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Agnolotti with Sage Walnut Cream Sauce

July 19, 2012 by 18 Comments

So…what is agnolotti, you may be asking?  (Or you may not.  You, unlike me, might already be totally best friends with agnolotti.  But just in case…..)  Agnolotti is like a very close cousin of ravioli…a delicious pillow of pasta filled with all kinds of wonderful things…cheese, meat, or in the case of those agnolotti up there, butternut squash and parmesan cheese and (I’m not kidding) teeny bits of amaretti cookies.  Agnolotti is a little bit smaller than ravioli…a big cousin and a little cousin, you might say.  Kind of like these guys.


I know.  I am completely shameless about slipping in pictures of adorable people who are related to me at all available opportunities.

Back at the agnolotti, a little while ago the very nice people at Buitoni gave me some of their new pastas to try out, and one of them was this scrumptious roasted butternut squash agnolotti.  And as soon as I figured out what agnolotti actually WAS, I knew I needed to come up with a sauce that was  worthy of such pasta deliciousness.  Luckily part of the answer was growing by leaps and bounds right outside my kitchen door.

Sage!  I have a sage plant that clearly has aspirations of becoming a sage tree one day soon, so I’m cutting big beautiful bunches of it for sauces and salads and at this point, sage bouquets that I am plunking on various tables and shelves around the house.  Waste not, want not!

So with the sage as inspiration, I sautéed some chopped walnuts in butter until they were warm and fragrant.  Then I used the same butter to cook up a handful of shallots and chopped sage.  A little white wine, a little cream, some parmesan, and I had a silky, summery, creamy sauce that was worthy of this delicious agnolotti.  I served it with a little cold sliced grilled chicken on the side, and suppertime was pretty close to perfect that night.  If you live in the Northeast USA, you can get some roasted butternut squash agnolotti for your own self (look in the refrigerated section), but if you don’t, this sage sauce will work just fine with whatever agnolotti (or ravioli!) you can get your hands on…and if you need any sage, just holler. I’ve got some.

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Agnolotti with Sage Walnut Cream Sauce

Yield: 2 servings

Agnolotti with Sage Walnut Cream Sauce

Ingredients

One 9 ounce package refrigerated agnolotti or ravioli
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped shallots
3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage, plus extra for garnish
3/4 cup white wine
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook agnolotti according to package directions and remove from pasta water with slotted spoon.
2. While pasta is cooking, make sauce by melting butter in medium sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add walnuts and stir until lightly toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon, keeping butter in pan.
3. Add shallots and chopped sage to skillet and stir for one minute. Add wine and cream and bring to a low boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Stir parmesan cheese into sauce, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Divide pasta between two plates and pour sauce on top. Garnish with walnuts, sage leaves and freshly ground pepper and serve at once.

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Comments

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  1. Lora says:
    July 19, 2012 at 10:26 am

    My sage is growing like crazy as well. This is a perfectly gorgeous sauce to try. Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Poetesswug says:
    July 19, 2012 at 3:07 pm

    Thanks for the definition. Agnolotti isn’t in my vocab….Probably because I use words like ‘vocab’! ^_^ …The recipe looks delicious too!

    Reply
  3. Candice@NotesFromABroad says:
    July 19, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    I wouldn’t mind seeing more of those mysterious little people who are related to you :)
    I have been making a lot of ravioli and various stuffed pastas lately. It is winter and my inspiration for cooking is ruled by easy and fast. Pasta always works.
    besitos. C

    Reply
  4. Joanne says:
    July 19, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    I could bathe in this sauce, I’m pretty sure. I always find it so odd that sage blooms in summer when it feels like such a fall/winter herb to me, but it totally works here!

    Reply
  5. Patricia Powell Jones says:
    July 20, 2012 at 9:26 am

    The sauce sounds wonderful. Plan to make it this weekend. You neglected to mention when we add the toasted walnuts. With the cheese? Just wondering?

    Reply
  6. Lynn says:
    July 20, 2012 at 12:22 pm

    O.M.G. I am SO THERE. If I don’t eat the sauce like soup, that is………..

    Reply
  7. Sara says:
    July 20, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    This looks SO yummy! Makes me want to make dinner all over!

    Reply
    • Kate says:
      July 21, 2012 at 1:28 pm

      You know, that happens to me ALL the time – we’ll have just finished, and then I get another IDEA! :)

      Reply
  8. Theresa Murphy says:
    July 20, 2012 at 11:20 pm

    Likey! Wanty! Mmmmmmmm!

    Reply
  9. ruthie says:
    July 22, 2012 at 6:37 am

    Sage and winterish squashes and cream and cheese…oh, man, heaven. I’ve been meaning to make some similar ravioli, when I can face the idea of boiling, steaming water. We’re due for a little cool down in a few days, and this sauce will definitely be gracing some kind of pasta dish at my house then.

    You could make smudge sticks with all that sage. Even if you don’t subscribe to the idea behind it, it’s a great way to freshen up a stuffy house. At least mine feels stuffy when it’s hot and I’m barricaded inside with the AC running. ;)

    Reply

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