Butternut Squash Ravioli? Yes, please!

The food for my brother's 17th was a big hit. The cupcakes, version 2.0 are MUCH prettier this time. See photographic evidence below. (And I need to say thanks to my amazing boyfriend who took the following picture. He's local photographer, Justin Lewis- filmaperture Photography :)



I tried out a new recipe for ravioli and it's definitely a keeper. I made a few modifications and thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash, Sage & Goat Cheese Ravioli, with Hazelnut Brown-"butter" sauce
For the Filling:
2 lbs butternut squash, halved & seeded
1 med. onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground sage
1 Tbsp butter (or use olive oil like me :P)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 oz goat cheese mozzerella, grated

60 wonton wrappers (2 packages)
1 stick of butter (or substitute with olive oil like me :P)
1/3 c. hazelnuts, lightly toasted, skinned, & chopped coarse
3 cups spinach leaves

Preheat the oven to 425 & lightly grease a baking sheet.

For Filling: Put squash, flesh down, on baking sheet & roast for 30 mins. Cool. Scoop out the flesh into a bowl and trash the skin. Mash until smooth

While squash roasts, cook onion & sage in oil w/salt & pepper, about 5 mins. Add garlic. Cool and add to the squash. Add the cheese and stir.


Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil. Place one wonton wrapper on a lightly floured surface and mound 1 Tbsp filling in the middle. Wet another wrapper and seal the deal! Transfer to a dry paper towel. After you make a bunch- I did 6 or so at a time- put them in the boiling water for about 6 minutes, until they float. If you aren't plating right away, transfer them to a shallow pan and add some cooking water. If you don't, they'll all stick together. Continue doing this until you have used up your filling or have made as many ravioli as you wish!

For the sauce- heat 1 stick of butter or some oil in a skillet and add the nuts & spinach leaves. If using butter, keep it on the heat until it browns and then remove from heat and season with salt & pepper. If using oil, just heat it up a bit.

Serve ravioli with butter/oil hazelnut spinach sauce on top! Yummy!

Serving amount is debateable- I made 5 raviolis for each of 5 people, so 5 total and I've still got leftovers to make another batch tonight.

I had intended for this blog to focus on baking, but I made a wonderful dinner the other night that I just have to share. I can't take the credit for coming up with it-I got the recipes from The Great Vegetarian Cookbook by Rosamond Richardson. There's so real keepers in this book, but you have to convert all of the measurements, so it can be a little bit frustrating!

I thought I'd share the recipes with you and moving forward, I will probably share more! Enjoy!

Lemon Broccoli
1 1/4 lb broccoli florets
1 egg
the juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Trim the broccoli florets and steam them until tender--about 5-6 mins. Keep them warm and reserve the liquid.
Beat the egg with the lemon juice (I'd suggest using a little less than called for as it was REALLY lemony) and put into the blender. With the machine running, slowly pour in about 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid in a thin stream.
Pour into a heavy-based saucepan and stir constantly over med. heat, until the sauce thickens. Be careful not to let it come to a boiling point, otherwise it will curddle (yuck!).
Remove from the heat, season to taste with salt and pepper and leave to settle for 10-15 mins. then spoon over the warm broccoli and serve.

Grilled Polenta with Cheese, Mushrooms & Roasted Garlic
For the Polenta
1 cup of maize meal
3 cups of vegetable stock
1 tsp cumin
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp chili powder
sea salt
1 Tbsp butter (optional)
2 oz Cheddar cheese, cut into slivers

For the Roasted Garlic
1 whole head of garlic, skins on
Olive oil to brush
Dried thyme and rosemary, to sprinkle
salt and pepper

For the Mushroom Garnish
8 oz of large flat mushrooms, sliced (you could use portabella; I just used criminis)
olive oil

First cook the polenta. Put the maize meal into a saucepan and pour on the stock, stiring until it becomes smooth. Bring to the boil and simmer very gently for 10 mins, stirring frequently until cooked.
Add the spices and garlic, season to taste with salt and beat in the butter (I didn't use any and it was still great!). Pour into a small rectangular dish, smooth down the top and leave to cool. You can leave this overnight if you wish (I just stuck it in the fridge while I prepared the rest).
Meanwhile, roast the garlic. Cut off the pointed ends, but leave the skins on. Brush with olive oil and place in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with the herbs, salt & pepper. Bake for 40 mins at 350F, or until soft (it's a good idea to mix them halfway through). Leave to cool slightly, then squeeze out of the skins.
Now grill the mushrooms. Brush them liberally with olive oil and set under a hot grill for a few minutes until cooked on both sides (ok, I don't have a hot grill, so I just sauteed them in oil in a cast iron skillet and they came out great!).
Cover the cold polenta with the slivers of cheese and cut into 4 squares (it's actually easier to cut them, take them out and THEN put the cheese on top). Lift them out of the dish and set under the pre-heated grill for a few minutes (instead you can nuke them for 1 minute or put them in the already warm oven untilt he cheese melts).
Garnish the cheesey polenta squares with roasted garlic and mushrooms and serve.
Makes 4 squares.

Lemon Snow
1 cup of sour cream or creme fraiche (I used sour cream)
8 tsp sugar
the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
2 egg whites, beaten until stiff

Beat the sour cream with the sugar until thick. Fold in the finely grated lemon rind with the lemon juice. Carefully fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites--as for a souffle. Turn into a glass dish and chill for 2-3 hours (I only chilled for 90 minutes). Eat the same day, because if left for longer, it will separate (mine did separate any way, but if you just stick a spoon in it and stir it around, it's fine!).