ginger

Butternut Squash “Ravioli” with browned butter, raisins and pecans

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Last week some friends dropped off a couple of home grown butternut squash for us to enjoy. My initial plan was to roast them and use them as a side dish for an upcoming meal however I had been craving raviolis lately. These delicate little puffy pillows filled with goodies. They require a little bit of time but are so worth it. Stuff them with practically anything, depending on what’s available and what the mood calls for. Round or square or triangles – I do love them so!

I am going to let you in on a little secret. I sometimes cheat with my raviolis. Yes you heard me correctly. Making home made pasta dough and making them from scratch is obviously the ideal way. Fresh pasta sheets from the store is also an option although I do find the pasta sheets in general too thick for raviolis. Rolling them out with a rolling pin or a hand crank pasta machine would work. The other option, should you not be in the mood to deal with fresh pasta dough, is to grab a pack of fresh wonton wrap sheets in the produce section of your grocery store. They are already cut into perfect squares, perfect thickness. When boiled, the similarity to pasta is striking. So. This dish is made using these. The recipe can of course be used with your beautiful home made pasta dough as well!

Filling:

1/4 cup each of dark and golden raisins

1/4 cup brandy or cognac

1/4 cup water

1/2 butternut squash

1 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1/4 cup mascarpone cheese

Salt & pepper

Olive oil

1/2 cup pecans

Olive oil

1 tbsp sugar

Salt & pepper

40 wonton sheets

1 egg, lightly whisked

2-3 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix the raisins, brandy and water in a bowl. Set aside

Peel the butternut squash and cut into 1” pieces.

Place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven for 30-45 min until soft. Let cool.

In a bowl, toss pecans with a light drizzle of olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.

Spread out evenly on a separate baking sheet and bake in the oven along with the squash for about 10-15 min. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.

In a food processor, puree the butternut squash along with the mascarpone, ginger and parsley until smooth.

Set aside.

Ravioli:

Sprinkle flour onto a flat work surface and place the wonton wrappers evenly.

With a pastry brush, wet each wonton sheet with the whisked egg.

Using a piping bag or two spoons, place a scant tbsp of filling in the centre of 20 of the wonton wrappers.

Take an empty wonton sheet and place on top of a sheet with filling. Egg mixture facing each other. With a cookie cutter, trim the raviolis to make them smaller. With a fork, press along the sides to seal the ravioli and prevent filling to escape.

In a large pot bring water to a boil. Cook the raviolis 2-3 min. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Assembly:

In a cast iron pan, over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the raviolis. Saute until lightly browned. Add the raisins, brandy and leftover pasta water.

Crumble the pecans and add.

Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Bacon and Orange Tagliatelle

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Lazy days.

Most of the time when I’m in the kitchen, ready to cook a meal, I don’t use recipes. I tend to skim through them, look at the photos and use them more as inspiration than anything else. I like to experiment. Try new things. Explore new flavours and textures. Develop new creations.

Most of the time. Sometimes, however, the inspiration is just not there. I can look around in the pantry, take a peak in the fridge, poke my head in the freezer but the inspiration is gone. Poof.

There are days when you feel like doing as absolutely as little as possible. Lounging on the sofa, listening to some good tunes or reading a good book seem perfectly reasonable. Days when the brain is not really working, when the idea of making something to eat seem too much of a task. These days happen to all of us, and it’s totally alright!

A while back I had one of those days and I went online to randomly pick a dish to make for dinner. A recipe from Epicurious caught my attention: Tagliatelle, one of my favourite pastas, tossed with crisp prosciutto and fresh orange. As I was reading the recipe I started salivating. Orange and prosciutto. What a beautiful combination. The wheels started turning and before the dish was ready to be enjoyed around the table, I had adapted the recipe slightly. Being a bacon fanatic, I felt prosciutto alone wasn’t enough. And ginger, well, I put ginger in almost everything I make. My twist to the recipe is below. You can find the original recipe here.

Jens

450g egg tagliatelle pasta

125g thinly sliced prosciutto, cut in 1/2″ strips

375g bacon

1 onion

1” piece fresh ginger

Zest & juice of 2 oranges

1-2 tbsp sambal oelek

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

Salt & pepper

4 green onions

Shaved or grated parmesan cheese

 

Preheat the oven to 500F.

Spread out the bacon on a large baking pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the upper part of the oven for about 10-15 min, until bacon is crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towel and let dry off and cool. Save the leftover bacon fat.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, finely dice the onion, jalapeño and ginger. Separately, slice green onions. Set aside.

Add the bacon fat to a large heavy cast iron skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion, jalapeño and ginger to the butter and sauté for 3-4 minutes until onions become translucent. Add the prosciutto and sauté another 3 minutes. Add reserved pasta water, orange juice, half of zest, and cream; bring to a boil.

Roughly chop the bacon. Add it to the sauce along with the pasta. While stirring, let it simmer, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is cooked, about 1-2 minutes.

Season with pepper. I find the bacon and Prosciutto gives the dish enough salt. Stir in green onions. Serve immediately on a bed of arugula and sprinkled parmesan on top.

Asian Stuffed Peppers with Orange Vermicelli

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sp1Being sick can have its perks. People close to you pay you more attention. They dote on you and supply what you need in order to make you feel better and to make your suffering as light as possible. A few weeks ago it was Bruno’s turn. A pinched nerve in his back forced him to lay still for much longer than first anticipated. I wanted to lift his spirits and so I asked him one afternoon for dinner suggestions. Surprisingly, he said stuffed peppers. This is something I don’t make often. To be honest I only think I’ve made them once or twice. Usually when we crave them we visit Bruno’s parents. His mom makes wonderful stuffed peppers. Since I didn’t want Bruno comparing mine to what he was used to, I decided to come up with something completely different.

A peak in the fridge and I realized no ground beef was to be found. Ground chicken on the other hand we had. An Asian inspired dish came instantly to mind. Now, I was getting excited.  I decided to leave out the rice which is usually mixed with the beef and instead served the peppers on a bed of rice vermicelli noodles tossed in orange juice and green onions. And the chicken? Well, lemongrass, cilantro and good helping of ginger. Loveliness.

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Peppers Filling:

1 stalk lemongrass

1 small zucchini 

7-8 shiitake mushrooms

1 stalk celery

2 tbsp cilantro

1” piece fresh ginger, peeled

2 green onions

1000g ground chicken 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp soya sauce

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp horseradish

2 tbsp green curry paste

1 tbsp sambal oelek

Zest of one lime

 

6 yellow or orange bell peppers 

Parmesan cheese

 

Vermicelli:

250g vermicelli rice noodles

1/2 cup orange juice

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tbsp soya sauce

2 green onions, finely chopped

1 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375F. 

 

Stuffing:

Peel the lemongrass and finely dice the soft centre part. Also finely dice the zucchini, mushrooms, celery, cilantro, ginger and onions. 

In a large pan sauté the ground chicken in the olive oil over medium-high heat until just cooked. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the vegetables and the rest of the ingredients. Let cook on medium heat for 5-10 min. Add the chicken back into the pot. Stir well. Set aside.

With a small pairing knife, cut around the top of the peppers and lift out the centre. Clean the inside of the peppers from white flesh and seeds. Trim bottom of peppers carefully to make them stand up straight, but make sure not to cut through. They need to stay as a sealed bowl.

Place the peppers on parchment paper on a baking sheet then stuff the peppers with the chicken mixture. Grate parmesan cheese on top, then put in the middle of the oven for 40-45 min. until slightly browned and soft. 

Vermicelli:

In the meantime, cook the vermicelli according to the package. Drain and set aside. 

In a large bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients. Add the vermicelli and stir well. Keep warm.

When serving, place some vermicelli on a plate and place a stuffed pepper on top.

Sprinkle with finely chopped green onions and cilantro.sp3sp4sp5

Spinach Soup with Egg Halves and Carrot Slaw

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ss1We all have them. They come and go. Difficult to avoid. I’m talking about the days where you just want to stay in bed. Not move, not care, not anything. The reasons might be all different but the feeling is universal. I recently had one of those days. The weather was cold, grey, rainy and windy. Coffee didn’t even lift my spirit, which is rare. I knew I had to get up and get on with my day and was looking for something to cheer me up. 

This Swedish spinach soup came to mind. Traditionally served with egg halves and hard bread. I recently picked up some local eggs from a nearby farm and the yolk is the brightest orange you’ve ever seen. This in turn inspired me to go crazy with the colour. A refreshing carrot slaw with ginger and orange zest became a great side snack to the soup which offers subtle spinach, onion and a hint of freshly ground nutmeg. The meal did lift my spirit. Thanks to both flavour and colour. Try it. It’s the perfect lunch on a day when feeling a tad blue.

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Soup:

2 tbsp butter

1 large onion, finely diced

2 1/2 tbsp flour

5 cups vegetable broth

500g frozen spinach

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

salt

white pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 boiled eggs

Carrot Slaw:

4-5 grated carrots

2 tbsp grated ginger

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

zest of 1 orange

2 tbsp orange juice

salt 

pepper

In a bowl, mix together the ingredients for the carrot slaw. Set aside to marinate while you make the soup.

In a large pot melt the butter over medium-high heat. When slightly browned add the onion and turn the heat down to medium. Sauté for 2-3 min until slightly translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and mix well. Let cook for another minute. Add about a cup of the broth and stir well. When simmering add the rest of the broth along with the spinach and nutmeg.

Let simmer for 10-15 min. Take of from the heat and stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup along with the boiled eggs. The carrot slaw can be served on crackers or hard bread or on its own on a side plate. Serves 4.ss5
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Butternut Squash and Apple Cider Shots

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s2You might think this is very much a fall post. That is true. It would be a perfect fall post. Except it’s not. March has finally arrived and spring is just around the corner. The long winter months are over and we can start looking forward to seeing the the earth come to life again. In anticipation of the new season, with all that it will give us, I find celebrating what has kept us alive throughout fall and winter is a nice gesture. In the olden days root cellars were very popular. Before grocery stores became what they are today and before modern refrigeration, this was the way to survive. Everything that needed to stay cool was put down there. Potatoes and carrots, apples and onions, squash and pumpkins were stored along with preserved vegetables and fruits. Perhaps even a few bottles of wine. I really love the traditional Swedish root cellar. They were outside of the house, dug into the ground and covered with dirt so that they resembled a grassy mound with a small door.  I would love to eventually build a one behind the house. I will tell you more about them in another post. So, this will be one of the last ‘winter posts’ for a while. These butternut squash and apple cider shots are a great amuse bouche or hors d’oeuvre for your next dinner party. I am using The Old Third Golden Russet Apple Cider of course.
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1 butternut squash

1 medium onion

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

6-8 fresh thyme sprigs

fresh ginger, one 1″ piece

4 cloves of garlic

3 cups chicken stock

1 1/2 cup dry apple cider

1/4 tsp nutmeg

salt & pepper

1/2 cup cream

1 package sliced bacon

 

Peel the butternut squash and cut into 1″ pieces, discarding the centre core. Peel and roughly chop the onion and ginger. In a frying pan heat up the butter and olive oil. Sauté the onion and ginger 2-3 minutes, then add the squash and garlic as well as the thyme sprigs. Sauté for another couple of minutes. Add the chicken stock, apple cider and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then simmer until squash is soft, 20-30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, fry the bacon crisp, either in a heavy skillet, or on a baking sheet in a 450F oven. Let the bacon cool then crumble it together into small pieces. Put aside. 

Remove the soup from heat and let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth. Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper. Pour into shot glasses just before serving.Decorate with the crumbled bacon. Makes 24-30 shots or 6 appetizer size servings. 

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