Butternut and Ricotta Ravioli with burnt sage butter

There seem to be a few prevailing and recurring issues I’ve noticed with regards to January:

1. Everyone complains about how much weight they have put on and that they need to go back to gym.
2. Gyms are busy.
3. There is a lot of sighing to be heard in the ladies locker room around the scale.
4. Castle and Savannah are ordered in their ‘light’ varieties
5. People tip car guards and beggars less.
6. Sales are everywhere and women, for once, duck and dive to avoid being taken in by them.
7. In a nutshell: people be broke and fat y’all!

Whilst I can’t help people with the body-fat side of things, I have been wracking my brain to come up with recipes that indeed will help your wallet stay on the heavier side of the scale…It might take a little effort but is so so worth the trouble. BUT if you can’t be bothered with the effort there are tons of happy-salady-skinny-recipes from my 3 month stint taking my kit off on stage: click here and here and here

The first of the budget-friendly recipes that will knock your socks off is home-made ravioli; once you know how it’s quick and easy and cheap like the budgie let me tell you:

Butternut and Ricotta Ravioli with Burnt Sage Butter

Ingredients: serves 2-4

• 300g 'OO' flour (If you can't get it you can just use normal flour)
• 3 free-range eggs
• 1 small butternut (400g)
• 200g ricotta
• 200g butter
• 1 packet fresh sage leaves
• Parmesan to serve

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180*C

Cut butternut into 4 and douse with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for about 30 minutes (until cooked through), set aside to cool.
To make the pasta, bung flour and eggs into a food processor and blitz until you have a ball of pasta dough, dust with more flour and wrap in cling and set aside to rest for an hour.

Scoop out the seeds and peel away the flesh of the butternut, cut into small pieces and mix together with the ricotta in a processor (or by hand), add a touch of salt and pepper to taste.

Using a pasta machine; roll out the dough in 4 sections to the second last notch on your pasta machine until you have 4 long strips.
Dust a table with flour and lay down the strips.

Using 2 teaspoons, spoon a 'finger-tip' quantity of the mixture in evenly spaced sections half way across each sheet, then fold the other half back over and push the pasta sheets together gently ensuring that no air is trapped inside. (This will make the ravioli break open when cooked.)

Boil the ravioli for 5-6 min (until al dente) in salted water and drain. - If you are keeping the ravioli for later make sure you dust it generously with flour and keep it on a layer of wax wrap or it will stick to the surface it is on.

Put the butter in a pan on medium heat, swirling as you go until it begins to brown, then add the sage leaves, remove from the heat and stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the ravioli to coat in the sauce and serve with shavings of parmesan.