll it out into a rectangle. Be sure to flour the board and your rolling pin really well since the dough should still be sticky. Roll it pretty thin, cause these things plump up when you cook them.

Spoon roughly 1-2 tablespoons of filling near the edge of the dough, leaving a little room. Then spoon some more about an inch away from that, until you have a nice little row.

Now, fold the dough over the little balls of filling. Pinch the edges all the way around the filling to seal it in. Take a glass, or a ravioli cutter if you have it (I don’t), and cut out the little mounds of filling. Repeat this process until all of the dough has been used.

Cook the ravioli in gently boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Drain, and toss in sauce.

For the sauce:

In a large skillet melt the butter with the sliced garlic, sage, 1 tablespoon parsley and thyme and cook over medium heat until the butter is lightly browned. Add the pecans, remaining parsley and cooked raviolis to the sauce and cook for 10 more seconds. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!