Easy Cheesy Pumpkin Ravioli

There’s nothing like cooking for a really appreciative crowd to bust a person out of a cooking rut, and my parents are possibly the most supportive eaters out there.  I was raised in a household where dinner conversation always revolved around how great the food was, and so I’m continually shocked when I eat dinner with other people who want to talk about books or politics or other un-delicious things.  “Yes, yes, I too have an opinion on Johnathan Franzen, but I haven’t finished describing how delightfully the sage has infused the butter in this dish.  Slow down!”

At any rate, a special audience calls for a special dish, and so I couldn’t resist busting out my Great Big Cheese Cookbook yet again to prime the family for a discussion of my mastery of ravioli.  I find the use of wonton skins in this recipe ingenious.  (Look for these in the refrigerated section, by the by, and don’t try and substitute the unrefrigerated eggroll wrappers.  Won’t work.)  It gives the dish a homemade feel, but without the work of rolling out your own pasta dough.  The assembly of your little pumpkin packets provides just enough repetitive manual labor to make you feel like Cinderella, but not enough to make you want to throw your little mouse friends out the window.  I felt just virtuous enough to accept lavish amounts of praise without protest.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Wisconsin Cheese

from The Great Big Cheese Cookbook

• 2 cups solid-pack pumpkin (not pie filling)
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 cup assorted dried fruit, chopped
• 1 cup crushed Amaretti cookies, divided*
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• pinch of pepper
• 1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
• 15 fresh sage leaves
• 2 packages wonton wrappers (100 wrappers)
• 1 cup (4 oz.) grated aged provolone cheese

*Look for these in an Italian deli.  When in Madison, I found these at Fraboni’s (also where I got the aged provolone), and I’ve found them in my own neighborhood at  A.G. Ferrari.  Surprisingly pricey, but really tasty!  Mine came in an adorable red tin.

For the filling, combine the first 9 ingredients (pumpkin though pepper), reserving 1/2 cup of Amaretti crumbs for the topping.

For the sauce, in a sauté pan, heat the butter on high heat until foam subsides.  Remove from heat and add the sage.  Set aside and keep warm.

For the ravioli, moisten one side of a wonton skin with water (I used a pastry brush).  Place another skin on top and press to seal.  Place a spoonful of filling on the dough, moisten the edges, and fold the dough over to make a triangle. You need less filling than you think, so be stingy.  Nothing gets Cinderella’s hair out of place like a too-tubby ravioli that won’t seal!  Cook in a large pot of rapidly boiling water for about 3 1/2 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the warm sage butter.  On warm plates, divide the ravioli and top with provolone and the reserved crushed Amaretti.  Sit back and soak up the compliments!