Brown Butter-Hazelnut Pesto Ravioli with Crispy Mushrooms

This recipe takes some (good quality) store-bought ravioli and dresses it to the nines. My Brown Butter Hazelnut Pesto Ravioli with Crispy Mushrooms is luxurious and rich and decadent seeming, but still so simple and quick to make all at the same time.

Table of Contents

I’m sharing my super special brown butter, hazelnut and sage pesto here, and the brown butter just adds this extra something to a gorgeous sage and hazelnut pesto. Sage + mushrooms + nutty, salty parmesan cheese taste perfect together – like they were meant to be – and they make a fantastic base for a quick and easy pesto.

I’m proud of this recipe for a few reasons though, not just its sheer deliciousness. I developed it to be as efficient and streamlined for you as possible, so you only need two pans (and a food processor) and you only need to roughly chop some hazelnuts – that’s really all the chopping involved. It’s SUPER SIMPLE and really tasty. Your holiday table will be all the better for it.

Pesto with Brown Butter – It’s a Thing

Now. You could absolutely whip up this recipe without the brown butter part (it’s the first step). Sure, you could do that. But here’s the thing – toasted hazelnuts kind of taste like brown butter, and thus do their happy dance in this pesto when blended together with actual browned butter. It’s nutty and deeply delicious, this pesto, and just like I think brown butter is great in a whipped vinaigrette, I think it’s pretty rad in a pesto as well.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

As I mentioned above, I wrote this recipe to be as streamlined for you as possible. We’ll make the brown butter in the same pan as we toast up the sage and hazelnuts … and then ultimately the crispy, perfectly browned mushrooms.

Each time we introduce a new element into the pan (which I repeatedly ask you not to wipe out), we’re sort of seasoning the pan itself – it will help build flavor in each layer of the dish. The sage and hazelnuts, for example, will fry up in the same olive oil that goes right into the pesto itself. I adore efficient recipes like this one; especially when they make you look like a total rockstar.

INGREDIENTS

6 TBSP butter

3 TBSP + ⅓ cup olive oil, plus more as needed

25 to 30 leaves fresh sage (of varying sizes – this doesn’t have to be exact)

1.5 cups hazelnuts, roughly chopped

12 oz. fresh sliced mushrooms

½ large garlic clove (you can use the whole clove if you like it really garlicky)

¾ cup grated parmesan

2 cups fresh baby arugula, plus extra for topping

Salt and pepper, as needed

1 lb. fresh cheese or chicken ravioli (I use Rana brand, chicken or cheese)

Zest of one lemon, optional

Brown Butter-Hazelnut Pesto Ravioli with Crispy Mushrooms: How to make it

Add the butter to a large, non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Allow it to melt and then brown. It will get quiet and smell nutty when it’s ready. Pour the browned butter into a food processor, and don’t wipe out the skillet.

Add just enough olive oil to the pan to coat the bottom (usually a about 3 TBSP). Fry the sage leaves, in batches as needed, just until lightly browned and crisp. Transfer to the food processor with the browned butter.

Add the hazelnuts to the sagey oil and toast until golden brown and fragrant; about 1 to 2 minutes (this goes fast). Reserve about 2 TBSP of these to use as a topping later, and transfer the rest to the food processor, along with the flavored olive oil from the pan. Don’t wipe out the pan.

Add the arugula and garlic to the food processor and process the pesto mixture into a paste. With the motor running, drizzle in enough olive oil to reach your desired pesto consistency – I usually do about ⅓ cup. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed (salt, pepper, more arugula, etc.).

With the heat still set to medium, add the mushrooms in a single layer to the same skillet and let them brown and crisp up – the trick is not to touch them while they cook. The less you mess with them, the browner, and crispier they’ll get. Cook until they’re browned and crispy all over – 8 to 10 minutes. (NOTE: the non-stick pan makes it so we don’t need any extra oil to cook the mushrooms).

Meanwhile, prepare the raviolis according to package directions, in well salted water (like the sea). Drain and return to the skillet. Add about ¼ cup of the pest to the pan and gently toss with the ravioli, helping each one to get a thin coating. Add the mushrooms to the pan.

To serve, pile the ravioli and mushrooms onto serving plates (or a big platter) and top with some reserved toasted hazelnuts and a scattering of fresh arugula. Enjoy!