Roasted Pumpkin and Persian Feta Ravioli with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

I used to shy away from buying a whole pumpkin as I thought it would be too difficult to cut and I wouldn't get through it all, now, I buy and I make sure I use it for as many different things as I can.
Pumpkin had already been used to make two different pumpkin soups, so I wanted to try something new. My beetroot ravioli turned out well, hopefully pumpkin would be the same.

Ingredients for ravioli

Pumpkin roughly chopped into similar sized pieces  
100g Persian Feta
Wonton wrappers
Oil

Ingredients for sauce

120g sliced mushrooms
15g butter
Italian herbs
50ml white wine
1 cup stock
1/2 cup cream
1tb cornflour
salt to taste



I didn't weigh the pumpkin, just chopped it into smallish pieces so roasting would be quick, I used basil infused olive oil to roast with, about half an hour on 200°. Then let it cool down before mashing. I have previously bought Southcape Persian Feta, however chose a different brand because it was cheaper, I won't do it again, I think the Southcape one is better. Lesson learned. I mixed the cheese in with the pumpkin. Then it was just a matter of spooning the pumpkin and cheese mixture onto the prepared wonton wrappers and sealing them with a little water. 

I cooked the ravioli in a pot of boiling water for about 5 minutes and removed individually with a slotted spoon. 

Sauce

Melt butter over low heat, add mushrooms and cook until soft and dark. Stir in herbs, salt, and stock. Increase heat to medium and cook stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low, stir in cream until smooth, stir in cornflour and simmer for a minute to thicken. Pour over pasta. 

This sauce is probably not this best fit for the ravioli, works really well with a bowl of penne, but I used it as I knew Philip would like it and I wasn't wrong. Overall dinner was very nice. 

Roasted Beetroot and Goats Cheese Ravioli with a Walnut and Brown Butter Sauce

About five weeks ago I took my grandmother out for lunch, we went to a lovely little place in Riddells Creek called Seasons Bistro Bar and Deli. I really like it as they have some great food, traditional things like pies, that suit my Nanna and more modern things like the Beetroot & Goats Cheese Ravioli with Walnut Butter that I had.

This was my lunch.

I loved it, so thought I would try and make it at home.

Ingredients

2 fresh beetroot
100g goats cheese
wonton wrappers
butter
walnuts

I wrapped the beetroot in foil, placing a teaspoon of water in with it.  Roasted it for about 40-45 minutes on 180°. Tested it will a skewer to see that it was done and peeled it while wearing disposable gloves so my hands didn't turn pink. I then finely grated the beetroot into a bowl and mixed in the goats cheese. Then it was just a matter of spooning the beetroot and goats cheese mixture onto the prepared wonton wrappers and sealing them with a little water. 

I probably should have roasted my walnuts in the oven, but I didn't. I heated the frypan and did them on the stove top before the butter. Once they were done, I put them aside and started on the butter. As it had been a while since I had made something with a brown butter sauce I thought I had better check the net and make sure it's done right. I used this for the brown butter sauce. 

I wasn't really sure how long I should cook the ravioli for and I was terrified that it would all fall apart, but after about 5 minutes in boiling water, I was able to serve it still intact. Removing from the water with a slotted spoon helped. Then I just added the walnuts and sauce. 

I told Philip when I gave it to him that this dish was experimental and that if it wasn't any good I would make him something else, but he was very pleased, thought it was very nice and worthy of a place in a restaurant.  That was nice of him to say.