Pumpkin Cheddar Ravioli with Honey Cranberry Cream Sauce

It’s beginning to feel like spring these days with all of the birds chirping, flowers starting to bloom, and the warm dampness in the air…so naturally, we felt that we should cook a fall themed meal. This is also a fantastic quarantine meal since it relies on ingredients you likely have or ones that last a long time (cheese notwithstanding). If you’re making the pasta from scratch, you can prep your dough over lunch, let it sit out, and it’ll be nicely hydrated and ready for you when you start to cook dinner too!

Time: 1 Hour and 30 Minutes (if making the ravioli from scratch…20 minutes if using premade ravioli)

Ingredients:

• For the Ravioli:
  • Premade Pumpkin Ravioli
  • OR make your own!
    • Ravioli Pasta. There are two options to pick from here:
      • Homemade Pasta Dough (You can make this ahead of time, and stash it in the fridge overnight to save time. If doing this, just leave the dough out for a few hours to get to room temperature before you work with it).
      • Wonton wrappers if you’re a little pressed for time.
    • Pumpkin (Canned or Fresh)
    • Shredded Cheddar Cheese (We used goat cheddar)
    • Black Pepper
• For the sauce:
  • A little Butter
  • Cranberry Juice
  • Honey
  • Heavy Cream

Method:

• Prep your Pumpkin:
  • If using fresh pumpkin:
    • Cut your pumpkin open, scoop out the seeds, and cut into chunks. (Check out the Pumpkin part of This Recipe for additional pumpkin processing information)
    • Boil until soft.
    • Mash, and let cool.
  • If using canned pumpkin, scoop some from the can into a bowl.
• While your pumpkin boils, make your pasta dough according to the link in the ingredients list. If not making your own dough, skip this step.
• Shred your cheddar, and stir it in with your pumpkin.
• Begin to boil a large pot of water
• In a smaller sauce pan, melt some butter, pour in your cranberry juice, and whisk in your honey (use more honey than you think you need since the cranberry juice is very tart). Allow this to simmer while you move onto the next step so that it can reduce.
• Stuff your ravioli:
  • Prep your shells:
    • If using fresh pasta, roll it out thinly…we used a pasta roller attachment for our stand mixer…and cut to your desired shape and number of ravioli. Place your dough on parchment paper.
    • If using Wonton wrappers, lay them flat on parchment paper.
  • Add your filling by scooping your pumpkin mixture onto half of your ravioli shells.
  • Working one at a time, pick up one of your ravioli top shells, wet the edge slightly with your finger, and put it over your bottom shells and filling. Press together around the edges, trying to avoid having air trapped inside.
• When your water is boiling, carefully add your ravioli, and cook for about 7-8 minutes until they are puffy and soft.
• Towards the end of that cook time, add your cream to your sauce, and whisk to combine.
• Carefully drain your ravioli.
• Plate, drizzle with your sauce, devour, and enjoy!