Last week I was all about apples, this week I can’t get squash out of my head. It’s the perfect time of year to enjoy this meaty root vegetable and its versatility means I could eat it every day and never tire of it. So far I’ve enjoyed it roasted with butter and a hint of maple syrup, and in soup – so easy and so delicious.
One of my absolute favourite ways to eat squash though is stuffed in ravioli. I still remember the first time I ate it. It was at a small Italian restaurant in Roncesvalles called Domino and T. was actually the one to order it. Luckily for me he always shares and we were both in heaven. I’ve never made this dish at home so when I came across Epicurious’s shortcut recipe for Butternut Squash Ravioli using wonton wrappers I was intrigued and had to try it.
Making the stuffing was easy. I roasted the squash, sauteed the onion and garlic, then pureed them all together with goat cheese in the blender. I couldn’t resist a taste test…pure fall deliciousness.
>Next I boiled some water and started stuffing my wonton wrappers. While this was dead easy to do, it did take much longer than I thought it would (about half an hour). Just something to keep in mind when you’re timing dinner.
Let the batch cooking begin. I threw six or seven raviolis in the pot at a time. Immediately I was unsure of the results. I know it sounds stupid, but my ravioli looked more like wontons (never mind one of the pockets had exploded). I felt so disappointed. What was I thinking? Wontons are nothing, NOTHING like ravioli. The texture was all wrong (watery and slippery) and then when I added the butter sauce things just got worse.
Thankfully it was just T. and my brother joining me for dinner. We ate our slimy ravioli and they graciously said it wasn’t so bad. Me, I hated it. This was definitely not my favourite fall dish and I was wishing we’d went out for dinner instead.
After clean up was done I revisited Epicurious to see what other readers thought of the recipe. Turns out most had the foresight to skip the wonton shortcut and opted for proper ravioli pasta instead and they were raving about the results.
I suppose I will give this recipe another chance, after all I have no complaints about the squash filling. And going forward I’ll think twice about crossing my Chinese and Italian foods, I think it’s safe to say they are best enjoyed separately.
Have a not so positive fusion food experience of your own? Or perhaps a ravioli shortcut that really works? Let me know in the comments below. I’m also always interested in recipe suggestion so let me know what you think I should try.