Mushroom Ravioli with Creamy Roasted Butternut Squash Puree and Basil Oil

Yep. This is happening. Squash. AGAIN. It all started out with just one little pumpkin… And…

(I lead a very exciting life.)

This dish has a lovely POP of color courtesy of the butternut squash. I realize that it has quite a few components, but the basil oil takes only a few minutes and the sauce, once the squash is roasted, is done in no time. The filling and the pasta dough can be made days in advance and stored in the fridge until needed.

I recently did another pasta post, so I will be reiterating a few points I made on pasta machines and the rolling process.

Yield: 8 servings

Basil Oil

• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil

Directions:

Combine the oil and basil in a blender and puree. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring it just up to a simmer. Remove it from the heat and pass the oil through a fine sieve such as cheese cloth or a chinois. I used a tea strainer and it worked great. Store the oil in a squirt bottle or airtight container in the fridge. It should be a nice bright green color!

Butternut Squash Sauce

• 1 large butternut squash
• 1 -2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Split the squash down the middle and scrape out the seeds. Rub a small amount of oil over the surface of the squash before placing it, fleshy side down, on a sheet pan. Roast it in the oven for about 30-45 minutes. It will be fork tender when done.

Remove squash from the oven and scrape the flesh out into blender/food processor. Add the stock and puree until smooth (you can add more stock if necessary).  Pour the puree into a sauce pan and add the thyme. Simmer the puree until heated thoroughly. Finish the sauce with cream, salt and white pepper.

*** This can also be made into a soup. Simply add more stock until you get a soupy consistency and adjust seasonings. Serve it with some basil oil drizzled on top and crostini on the side.

Pasta Dough

• 2 cups semolina flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/8 cup white wine
• water as need

Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with a hook and make a well in the center. Crack the egg in the well. Start the mixer on medium speed and stream in the oil and white wine. Allow the dough to knead until a stiff dough forms. If it seems too dry then add some water a teaspoon at a time.

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Mushroom Filling

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temp
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 pint white button mushrooms, chopped (or whatever mushroom you prefer)
• 1 sprig fresh oregano, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Saute mushrooms in butter over medium heat until dark and tender. Combine the mushrooms and all ingredients in a mixing bowl using a rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge while you get your dough rolled out.

Rolling Out Pasta Dough

When using the pasta machine I like to work in batches. I broke this amount into thirds. I would run it through the machine a few times on the widest setting. Fold it in half after each turn and add flour if necessary to keep the dough from breaking. Once it passes through the machine completely smooth, you can begin to lower the setting.

My machine’s setting is from 1-7 with 7 being the widest. I roll my dough out at a 3. It should be thin but not transparent. Once your dough is rolled, sprinkle some semolina on your work surface and lay the dough flat. Using either a pizza roller or biscuit cutter, begin to cut your ravioli shapes. They can be round or square or oblong… Its a personal preference!

FIll the Pasta

With my 2 1/2 inch squares I used a heaping teaspoon full of filling. I placed the filling in the center of one square, brushed a little bit of water/egg wash around the edge before covering it with another pasta square. Try not to overfill the pasta! It should have a defined edge free of air pockets.

Place the pasta on a sheet pan or plate lined with parchment and sprinkled with semolina (to keep it from sticking).

Finishing the Dish

Get a pot of salty water boiling for the pasta. While the water is heating, warm your sauce on another burner. Once the pasta is in the water it will only take 1-2 minutes for it to cook. You’ll know it’s done when it floats to the top. Strain out the pasta and immediate toss it into your sauce to coat it.

Place 3-5 ravioli on a plate and drizzle the top with the basil oil. For a little extra color feel free to top it with some minced parsley.

SERVE IT UP! YAY!

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Pomodoro Sauce

You’ll notice a theme running through my last post and those to come. I’ve been experimenting with different types of squash lately (I blame Peter Gabriel. After the 3rd hour of Genesis Radio, it gets weird).

If you’re trying to pack more vegetables in your diet, or simply wanting to stay away from grains, this dish is pretty perfect. I opted for a combination of butter and oil when sautéing the veggies, but you can use only oil to keep this recipe vegan friendly.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash (5 lbs or so)
• 6 roma tomatoes, cored, peeled and diced*
• 1 Tbsp canola oil+1 tsp butter (or sub all canola)
• 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
• 1/2 green bell pepper, small dice
• 1/2 red bell pepper, small dice
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 8 ounces of tomato juice (more or less to get the consistency you prefer)
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
• 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on heat preference)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

*For a quick tutorial on how to peel tomatoes, check out one of my previous posts.

Directions:

 

1. Split the squash down the middle and remove the seeds. Lightly oil the surface before placing face down on a sheet pan. Roast the squash in a 375 degree oven for 20-45 minutes, until the flesh is fork tender.
2. While the squash is roasting, make the sauce. Start by melting the butter and oil over medium heat. Saute the onion for about 3 minutes, then add in the bell peppers. Continue cooking until all veggies become tender, then add the garlic and saute just until it becomes fragrant.
3. Lastly you will add the tomatoes, juice, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Allow the sauce to simmer until it reaches the consistency you want (I prefer my sauce to be thick). I opted to use an immersion blender (just a few pulses) to create more body in my sauce, but it’s not necessary.
4. Lastly  you’ll want to carefully remove the squash from the oven and scrap out the flesh with a large spoon. Lightly salt the squash before topping it with sauce.
5. You can be done at this point OR you can do my favorite thing and add cheese! Just a little grated parmesan and some strips of basil on top is a nice way to finish this dish.

Pumpkin Ravioli in Sage Browned Butter

Yyyyyep. It’s that time of the year!

Menus are changing to reflect the season’s bounty and even though it was 90 degrees outside yesterday, I decided to throw on my flannel and get into the fall spirit. I’ve never really cooked/baked with pumpkin before. My family is more of the chocolate pie type so I wasn’t really exposed to it while growing up.

Apparently I’ve decided to make up for that all at once by cramming pumpkin into everything I do. This post is about pumpkin ravioli, I will be making another post soon about pie, AND I currently have 40+ bottles of home-brewed pumpkin ale sitting in my closet. I am committed to this season.

Back to the ravioli! Making fresh pasta is relatively new to me as well. It is surprisingly simple. All you need is a good dough recipe and decent pasta machine (I purchased mine from Bed Bath and Beyond for about 30 bucks). If you’re super adventurous you can try rolling it out by hand but, honestly, the investment is completely worth it.

Yield: 8 servings

Pasta Dough

• 2 cups semolina flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/8 cup white wine
• water as need

Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with a hook and make a well in the center. Crack the egg in the well. Start the mixer on medium speed and stream in the oil and white wine. Allow the dough to knead until a stiff dough forms. If it seems too dry then add some water a teaspoon at a time.

Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups pureed pumpkin (this can store bought or you can make your own by splitting a pumpkin, removing the seeds and roasting it for 30-40 minutes. The pumpkin will be super tender when done).
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine the pumpkin and cream cheese in a bowl. I used a rubber spatula and it worked pretty well.

Saute the garlic in the butter just until fragrant (about 30 seconds to 1 minute). Add it to the pumpkin mixture.

Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Rolling Out Pasta Dough

When using the pasta machine I like to work in batches. I broke this amount into thirds. I would run it through the machine a few times on the widest setting. Fold it in half after each turn and add flour if necessary to keep the dough from breaking. Once it passes through the machine completely smooth, you can begin to lower the setting.

My machine’s setting is from 1-7 with 7 being the widest. I roll my dough out at a 3. It should be thin but not transparent. Once your dough is rolled, sprinkle some semolina on your work surface and lay the dough flat. Using either a pizza roller or biscuit cutter, begin to cut your ravioli shapes (I used a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter). They can be round or square or oblong… Its a personal preference!

FIll the Pasta

With my 2 1/2 inch circles I used about a teaspoon full of filling. I placed the filling slightly off center in the circles and brushed a little bit of water/egg wash around the edge before folding the pasta around it. Try not to overfill the pasta! It should have a defined edge free of air pockets.

Place the pasta on a sheet pan or plate lined with parchment and sprinkled with semolina (to keep it from sticking).

Finishing the Dish

Get a pot of salty water boiling for the pasta. Once the pasta is in the water it will only take 1-2 minutes for it to cook. You’ll know it’s done when it floats to the top. Strain out the pasta, toss it on a tiny bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking and set it aside.

The sauce is simply a 1/2 stick (2 ounces) of butter that you melt down and allow to heat up until it begins to turn brown and gives off a nutty aroma. At this point you’ll want to toss is a few sage leaves and allow them to simmer for about 5-10 seconds (it doesn’t take long). Remove the leaves, pour the pasta into the pan and toss it on the browned butter for another half minute, adding a little more salt and pepper to taste, before turning off the heat and pouring the pasta onto a serving dish.

I garnished my pasta with fried sage leaves which can be made by heating up canola oil in a saute pan and frying the leaves for about 3-5 seconds before moving them to a paper towel lined plate. You can also use parsley… or nothing at all… I won’t tell you how to live your life.

Serve the pasta while it’s hot! Preferably with a festive ale… Enjoy!

Curried Lentils

I’ve been making this a lot recently. It is QUITE tasty and its budget friendly. One batch costs me less than 10 bucks and it’ll last all week (SUCK IT, Sandra Lee).

I love recipes that allow freedom to add/substitute ingredients. I’ve made curried lentils 3 times this last month and its been different every time. I tend to throw in whatever vegetables I have on hand (last batch had zucchini and spinach).

Here’s the basic recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cups lentils
• 1 large onion, medium dice
• 1 red bell pepper, medium dice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (you may need more depending on what other veggies you use)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons curry paste
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, grated
• 1 (14.25 ounce) can tomato puree (if you’re feeling ambitious, try making your own!.. Or, you know, don’t…)

Directions

1. Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear, put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary).
2. While the lentils are cooking, caramelize the onions in vegetable oil using a large skillet.
3. While the onions are still cooking, add in the bell pepper. In a mixing bowl combine the curry paste, spices, sugar, salt, garlic, and ginger. Mix well. When the veggies are cooked, add the curry mixture and cook over a med-high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready.
5. When the lentils are tender drain them briefly. Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately. I like to serve this over jasmine or basmati rice. Garnish with some fresh cilantro.

Make this NOW!

Tom Haverford Pumpkin! DJ Roomba TEARIN’ IT UP!

 

I don’t know if anything will ever top last years Ron “EFFING” Swanson pumpkin… But here it is, Halloween 2012′s Tom Haverford pumpkin!

Clothes. Treat Yo Self! Fragrances. Treat Yo Self! Massages. Treat Yo Self! Mimosas. Treat Yo Self! Fine leather goods. Treat Yo Self!

Culinary School [fin]

About a month ago I had my final practical of my culinary school career. It seems like only yesterday I was posting about my first week, learning how to concasse a tomato and jabbing my palm with a paring knife (the first of MANY battle scars), going through an embarrassing amount of note cards, and discovering a love for butchery during our meats block. There were fights and love fests along the way. We became a pretty tight, slightly dysfunctional, family.

For our final, we each picked an ingredient or course to create a tasting dish, a bite size plate, around. I chose to do a dessert (BIG SURPRISE). This was my first attempt at a composed dessert so there was definite trepidation.

I found it only appropriate to center my plate around one of my most favorite ingredients: GOAT CHEESE!

Here was my though process after that initial decision:

“Now what pairs well with goat cheese?”

“Pistachios!”

“And what pairs with pistachios?”

“Beets!”

“WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING?”

 

“GET IT TOGETHER.”

I’ve recently been introduced to the world of mousses, so that was fresh in my head, and it seemed like a nice light way to end a meal. I also decided to create a pistachio macaron and add candied pistachios for a nice crunchy element. As for the beets, I went to one of my favorite cookbooks, “Milkbar”, for a beet-lime ganache recipe. All of these elements sit atop a very small, yet incredibly loud round piece of pink and white jaconde sponge cake (this was purely for asthetics).

My initial sketch:

My final product:

I was pleased with the outcome, although trying to compose a dessert in a 100 degree kitchen was pretty horrifying. Now on to the real world! I’ll miss my school family but its pretty nice not having to put on that uniform every morning…

Veggie Lasagna… OH HELL YES.

Don’t let the word “veggie” fool you, this lasagna is as hearty as all hell. I’m going to skip the “its a great way to get your vegetables in for the day blah blah blah” spiel… JUST. MAKE. IT.

Use any vegetables that you enjoy, just be sure to season each one individually before assembling the lasagna (it’ll bring out the flavor in each one).

I used:

• about 10 ounces of fresh baby spinach
• 1 yellow squash cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 2 zucchini cut 1/4 inch on the length
• 1/2 yellow onion, medium dice
• 1 bell pepper, medium dice
• about 8 ounces sliced mushrooms

For my lasagna I started with some spinach sauteed in a little olive oil with a pinch of salt. It cooks in literally 30 seconds to a minute so keep an eye on it.

Next I roasted some squash (just toss them in some olive oil and season with salt and pepper)…

… and zucchini. I sliced them along the length because they’re going to take the place of traditional noodles.

Then I sauteed some onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms (in some oil or butter).

The sauce is really up to you! Feel free to add whatever you’re craving, but if you’re looking for a jumping off point, I made mine with olive oil, garlic, concassed tomatoes, tomato paste, fresh basil, crushed red pepper, and a little bit of heavy cream. You can find a recipe here (just omit the bow-tie pasta). I used an immersion blender to make the sauce smoother in the end.

Now my favorite part. CHEEEEEEEEESE! I decided to take a nontraditional approach and use goat cheese (its a personal favorite of mine and it worked extremely well in this recipe). I also used some fontina, parm, and, of course, mozzarella. I sliced the goat cheese and mozzarella and grated the other cheeses.

To assemble the lasagna start with a little bit of sauce in the bottom on the dish. Then add a layer of zucchini and squash, followed by a layer of the other veggies. Next add a generous helping of cheese. REPEAT. You should end up with something that looks similar to this:

You will then bake the lasagna at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes (allow the cheese to get melted and bubbly). Let the dish rest at room temp for about 15 minutes before serving. This will prove to be the most difficult part.