What's Up, Butternut?

Dating a guy who not only loves to cook, but is really dang good at it is pretty cool for a girl like me.  Even better is that he's classically trained (from the CCA) and a big science guy, so he teaches me new things all the time and can answer every one of my culinary questions. And even though he rolls his eyes a lot at the wackadoo "natural chef" stuff I tell him I'm going to cook, I know he learns from me, too.  Best of all though, is that whenever I say that I want to try making something (well, something "normal"), he's always game.

So my new fascination was homemade pasta. I told Tom I wanted to make Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce for the Farm to Table dinner at Farm Girl Nursery.  I had only made my own pasta once before in the Natural Chef program over two years ago, and had no recollection of how I made it.  He jumped at the chance to refresh my memory.  He dug out his pasta maker, his "Pasta Facile" (a motorized attachment that passes the pasta sheets through), and his ravioli molds....and away we go!

So let's start with the pasta.....semolina.  You can get some tips on making it from Tom's blog, but we pretty much followed the directions on the package::

While Tom took to the pasta (felt a little like someone else doing my homework) I set to making the filling.

I started with a simple flavor profile....butternut squash, sage, walnuts.  Then added some essentials: olive oil, half & half and apple cider vinegar.  Real food, fresh ingredients.....don't need much to make it taste great!

I roasted cubes of butternut squash and popped it into a food processor for a little go-around, until it came together into a smooth, creamy texture.  I added the sage and chopped walnuts and gave it another spin, then with the motor running, drizzled in the olive oil, half & half, and apple cider vinegar (the acid from apple cider, red wine or white wine vinegars will brighten almost anything you think needs "a little something").

Tom has these great ravioli molds.... we laid a sheet of pasta in, brushed them with a beaten egg

 (works like glue)...

... then filled them with the butternut puree...

... topped them with another sheet of pasta and used this cute little, baby rolling pin to press the pasta onto the mold, which essentially cuts the scalloped edges of the ravioli...

If this sounds like too much trouble for your busy life, I get it!  I can recommend using wonton wrappers (the square ones).  Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of a wrapper and wet the edges; top with another wrapper and seal the edges all around.  Works just as well.....but not nearly as satisfying as your own homemade pasta....but I get it, we don't all have a Tom in our kitchens whipping up fresh pasta for us.   No matter what you do, you gotta make this filling......

Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli Filling

Makes approximately 2 cups

1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped  into 1” pieces

¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon half & half

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch pepper

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

·         Preheat oven to 400°.

·         Place squash on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast 20-30 minutes until softened.

·         Allow squash to cool slightly and pulse in food processor until well blended.

·         Add walnuts and sage and pulse to combine.

·         With motor running, drizzle in olive oil and half & half, and process until smooth.

·         Add vinegar, salt, pepper and nutmeg and process 1 minute more until creamy.

Tell me.....what is your absolute favorite pasta dish??????

Yum it up!!!

A Delicious Surprise

Saturday night was another Farm to Table dinner at Farm Girl Nursery.  I saw the guests beginning to arrive, so I went into full-steam mode, getting the first bite into the oven and ready to plate....

Figs stuffed with prosciutto, topped with Pt Reyes blue cheese and toasted walnut, then baked for 10 minutes and drizzled with pure maple syrup.  My culinary partner-in-crime, Tom, made these for me a few weeks ago, with the same fresh figs from his garden that we used Saturday, and I knew at first bite that these had to welcome everyone for the dinner.

Lisa, of Farm Girl Nursery, came to the kitchen door as I was racing around and asked me to come outside for a minute.  This had never happened before, so I was a little confused.  I was even more confused when I walked onto the porch and slowly started to recognize people I knew.  My brain went into some kind of weird slow motion groove.  Turns out my BFF Sue had organized a little surprise for me.  A couple months ago when I old her I was having a farm dinner on her birthday, she apparently got the idea to secretly invite some friends to come with her, and what she thought might be three or four of them turned into 14 (including my lovely sister, Michelle). 

I momentarily" lost my business" (it's rare that I am actually surprised), and when I went back into the kitchen I had to ask my crew what the heck we were serving for the first course!  Thankfully they had their act together and we were back in order.  First up: Thai Pumpkin Soup garnished with creme fraiche, pure maple syrup, and red chile strips (recipe follows)...

Next was a lovely salad:  Watercress, Asian Pear, Toasted Walnuts & Shaved Pecorino with a Champagne Vinaigrette.  This is another example of how using fresh, in-season produce elevates simple ingredients to delicious heights...delicate watercress, crisp pears, crunchy walnuts, salty cheese and a sweet dressing.  A perfect combination.

The tables got quite a bit more animated with our next course:  Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Browned Butter Sauce.  The excitement, the oooh's and aaaaah's were heard all the way into the kitchen. Tom made fresh semolina pasta sheets that we laid into ravioli molds and stuffed with creamy roasted butternut-sage puree.  We topped the little pillows with browned butter and a crispy sage leaf. (I'll do a separate post with recipes later in the week).

By the time we got to the entree, I was visiting with friends, and it escaped my camera's lens, but it was delicious...trust me!  Pork medallions marinated in apple concentrate, olive oil, thyme, Dijon, garlic and shallots.  We made a roasted pork bone broth during the week that Tom reduced down and added to onions, carrots and celery, with a full-bodied red wine to create a wonderful sauce that had everyone begging for more.  The pork loin was topped with sauteed apples and onions and served along side my cauliflower "couscous" (cauliflower pulsed in a food processor until it's the consistency of couscous, then sauteed briefly in olive oil with turmeric and curry powder and tossed with currants).

And for dessert, we revisited the pumpkin patch....pumpkin bread pudding topped with homemade vanilla ice cream (made with coconut palm sugar instead of the white stuff....YUM!)

This may be our last Farm to Table Dinner for the year (too chilly), and it was certainly one I will never forget.  Cooking for anyone makes me extremely happy and fulfilled, but cooking for people you've known and loved most of your life....now that's really something!  My cup runneth over!!

Thai Pumpkin Soup

Serves 6

2 small sugar pie pumpkins, seeded and quartered

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped basil

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped ginger

3 red chiles, seeded and chopped

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup coconut milk

¾ cup coconut cream (the solid part at the top of a can of coconut milk)

1 teaspoon grade B maple syrup

2 teaspoons lime juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Crème fraiche & maple syrup for garnish

·         Preheat oven to 400°.

·         Place pumpkin slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast 25-30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

·         When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the skin and chop the flesh into bite-sized pieces.

·         In a medium saucepan heat oil and sauté 8-10 minutes until softened.

·         Add pumpkin, basil, tomato paste, garlic, ginger and chiles and sauté another couple minutes.

·         Add broth, coconut milk and coconut cream.  Stir to combine.

·         Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes.

·         Transfer to a blender and working in batches, puree until smooth.

·         Return to pot and add maple syrup and salt & pepper to taste.

·         Garnish with crème fraiche and a drizzle of maple syrup.