Caramelized Onion, Pumpkin and Ricotta Torellini's with a Walnut and Sage Brown Butter Sauce

from My Retro Kitchen

makes 50-60 tortellini's, one serving is 6-8 prepared.

Ingredients

1 package Won Ton Wrappers

small bowl of water

For the Filling:

1 cup pumpkin- NOT PUMPKIN PIE FILLING!!!! (about 1/2 of a 15 oz. can)

1 cup ricotta

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

pinch nutmeg

1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence (this is a common blend of herbs from France, containing savory, rosemary, thyme, fennel seed, oregano, basil, and marjoram. If you don't have any Herbs de Provence or can't seem to find this in a store, any combination of these would still be nice.)

For the Sauce:

4 Tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

a small bunch of fresh sage leaves, whole of roughly chopped

fresh ground black pepper

Directions

In a saute pan over medium heat, melt one teaspoon butter.  Once it begins to froth, turn down your heat, add the onions and saute for 15-20 minutes on low so they caramelize and turn into an almost jam-like consistancy.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin, ricotta, garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and Herbs de Provence.  Once the onions are at the right consistancy, add them to pumpkin/ricotta mixture. Taste your mixture to make sure the seasoning is correct.  Adjust as needed.

On a cutting board, lay out 4-6 wonton wrappers and spoon just under a teaspoon filling into the center of each one.  Dip a finger into the small bowl of water and wet around all four sides of the wonton.  Fold in half, corner to corner making a triangle.  Making sure there are no air pockets, press down firmly to seal.  Bring both corners up to meet each other and seal with a bit of water, making a little purse-like bundle. Set aside on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet while you are working.

If freezing, put entire tray of tortellini into your freezer.  Once frozen, remove from freezer and divide into servings in ziplock bags for future dinners and refreeze.

To cook your tortellini's, fill a medium stock pot 3/4 full with water and bring to a boil.  Once you get a nice rolling boil, add a teaspoon salt and carefully add the tortellini's.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, or just until they float to the top.  If cooking from frozen, add 2-3 more minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon.

For the sauce

In a DRY medium saute pan over medium heat, add your chopped walnuts and toast, tossing often, until they begin to lightly brown and give off a nice nutty fragrance.   Add your butter to the walnuts.  Once the butter is melted add the sage leaves.  Swirl the butter, watching it closely.  It will foam and then start to become a beautiful chestnut colored brown.  You will also smell the wonderful nuttiness the butter gives off when it browns.  This means it is ready.  Be careful no to overcook the sauce- it can turn from brown butter to burnt butter very fast.  Once finished cooking, remove from heat and add a couple grinds of black pepper.  Pour over the raviolis and serve.  The crispy sage leaves are completely edible- don't you dare pick them out!  They look so pretty and add such a wonderful flavor to the dish.