Cappellacci di Zucca (Pumpkin Ravioli)

I have to start off by apologizing for the quality (or lack thereof) of the photos this time around.  Lighting is pretty much everything when it comes to photography, and our dinners tend to run longer than the sun is willing to stay up, so I've ended up with pictures like this which make my food look like a hot buttered mess!  (The first two words of that term are actually true for this dish.)

I stole this recipe from one of my favorite restaurants, L'Opera Ristorante in Long Beach.  I've eaten there many times, and every time I get the same thing.  I finally started trying to pick apart the flavors each time I ate the dish to decipher their delicious code.  I think I may have finally landed on it.  L'Opera's ravioli is made with butternut squash, but I switched it with pumpkin, and added a few of my own touches.

I used wonton wrappers for the little hats, partly because they're cute, but mostly because the idea of making my own pasta while moving into a new house was daunting.  My advice to anyone attempting to make this dish with wonton wrappers is DOUBLE THEM!  Most of the ravioli held up to being boiled, but there were a good number of rogue bursters that came apart during the process.  Doubling the wontons before stuffing them would've prevented this from happening.

Still, the dish came out beautifully, if I do say so myself.  My only regret is that the plate looked a little two-dimensional, and that I didn't get a decent picture.  But that's just an excuse to recreate them, right?

Ingredients:

2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup brandy (to taste)
6 tablespoons ground pine nuts (I used a coffee grinder to get a good consistency)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 package wonton wrappers
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup unsalted butter
a handful of fresh sage
1/4 cup dry white wine (I used Yellow Tail chardonnay)
3 cups plain marinara sauce (homemade or Classico - if I catch you using Prego I'll cut you)
salt, pepper, chili flakes to taste
parmesan shavings for garnish/extra deliciousness

Ravioli:

Mix together the pumpkin puree, ricotta, brandy, pine nuts and brown sugar until incorporated.  Place in a sieve over a bowl for a couple hours to let the mixture drain.  Once firm, scoop the mixture by the teaspoonful and place in the center of the wonton wrappers (or homemade pasta, if you're awesome).  Fold the wrapper in half diagonally, then fold each of the corners in, to create a little hat-like thing.  Repeat until you think you have enough ravioli to feed yourself.  Er ... I mean, your guests.  Place them on a generously-floured cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving time.

Brown butter sage sauce:

In a small saucepan, melt the 1/2 cup of butter on a medium-low heat.  Midway through the melting, throw in the handful of sage - I'd estimate about 20 leaves.  Stir occasionally until the butter reaches a golden brown color.  Remove from heat.  Pour 1/4 cup white wine into the butter for bite.

Spicy marinara:

Easy as pie.  Warm the marinara with the reserved 1/4 cup of butter.  Add about 2 teaspoons of chili flakes, salt and pepper to taste.  Let simmer.

Create a bed of spicy marinara sauce in the center of a plate.  Boil your ravioli, place in a circle around the sauce, then pour a healthy serving of the brown butter sage sauce on top.  Finish with a piece of crispy sage and a parmesan cheese shaving atop each pillow, and serve.