Need Sauce Advice-Pumpkin Ravioli

[melis]

Hi,

I made a batch of pumpkin ravioli for one of our dinners this week and need sauce advice. Obviously tomato will not do.

I'm thinking of sage alfredo sauce. However, I always find that alfredo is so heavy. Anyone have any other suggestions or a way to make alfredo a little lighter (not calorie wise, but a little more runny). Maybe something other than heavy cream can be used?

Anyone have any other suggestions of what I can drizzle on my ravioli?

Thanks!

[boar_d_laze]

I'm not sure how you make your "Alfredo," but it doesn't have to be thick. Thick comes from over-reduction, too much cheese (typical), or emulsifying an egg -- which is fine, but intentional.

If the problem is too much cheese, but you like the cheese (and why not?)... Reduce the amount of cheese in the sauce by a third, add half the balance to the top of the pasta after it's tossed, and passing the cheese bowl at service to allow your guests the final over-indulgence. At any rate, the proper consistency for an Alfredo, at least the way Alfredo's in Rome intended it, is not much stiffer than a nappe.

Want to know more about how Alfredo did it, back in the day? Too bad. Alfredo's used spinach fettuccine, made the sauce table side on a spirit burner (not much reduction), and tossed the pasta with golden spoons before serving.

Anyway, all that cheese is a bit much for pumpkin -- not to mention gooey -- not to mention not a particularly good friend of the pumpkin.

I might go with something more like a walnut cream sauce. There are a bunch of recipes running all over the web, and you should look at them. However, I recommend something more like this:

(BARELY TRUFFLED) WALNUT SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 pt. heavy cream
4 oz walnut pieces, toasted, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 grating of nutmeg
2 tbs cold butter in four pieces
1 tbs white truffle oil
A little flat leaf parsley, chopped.


Bring 1 pint heavy cream to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the walnuts and salt. Allow to simmer for five minutes. Grate a dusting of nutmeg over the top of the sauce. Whisk the first two pieces of butter into the sauce, adding the second just before the first is fully incorporated. Remove from the heat, Whisk in the third and fourth pieces of butter, using residual heat to melt the butter, this gives the sauce structure and gloss. Add the truffle oil and parsley, and serve immediately.

Fresh truffle, canned truffle, or canned truffle juice are better than truffle oil. Use it if you got it. White truffle is "better" than black for this dish, but let's not get silly. if you don't have truffle oil the sauce will still function. Truffle = good.

Let me know what you think,
BDL


PS Standard disclaimer: It's an original recipe. I may use it for a book I'm writing. If you share or reproduce it, don't do it for profit, and please credit me as Boar D. Laze. Tanx

[melis]

BDL-

That sounds YUM!!! I love cooking with Walnuts, one of my favorites. We have fresh truffles at our grocery store, but that won't do at $299/lb!

I'm fixated on sage right now for some reason. What do you think about sage instead of parsley, or would that be too much competition? I have some italian parsley in the fridge from last night...so that maybe easier anyways.

Thanks!

[boar_d_laze]

Pumpkin/sage? Walnut/sage? Hmmm. Don't know. Worth a try. Might be a little herbal, and might fight with the nutmeg which is a very good friend indeed, to pumpkin, so go easy.

Although parsley has a flavor of its own, as you know it's more often used to "bring down" other flavors, or add color rather than add any parsley character. In this case, I have it there for eye appeal and to "round-out" the nut/cream by providing an extra little hook for the palate.

Definitely worth a try,
BDL

PS Please Note: The amount of salt was incorrect in the recipe as first posted. Even 1/2 tsp might be a bit much.

[phatch]

Brown butter sauce with fresh sage leaves

Phil

[CoolCook]

3 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup finely chopped shallots
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or 3 teaspoons crumbled dried sage leaves
1 1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/3 cup whipping cream
salt and pepper to taste.

• Melt butter on medium heat until it browns.
• Add sage and shallots to heat for around 30 secs.
• Add wine and cream.
• Bring mixture to boil and allow to reduce for about 5 minutes or until it reaches desired thickness.
• Season with salt and pepper. Remember who you're serving. (ie. Smokers will need more salt than most.)

That's my go to recipe for any "Autumn-ey" pasta and it usually goes over fairly well.

[Ma Facon]

Sautee a few chicken /duck livers until med. remove from pan and add shallots, Deglaze with sherry or marsala. Puree the livers , Shallots and wine reduction with a good amount of whole butter. Now heat some heavy cream in a sauce pan and whip the liver puree into the cream, S&P to taste. Serve with fried sage.

[DC Sunshine]

Originally Posted by phatch

Brown butter sauce with fresh sage leaves

Phil

Rats - you beat me to it....go easy on the sage, as I'm sure you're aware it can get too strong too easily

[AndyG]

I've made pumpkin gnocci with sage butter drizzled on it, with salt and pepper and a little parmesan on it--was really good.

[chefjune]

I would do a sage/brown butter sauce. NO cream at all. The pumpkin has such a naturally creamy texture that for me cream with it is overkill.

just my 5 cents....

[IronChefATL]

cold pan add olive oil
add sliced garlic
heat on medium until garlic browns (toasty brown)
remove garlic
turn heat to high
when really hot and smoky add mushrooms (crimini or whatever you like, oysters would have a fun texture and shape with ravioli)
let the mushrooms get toasty...add some white wine/water/both
return garlic, season, herbs (parsley, SAGE sure, even tarragon yum)
reduce heat low, and wait for the pasta to finish. (under cooked finish in mushrooms mixture)
strain reserving some water to adjust "sauce"
put pasta in pan with mushrooms
heat together I would go until almost no liquid remains then eat
you could add cheese or butter of heat. Likewise sage I would still add @ above time, but italian parsley or tarragon you could wait until the end.

[siduri]

I've had it with just butter and parmigiano, make it good butter and good parmigiano. Basta!
You might put sage, you might not.
The pumpkin is too delicate, to sweet for any sauce i think.

[oscarkat]

I would suggest a brown butter sauce as well, but what about that with walnuts instead of sage. I make a squash ravioli with a brown butter sauce and it's incredible!

[chefjune]

Originally Posted by oscarkat

I would suggest a brown butter sauce as well, but what about that with walnuts instead of sage. I make a squash ravioli with a brown butter sauce and it's incredible!

Chestnuts would be good, too! I love pumpkin soup with chestnuts, why not ravioli sauce?