Summer Produce: Fall Favorites

When the cooler weather sets in, I'm craving pumpkin and squash. While the combination of pumpkin and mildly spicy poblano peppers sounds strange, it's surprisingly delicious. My sister introduced me to the ravioli recipe - it's a little time consuming to put together but well worth the work.

Pumpkin Poblano Pasta

2 poblano peppers
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
½ cup chicken broth
1 can pumpkin puree
½ cup milk plus more if needed for thinning
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pappardelle or another thick pasta like linguine
Cilantro and feta cheese to garnish

On a gas burner or under the broiler, roast the chiles until the skin is blackened and blistered. Wrap loosely in a paper towel, let steam for a minute or two, then rub off the blackened skin. Roughly chop the roasted chiles, discarding the stem and the seeds.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil, then add the onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and the chicken broth and cook over low heat until the broth is absorbed and the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped chiles and the pumpkin puree. Cook for about two minutes, until the pumpkin is fragrant. Add the milk, and puree using a stick blender or transfer to a regular blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more milk to thin as necessary, the sauce shouldn't be too thick or too thin. Serve over pasta, garnished with chopped cilantro and crumbled feta cheese.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

1 1-lb. butternut squash
Salt and pepper
4 slices of bacon
9 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely chopped shallot
1 teaspoon finely chopped sage plus 2 Tbsp. thinly sliced leaves and 8 whole leaves
1/4 cup goat cheese
1/4 cup plus 4 Tbsp. Parmesan
Pinch of nutmeg
48 wonton skins
4 slices pancetta, chopped

Preheat oven to 450°F. Halve squash and remove seeds. Season with salt and pepper and place, flesh side down, on a baking sheet (I recommend using a silpat if you have it). Bake until tender and a fork comes out easily, about 40 minutes. Scoop out flesh; puree in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and set aside, reserving bacon drippings. Add shallot to skillet and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add chopped sage, squash puree, goat cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Place one wonton wrapper on work surface, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. Brush wrapper with water and place 1 tsp. squash mixture in center. Place another wrapper on top and seal together with fingers, taking care to push out air bubbles. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut filled ravioli into circles. Keep finished ravioli covered while you work. (Note: you can also use a class with a thin rim instead of a cookie cutter to cut out raviolis.)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Melt butter in skillet over very low heat, then add sliced sage. Cook butter and sage until butter turns light golden brown, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. When browning the butter, be sure to remove it from heat immediately when it starts to brown so you don't burn it. While butter is browning, add ravioli to boiling water, stirring gently so they don't stick together. Cook 4 minutes, then carefully drain. Place 3 ravioli on each plate, top each with 1 Tbsp. browned butter and garnish with 1/2 tbs. Parmesan, some crumbled bacon and one sage leaf. Serve hot.