Sage Butter Chicken & Butternut Squash Ravioli

I’m such a ravioli fan, I mean…. c’mon, I’m half Italian, it’s in my blood to be obsessed with all kinds of pasta! The other day I was in the mood for ravioli, but not your average ricotta or spinach stuffed ravioli. I wanted to take a sweet and savory approach, so I went with butternut squash ravioli. (No, I didn’t make them from scratch either! I know…. shame on me, but that’s what makes this recipe super simple and quick to make). In my eyes nothing is more delicious than sage paired with butternut squash, so I did a sage butter sauce to toss the ravioli in. I also sautéed a little bit of kale and incorporated that in, so that I wouldn’t feel so bad for eating such fattening ravioli in a butter sauce. KIDDING! Haha. The sautéed kale was added in not only for color, but for texture/ an extra “bite”. Enough of my ranting. I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as we did, it was delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 small sized chicken breasts (trimmed and tenderized)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 7 tablespoons of salted butter
• 1 tablespoon of fresh minced sage
• 1 teaspoon of fresh minced garlic
• 1/4 cup of chicken stock
• 1/4 cup of half & half OR light cream (I used half & half)
• 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch
• 2 cups of chopped kale (no stems)
• 10-14oz package of butternut squash ravioli (I used this brand)
• salt/pepper to taste

Directions:

Chicken:

1. Set oven to 375°F.
2. Trim any excess fat off of chicken breast. Pound each breast on each side with meat tenderizer.
3. In a small mixing bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt and black pepper.
4. Coat each chicken breast, front & back, with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil (1 teaspoon in total).
5. With your seasoning mixture, sprinkle evenly on front of back of each chicken breast. (Lightly sprinkle seasoning on chicken, DO NOT over season! You may have some seasoning left over.)
6. Set a large sauté pan or frying pan on stove over medium/high heat. Once pan is hot, cook each chicken breast for about 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. (After cooking on pan: If internal temperature is 160°F and the chicken is fully cooked, set the breasts aside on a plate. If the chicken is not fully cooked after sautéing in a pan – put chicken into a baking pan and cook in the oven until the internal temperature is 160°F then set aside).

Ravioli:

1. Set a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil.
2. Once water is boiling, follow the cooking instructions on butternut squash ravioli package.
3. Cook & strain ravioli. Set aside.

Sage Butter Sauce:

(While ravioli is boiling)

1. Set a small sauce pan over medium/high heat on the stove.
2. Place butter into the pot. Once butter is melted, add in fresh minced sage and fresh minced garlic and sauté until the garlic is light golden brown. WATCH CAREFULLY – DO NOT BURN.
3. Once the butter is slightly foamy, add in chicken stock and half & half/ cream. Whisk together. Turn heat down if necessary.
4. Once liquid starts to simmer, whisk in cornstarch. (This thickens the sauce).
5. Turn off heat and let the sauce rest.

Kale:

1. Next, in the same sauté pan used for the chicken, set heat to medium and add in 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil.
2. Once oil is hot, add in kale and sauté until tender.
3. Once kale is tender, turn heat off. Add salt/ pepper to taste if you’d like. DO NOT OVER SALT, SAUCE IS ALREADY SALTY!

Assemble:

1. Pour the sage butter sauce over the ravioli.
2. Mix sautéed kale directly into the ravioli and sauce.
3. Put on a plate. Top with sliced chicken breast.
4. Garnish with fresh sage leaves or fried sage leaves if you’d like.
5. Enjoy!