butternut squash ravioli & a fall side-salad

halloween is not usually a time for people to celebrate fun recipes (other than artificially colored food and cookies), so i decided to try something different out for the "holiday"(i am not a fan of halloween, haunted houses, or anything that is remotely scary). halloween fell on a tuesday this year, which is my day off of everything, so i figured it was the perfect opportunity to dive into a fun, fall-focused challenge--that challenge ended up being butternut squash homemade ravioli with a browned sage butter (all VEGAN); and a to-die-for fall salad with sweet potatoes, candied walnuts, and a garlic-sage vinaigrette (also vegan) . now, i know that most college students would much rather order a pizza or any kind of take-out for their halloween party, but what i love about having lana as my roommate is that she would always choose my cooking over greasy food and clearly so would i (yes, we're actually soulmates)!! also, for a college-student budget i would not really recommend making this recipe, but for all you adults out there, this is an AWESOME sunday night family dinner or a fun "date-night" idea if you and your s/o enjoy cooking together! :)

okay, so i know that vegan pasta sounds intimidating because don't you always need an egg in your pasta? the simple answer to that question is no! the easiest part of this entire recipe was the homemade pasta (i promise that does not mean the rest of the recipe was THAT complicated) because all i needed was semolina flour, water, a pinch of salt, a rolling pin, and preferably a larger work space than my dorm kitchen counters give me... it's the extra fun challenge of cooking in a dorm.

...now let's get to the "how to" because it's obviously the most exciting part of all of this, right?

for the vegan pasta dough: 

• 2 c. semolina flour (give or take)
• 1/4-1/2 c. semolina flour for dusting
• 1/2 c. water (give or take)
• pinch of salt
• rolling pin

for the butternut squash filling:

• 5 cups of butternut squash cut into 1" cubes
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 c. pine nuts*
• 1 tbsp. italian seasoning*
• zest of 1 lemon*
• 10 sage leaves (can substitute dried sage, but the sage flavor will not be as prominent!)
• salt & pepper to taste

*if you are not worried about being vegan you can omit 1 1/4 c. pine nuts, italian season, and lemon zest; substitute with 1 1/2 cups of parmesan*

for the sage browned-butter:

• 1/2 c. earth balance (original or olive oil, whatever you prefer)
• 6 sage leaves finely chopped

for the fall salad:

• medium sweet potato, cut into bite-size pieces (i used 1/4" cubes)
• 1/2 c. pecans
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 pear sliced thinly
• 4-6 c. arugula (or spinach, or your preferred green-- the peppery bite of arugula makes for the best flavor!)
• salt & pepper to taste
• whole head of garlic
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp. whole grain mustard
• 1/2 tsp. finely chopped sage

directions (in the most efficient order... hopefully everyone is able to follow along, if not feel free to leave a comment and i will clarify):

1. mix semolina flour, water, and salt in a medium bowl & knead together for 10 minutes. if the dough is too sticky, add more flour & if it is crumbling, add more water! 
2. preheat oven to 375 degrees
3. cover the bowl and the let the dough rest for 15-20 min
4. WHILE DOUGH IS RESTING YOU WILL DO STEPS 4-7: cut butternut squash and sweet potatoes into cubes, and lightly coat both in olive oil, salt and pepper. you will want to have to have two separate sheet pans lined with parchment paper because the butternut squash takes a lot longer than the sweet potatoes :)
5. cut the top 1/3 of the full garlic head off so that each clove is exposed, add about 1/2 tsp. olive and wrap the garlic tightly in foil. put this garlic, along with the 6 cloves of garlic for the filling onto the butternut squash sheet tray
6. once the oven is preheated put the butternut squash sheet tray into the oven and set a timer for 35 minutes (once this timer goes off you will add the 10 sage leaves onto the butternut squash sheet tray, and put the sweet potato tray into the oven)
7. while the aroma of butternut squash starts to fill your kitchen; mix together the pecans, cinnamon, and maple syrup in a small bowl and then add them to the sweet potato sheet pan
8. back to the ravioli: working with 1/4 of the dough at a time, dust flour on a fairly large work-space and roll the dough out to about 1/8" thickness. (DURING THIS TIME, YOUR TIMER WILL PROBABLY GO OFF-- add the sweet potato tray into the oven, put the 10 sage leaves onto the butternut squash tray, and set another timer for 12 minutes)
9. cut the dough into 4"x4" squares, by the time you are done with prepping the ravioli both trays should be done baking in the oven--remove both from the oven and add butternut squash, sage leaves, the six single garlic cloves, 1-2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 1/2 c. pine nuts, italian seasoning, and lemon zest to a food processor and pulse until the mixture is creamy and thick. (ALSO, for my father, please remember to turn off the oven! i have a history of forgetting to turn off ovens, stovetop burners, grills, so please don't be like me or Angelo might have to talk to you about it...)
10. place one large spoonful onto each ravioli square (pictured below), wet the edges with your finger, and then press/seal each ravioli by pinching with your fingers. i also recommend putting the raviolis onto a plate underneath a damp paper towel so they do not dry out as you are continuing with your cooking.
    
11. once you have all of the raviolis filled and sealed, clean out the food processor (and if there are leftovers, scrape into tupperware and use the leftover recommendation below for a quick week-night meal!) 
12. get a large pot of water with a generous amount of salt and a few drops of olive oil on the stove and begin boiling
13. now for salad dressing: once the garlic head has cooled, squeeze out each into clove into the clean food processor, along with the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, and chopped sage. turn food processor on for about 45 seconds and set aside. 
14. and to the browned butter: add butter, chopped sage, and remaining 1/2 c. of pine nuts into a small sauce pan on medium-low heat. allow the butter to brown, for about 7-10 minutes and then remove from heat and set aside.
15. back to the ravioli: add all your beautiful ravioli into the boiling water and let them cook for about three minutes (depending on how many ravioli you have, you may have to do this in two batches). strain out the water and put into a serving dish with the browned butter on top. 
16. finishing the salad: add arugula to a large bowl; add in sweet potatoes, pecans, and sliced pears. toss with the salad dressing or serve the dressing on the side (the only reason i have to say dressing on the side is for my mom... and for the other moms out there that taught their kids the same thing)

and VOILA! serve this beautiful food family style in nice serving dishes, or plate each one individually for a beautiful, instagram-worthy table setting. sit back, relax, open a bottle of wine if you haven't done so already, and enjoy your amazing creation! (leave the mess for your roommates/children/significant other to take care of later)

(ravioli recipe came from The Organic Kitchen (http://www.theorganickitchen.org/handmade-butternut-squash-ravioli-with-sage-browned-butter/), but i obviously had to recreate a few aspects of it to make it vegan... and the salad recipe came from SheKnows http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/1048781/salad-with-sage-and-roasted-garlic-vinaigrette-recipe. the only reason i included steps on how to make this recipe is to complete both recipes simultaneously; check either of them out for any clarifications!)

LEFTOVERS? or just want to try something different too? the greatest part about this recipe is that i  was able to re-purpose the filling into baked shells by just adding italian sausage, parmesan, and some bread crumbs--a super quick, easy, and AMAZING meal for a week night! (obviously, my leftover version was not vegan.) if you are just interested in this stuffed shell recipe you can follow all the directions for the butternut squash filling and add spicy italian sausage, 2 cups of parm and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; boil some pasta shell to al-dente; stuff the shells full with the filling and put into a greased brownie pan; sprinkle a generous amount of parm on top; and bake for 20-25 min at 375 degrees.

xoxo

Lex♡