Silky egg dough ravioli filled with a mushroom and mascarpone mixture served with a nutty and fresh sage brown butter sauce, for a prefect autumn dinner.
Autumn is here which means that weather is getting colder and wetter. Sweaters and jackets are coming out, the trees are all turning orange and red with leaves falling each day. We are no longer looking for food to make us forget the heat but we are searching for more comfort and cozy food that helps us stay warmer. The change in season brought with it a huge variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables that are ideal to create some warm comfort food.
One of the vegetables which is taking over the markets and stores, here in Luxembourg, are mushrooms. It’s always a delightful sight seeing how they display each different type of mushroom. All lined up next to each other, cremini, shiitake, button, morel, chanterelle, portobello, porcini and many more. I tend to get a bit overwhelmed when I get to buy some for myself as I don’t know from where to start but I know that whatever I get I will get to taste incredible meaty earthy mushrooms.
In my house, mushrooms are one of the few vegetables which my husband doesn’t complain about, so I try to use it often. That’s the main reason why I decided to create these mushroom ravioli and also, to create an alternative for the ricotta ravioli. Another plus is that these mushroom ravioli are easy to make and even the sauce can be easily prepared while the ravioli are cooking!
For the filling
Whenever I make these mushroom ravioli, I tend to use either fresh cremini, chanterelle, or button mushrooms. However, this is mainly up to your liking. This filling is cooked before being stuffed in the egg pasta dough so think ahead while making them as the filling has to chill for a while.
Finely chop all the mushrooms and cook together with butter, minced garlic cloves, sage, onion powder, balsamic, salt and pepper and a splash of white wine. Once all the mushroom mixture is all tender and cooked, let it cool down before mixing it with the mascarpone cheese. Keep in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the ravioli.
Egg pasta dough
In my previous ravioli recipe (Maltese Ravioli), I’ve used a semolina based recipe without any eggs which can be also used for these mushroom ravioli. However, for this recipe here I’ve used the Italian egg pasta dough. All you need is 00 flour and eggs. I find this dough to be a bit more delicate to work with but it’s sure worth it!
Sage brown butter sauce
One can say that the sauce for these ravioli is on trend at the moment. Especially brown butter which seems to be in almost every sweet and savoury recipe during this time of year as it goes perfectly with most of this season’s produce. However, why wouldn’t you use brown butter? It’s such an exquisite and tasty addition to your recipes. It really takes the whole dish up a notch. Brown butter is technically a French traditional sauce which is commonly used in pastry recipes and as an accompaniment to winter vegetables. In French, this sauce is called beurre noisette, which means hazelnut butter. The name, apart from referring to the brownish colour into which the sauce turns, it symbolises the nutty and rich flavour of this butter sauce.
You can easily serve this sauce on its own; trust me, it will still be amazing! Although, for this recipe I like to infuse this brown butter with a couple of sage leaves for an added peppery and fresh taste.
Mushroom ravioli with sage brown butter sauce
Ingredients
Egg pasta dough
- 400 g 00 flour
- 4 eggs 200 g
Mushroom Filling
- 250 g mushrooms finely chopped (cremini, button, etc)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 30 ml balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp sage finely chopped
- 80 g mascarpone 1/3 cup
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 60 ml white wine 1/4 cup
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Sage Butter Sauce
- 1/4 cup sage
- 100 g butter 1/2 cup
Instructions
Egg Pasta Dough
- Place the flour on your working surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs in the well. With a fork start mixing the eggs with the flour from the inside to the outside gently.
- Once the dough starts to take shape, with clean hands knead the dough until the dough is smooth. This process shall take about 20 minutes.
- Cover the dough with the cling film and let it rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Mushroom Filling
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 4 minutes until they soften and the liquid evaporates.
- Add the garlic, sage, onion powder, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, while frequently stirring the mixture.
- Add the white wine and the balsamic vinegar, and let cook until all the liquid evaporates and the mixture is nicely browned.
- In a bowl combine the mushroom mixture and mascarpone cheese. Cover and chill until needed.
Assembling the ravioli
- Dust some semolina/flour on a sheet pan or two, and leave it on the side. Divide the dough into four equal parts. Work with one part at a time and leave the rest covered with the cling film. If you have a pasta machine this will make your job easier, however, no worries a simple rolling pin will be enough.
- Roll the dough into about 0.2 cm thin. Cut circles with an 8 cm cookie cutter or a glass.
- Fill these circles with a teaspoon of the mushroom filling, and brush the edges with water. Close tightly around the filling and carefully, pressing out any extra air, create a seal around the filling.
- Place the ravioli on the semolina/flour covered sheet pan and leave some space between one another, so that they don’t stick together. Keep repeating these steps until all of your dough and filling are finished.
- Cook the ravioli in boiling seasoned water, and cook until the ravioli float to the top, after approximately 5 minutes.
Sage brown butter sauce
- In a medium sauce pan on low-medium heat, melt the butter and let is cook for about 5 minutes while continuously stirring.
- Add the sage leaves and let it cook until the butter start to brown slightly and you have a rich nutty aroma.
- Add the ravioli to the sauce and mix well and let it cook for about 1 minute.
- Serve the ravioli immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
If you have any questions, feedback or comments on this recipe, please leave a comment below. Please also rate this recipe by double clicking on the stars below. If you did make this recipe, tag @apronandwhisk and hashtag #apronandwhisk, as I’m curious to see what you create!
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Do you know that I have done this pasta dough without eggs for ages and wouldn’t know the difference? I got the idea from some famousItalian pasta manufacturers who do not use eggs in their products.
I actually do that as well sometimes. I use the traditional Maltese ravjul dough as it doesn’t contain eggs, so it depends on the mood I’m in and what I have on hand. Both doughs are great. But, As you are vegan it would make sense that you use a non-egg dough.
If I want to pre-make these, how should I store them. In the fridge (for how many days would the keep) or freezer (would that change the texture of the filling)?
Hi! I wouldn’t recommend storing them in the fridge. Keeping them in the fridge will alter their texture as they might become too rubbery. However, you can go ahead and freeze them (this is what I do, even if I’m preparing them just a day in advance). You can either flash freeze them directly by placing them on a lined baking tray in the freezer until frozen. Normally this takes about 20 minutes, then you can transfer them in a container of plastic bag. Although, you might notice some might crack, even though the filling of these ravioli don’t have that much liquid in them, thus this might not be case. Another option is to blanch them before freezing, like the ones you can find in the store. To do this you need to cook the ravioli for about one minute, drain and place on a cooling rack. Let them air dry completely uncovered, this will take about an hour. Transfer them to a lined baking tray and place in the freezer until frozen. Lastly, transfer them to a container or plastic bag. For both methods, boil directly from frozen when ready to cook.