Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Sage Sauce

Gnocchi has been a longstanding family tradition. This particular combination of butternut squash, sage, and nutmeg, will leave your taste buds craving more!

Squash, after roasting.

Ingredients for the Gnocchi:
1 Small-Medium butternut squash
1 Large Russet potato
1 Egg
1/2 t Salt
Nutmeg, as desired
Flour

Ingredients for the Sauce:
2-3 Sprigs fresh sage
2 T Butter
2 T Olive oil
Nutmeg, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and place face down on a baking dish in 1-1 1/2'' water. Place the squash in the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes, until the skin is browned and a fork easily slides into the flesh. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, wash the potato and boil it whole in a small pot of salted water. Do not cut the potato, otherwise it become water-logged and the gnocchi will not be light and fluffy. It is done when a fork goes in easily.

Drain the potato and peel after it is cooled and is easy to handle. Do the same for the squash, making sure to discard all skin. Push the potato and squash through a ricer into a large bowl. If you don't have a ricer, you can also use a regular potato masher, but the dough won't hvae the same amount of lightness. Cover the vegetables with a towel and set aside to cool.

Once the vegetables are no longer steaming, and add the egg to the bowl. Sprinkle in the 1/2 t salt, and add a sprinkle of nutmeg. With a fork, mix everything together, being careful not to over-mix. This is not making mashed potatoes; It should have the consistency of a light dough.

Once the ingredients are evenly distributed, begin sprinkling flour into the bowl, while still mixing with the fork. As you add flour, the dough will get harder to stir. Stop adding flour when the mixture has formed a dough and it is only slightly sticky to the touch. (If in doubt, err on the side of adding too little flour, than adding too much.)

Gather the dough into a ball, and pour it onto a floured working surface. Knead gently until the stickiness is gone and the dough is workable, adding flour as needed. This only takes about a minute. Roll into a log, then cut into thick 1'' slices. Sprinkle more flour on the work surface, then roll each slice into a long snake, about 3/4'' in diameter. Cut each snake into 1'' angled pieces and roll in extra flour, before placing on a floured baking pan. Do this until all of the dough is cut into gnocchi, floured, and on the pan. Refrigerate if not using immediately, but make sure to serve the same day.

When cooking, use a wide-brimmed pot. The gnocchi will cook in about 1-2 minutes. Stir them around, as they might stick to the bottom. As soon as they float to the top of the water, fish them out using a large strainer or slotted spoon.

The sauce is very simple to make and can be heated while you are cooking the gnocchi. In a saucepan, melt the butter and oil together on M heat. Add the sage leaves and cook about 1-2 minutes. The sauce should be bubbling. Set aside. When ready to serve, pour the mixture over the gnocchi and toss to coat. Sprinkle with just a touch of nutmeg and enjoy!

Slowly adding flour to the vegetables.

A detail to show the airiness of the dough.

Making the gnocchi:

Russian Borscht (With beef or vegetarian)

My sister-in-law is Russian and it is always a treat when she decides to make Borscht (the 't' is silent). This time I took photos and documented the process so I could share the recipe on here. All credit to my sister-in-law, Tanya, and her book "Please To The Table: The Russian Cookbook" by Anya von Bremzen and John Welchman.

This time she made it using a pressure cooker, so it took less than half the time to cook. If you don't have a pressure cooker, follow the recipe but make everything in a large pot.

Veggies cooking.

Ingredients:

6 T (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 medium-sized beet, peeled and grated
1 small rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 tart apple, cored and cut into 1-inch dice
2 medium-size boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 quarts vegetable stock, canned broth, or water
Bouquet garni (1 bay leaf and 8 peppercorns tied in a cheesecloth bag)
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon sugar, or more, to taste

Liquid removed after cooking the beef.

On the side, for garnish:

Sour cream, or greek yogurt
Fresh dill, finely chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Sliced bread
Salt and Pepper
Cloves of garlic, crushed

First, cook the beef (if using) with 1 c water in the pressure cooker. When done, separate out the liquid stock (~2c) and save the meat. Set aside.

Melt the butter in the pressure cooker pot (or large soup pot) over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and bell pepper and saute until slightly softened, ~5 minutes.

Stir in the cabbage, beet and celery and continue to cook, stirring and tossing occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes.


When all the veggies are soft, stir in the apple, potatoes, tomato paste, and garlic, then add the stock and bouquet garni. At this point you will close the pressure cooker and let it do it's thing (follow the direcitons for your specific model). If using a regular pot, bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Finally, add the paprika, salt and pepper, sugar, and lemon juice to taste. Let stand at least 2 to 3 hours, or overnight. Before serving, remove the bouquet garni. Serve with salt and pepper, fresh sour cream, chopped dill and parsley, bread, and crushed garlic. As Tanya says, it's the final toppings that separate good borscht from GREAT borscht, so add liberally!

Shakshuka

I recently took a trip to Israel and discovered Shakshuka. Shakshuka is originally from North Africa, but easily found in the middle east. Traditionally, it is a spicy egg and tomato stew served with bread. Although traditionally served for breakfast, this dish is also served as the main course or one of several smaller dinner courses.

I found this recipe online on the blog of David Lebovitz, who also first ate Shakshuka in Israel. Here is his original recipe.

This makes about 4-5 servings, and will take about an hour to prep and cook.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
1 M onion or 2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1 chili pepper, diced with seeds removed--adjust for desired spice level
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1 t paprika
1 t caraway seeds, crushed
1 t cumin seeds, crushed, or 3/4 t ground
1/2 t turmeric
2 lb (1 kg) fresh tomatoes, diced (canned is okay)
2 T tomato paste
2 t honey
1 t red wine vinegar
1 c loosely packed greens (~ 1-2 leaves) I used kale, but swiss chard, spinach, radish greens, and watercress will work
4 oz (~1 c feta cheese)
4-6 eggs
Fresh bread or couscous for serving

A note on ingredients: This list includes a few adjustments I made while cooking or after tasting the final product. The original recipe called for 1 1/2 t salt, but I found this to be too salty. It is always better to use less salt when cooking and add more later. For the greens, I used more--probably closer to 2 cups--and it still came out fine. Because the dish was so salty, I used much less feta cheese, than the 4oz called for in the recipe.

First, prep all the veggies. Measure and mix the spices and crush the caraway and cumin seeds. Heat the olive oil in a pan on M/H, add the onion and garlic and cook ~5 minutes until soft. Add the chili pepper and spices. Stir constantly for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste, honey and vinegar.

Reduce heat to M/L and cook for 12-15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened, but is still somewhat thin. Stir in the greens. If you are not ready to eat, turn off the pan and set aside.

When you are ready to serve the shakshuka, place the pan over L heat and sprinkle in the cheese. Use a large spoon to make 4-6 indentations in the stew. Crack one egg into each spot, and gently drag the whites out into the rest of the stew. Do not disturb the yolks. Cover and cook 3-5 minutes, until the eggs are cooked as you like.

Serve immediately in a bowl with fresh bread or over couscous.

In addition to the changes noted above, I found this to be a bit too thick compared to the shakshuka I had in Israel. I underestimated how long it would take the eggs to cook, and much of the liquid was lost in this stage. Next time I will cook it for 10 minutes prior to adding the eggs, and maybe even add more fresh tomatoes to balance out the other ingredients.

Overall, this was still very tasty--and spicy too--and I look forward to sharing it with friends.

Cooking the celery and garlic

Added the spices

Plus everything else

After cooking ~15 minutes

Cooking the eggs

Zucchini, Corn, & Poblano Tacos

My friend had a dinner party the other night and made these tacos as the main course. The recipe is one of Ricky Bayless's, and I found it online here.

These are easily the most delicious vegetarian tacos I've ever had, and I'm happy to share them. They are quick to prepare and have relatively few ingredients.

Serves ~6

Ingredients:
2 T oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1lb fresh tomatoes, pureed in the food processor
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 large poblano chiles, roasted
1 c corn
4 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4'' cubes (~5 c)
3 T fresh cilantro, chopped
2/3 c heavy cream or crème fraîchesalt to taste1/2 c queso fresco24 fresh tortillas, warmed

Chop all the veggies, and place the peppers in the oven on broil to roast. Turn frequently. They are done when the skin is browned all around. Remove and place in a paper bag. After 5 minutes, remove from the bag, rub and the skin will come off easily. Cut into slices.

Meanwhile, add the oil to a large pot and heat over M. Add the onion and cook until golden. Add the garlic and cook slightly more. Puree the tomatoes and add to the pot, stirring until the sauce is thickened.

Increase the heat to M/H and add the peppers, corn, zucchini, cilantro, and cream. Stir well and cook until the zucchini is soft. Season with salt, to taste.

Heat the tortillas in the oven. When warm, remove and fill with zucchini mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and fresh cilantro.

Spanish Omelette (Tortilla Española)

I first experienced Spanish cuisine during a summer in college while studying abroad in central Spain. I immediately took to the tapas style of serving food, and marveled at the amount of eggs used in the cooking--the Spanish put an egg on everything!


One of my favorite dishes was the Spanish Omelette, or Tortilla Española. This is a 2'' tall egg and potato combo, cut into little squares and eaten with toothpicks. Very tasty--but be warned--also very filling!

After reviewing a few spanish omelette recipes online, I settled on this one, and made some changes myself. Below is my modified version, which you can easily scale to make a larger omelette.

Ingredients:
*1/4 c olive oil
1/2 lb potatoes, thinly sliced. I like to use a Mandoline
1 large onion or fresh green onions, thinly sliced
4 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste

*This first time I made this I used way too much oil, and ended pouring some out of the pan. The quantity shown here is half what the recipe suggested, but use more as needed.

I always make this in a cast iron skillet, as I find they are the perfect shape for a tall omelette. Pick one appropriate for the amount of ingredients you use, so it will be full to the brim. Use more oil if you are using a larger skillet, so the bottom is completely covered.

Heat the pan on M/H and add the olive oil. Add potatoes and cook until golden. Add the onions and continue cooking until they are soft and beginning to brown.

While this is cooking, beat the eggs together in a bowl and add salt and pepper. Pour into the skillet and reduce the heat to L. When the eggs brown on the bottom, slide onto a dish and flip back into the pan. Cook until the eggs brown on this side and serve immediately, sprinkled with fresh onion, salt, and pepper.

Below are pictures from the first time I made this:

No cast iron skillet, the potatoes are too coarsely chopped, and celery substituted for the onion.

 It still looked and tasted good though!

Vegetarian Wonton Soup (Soup, Filling, & Wrappers)

I invited friends over for dinner and needed some cooking inspiration. Browsing through "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian", I came across a section on dumplings. Perfect! I've never made dumplings before but have always wanted too. My dinner guests would be my guinea pigs.

I first found a recipe for wontons. It was followed by a short paragraph on wonton soup. It's actually just vegetable stock and a little bok choy. Since I was making both the wontons and the soup, I decided to check out the wrapper recipe. Turns out it's just as simple as the other two. It took me about 2 hours to make everything, but if you don't have enough time, or aren't interested, you can use store-bought wrappers and stock to make this soup in less than 30 minutes.

I used the recipes for "One-hour Vegetable Stock", "Tofu-Stuffed Wontons", and "Dumpling Wrappers". This makes about 6 servings, and 25 dumplings. This is the order I made everything in, but if you want the dough to rest for the maximum time (2 hrs), make the wrappers first.

Ingredients for the Soup
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, quartered & unpeeled
1 potato, sliced
1 celery stalk, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, whole & unpeeled
5-10 white mushrooms, sliced
10-20 parsley stems
2 T soy sauce
salt & pepper, to taste
6 c water
*3 stalks bok choy, sliced, + 2 more to serve with the soup
*1 bay leaf
*1 T whole peppercorns

*My own additions to the recipe

As I added a few ingredients, I encourage you to add whatever vegetables you like. The more you stuff into the pot, the tastier the soup will be! Add olive oil to a large pot and heat on M. Toss in everything except the parsley, soy sauce, and spices. Let brown ~5 minutes, turning only a couple times. If you have more time, cook until all the vegetables are browned.

Add the parsley, water, soy sauce, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for at least 30 minutes. Let cook longer if you have time. The vegetables should be tender.

Strain the soup and add more salt, pepper, and soy sauce if desired.

Ingredients for the Filling:
*12 oz silken tofu
1/2 c shopped fresh chives or scallion
1 T peeled minced or grated ginger
1 t dark sesame oil
salt and pepper, to taste

 *this can be substituted for any meat, cooked and cut into small pieces

Drain the silken tofu. Place in a food processor and blend until smooth. (Do the same for meat, but pulse the processor). Stir in the chives, oil, ginger, and salt and pepper. Set aside.

Filling, before mixing

*Ingredients for the Wrappers:
2 c flour, white or whole-wheat
1/2 c cold water
1 t salt

*The book says this recipe make enough wrappers for two servings of dumplings, but I only had 3 extra wrappers after using all the filling. I suggest either making the whole thing, or making half and mixing more later if you need it.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Make a well and add the water, whisking together gradually until combined. The dough should be dry but tacky.

Place the dough on a floured board and knead ~5 minutes, until springy. Add more flour as needed while kneading. Transfer to a bowl, oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit 20 minutes-2 hours.

Cut into quarters. Take each quarter and roll into a 8'' snake. Cut into 1'' pieces, and roll each piece out into a 4'' square or circle shape. If you want these to be perfect, cut with a glass or knife.

Flour well and stack. If not using all the wrappers, wrap with plastic and refrigerate.

Fill each will 1 T filling, brush the edges with water, and seal with a fork. (You can seal just by pressing your fingers, but I was worried about the filling leaking when I boiled them). Layer on wax paper. If not using immediately, refrigerate the extras.

Bring a pot of water to boil with a little salt. Have the soup heating on the side with the remaining bok choy. Boil the dumplings ~5 minutes ( you will be able to tell when they are soft). Drain and serve immediately with soup.

Mixing the dough

Before kneading

After kneading

Filling the dumplings

Curried Vegetable Pie

Curry pie is a standard vegetarian savory pie found in New Zealand, Australia, and countries with similar cuisines. I've lost track of how many times I've had one, and am always excited by the pie's wonderful aroma and spice.

Today I finally decided to make this on my own, and found that it's actually pretty easy! 

I made this over two days, but it can be made in a little over an hour if you use a pre-made pie crust. Make your own crust in an additional 10-20 mins. I would say the biggest roadblock to successfully completing this recipe is securing the ingredients. I did not have everything but was able to make substitutions and everything turned out okay.

I researched several recipes online and combined bits and pieces to get this version. I borrowed heavily from this BBC recipe.

Ingredients for the Filling:

1 T sunflower oil

2 stalks celery (or 1 small onion) finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

*1 green chili, seeds removed & chopped

1 T garam masala

1 t ground tumeric

1 t ground cumin

1/2 c water

3 T chopped fresh coriander or 1 T dried ground coriander

2 carrots, large dice

1 parsnip, large dice

2 medium red potatoes, cut into chunks

1/2 c frozen peas

2 T butter

3 T flour

4 T Greek yogurt

*I did not have a green chili, so I substituted in some dried hot peppers.

For the crust:

Premade, purchased at the grocery

OR

1 batch of my pie crust

Ready to bake

First, make the filling. Boil the potatoes in a pot until they are "al dente". In a large saucepan, heat the oil, then add celery (onion), garlic, chili, masala, cumin, tumeric, and cook ~3 minutes, until onions are clear. Add water plus the potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 minutes. Add frozen peas at the very end and mix. 

Remove from heat and strain, saving the liquid.

In a small saucepan melt the butter, add the vegetable liquid, and flour. Stir until mixed through, and remove from heat. Add coriander and yogurt.

Combine the sauce with the vegetables and stir to coat. This is the filing.

Preheat the oven to 400 F or 200 C.

Make the pie crust, or remove crust from fridge and line a pie dish. These pies are usually made in small, single servings, but if you don't have these use a regular-size pie dish. I opted to use a smaller casserole dish, since it is deeper. Fill the pie, then add a second layer of pastry on top. Seal the edges (either with a fork or your fingers), and slice a few holes in the tope of the pastry.

Bake 30-45 minutes, until the crust is browned and the inside is warmed through. Serve immediately.

Result: I liked it and it had that exact curry flavor I was craving. Though the spice was lacking, both hotness and flavor intensity. Next time I'll be doubling all the seasonings and adding more hot peppers :)

Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

This is a dish my family has been making for years. I first had it in Switzerland, at a local family restaurant and fell in love, ordering it every time I returned to the restaurant.

There is something oh-so-perfect about the combination of sage, butter, and cheese. Add a touch of nutmeg, and your mouth will be watering for more!

Ingredients:

1 lb cheese ravioli

3 T olive oil

1 T butter

3 sprigs fresh sage, 1 finely chopped

nutmeg, for garnish

Bring a pot of water to boil for the ravioli. In a small saucepan, place the sage, olive oil, and butter. Heat on M until the oil is bubbling, but be careful not to burn the sage. Remove from heat and save.

Boil the ravioli according to package directions. This takes between 5-8 minutes usually, but can take 10 minutes. When the ravioli are done, quickly strain and serve on a large plate. It is okay if some water ends up on the plate. Drizzle with sage olive oil. Throw a couple ravioli in the pan to sop up any remaining olive oil, and return to serving dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg and enjoy!

Optional: When the ravioli are done, place them in the saucepan with the oil and brown slightly for a few minutes. This will really infuse them with sage and you might get a more "toasted" flavor.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

This soup is a classic in our family. I remember returning home on a cold winter day, welcomed by a warm and soothing bowl of vegetable soup. Beginning with a tomato base and a bag of frozen soup vegetables, my mother adds whatever we happen to have on hand at the moment.

This is easy to adjust to diet restrictions, and can be whipped up in no time.

Ingredients:
1 T vegetable oil
1 carrot, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stick celery, diced
1 bag "soup" vegetables
Other fresh, seasonal vegetables
1 small can diced tomatoes
Vegetable stock or bouillon
Starch: rice (1/4 c), potatoes (2, cubed), or pasta (1/2 c)
1 can beans (black, chick pea, kidney), drained
1 bay leaf
1 large clove of garlic, minced (add more if you like it)
1 T dried parsley
6 leaves fresh basil
Salt & pepper, to taste

Pour the oil into a large pot and heat on medium. Saute the carrot, onion, celery, soup vegetables and garlic, until the onions are clear. Add starch, beans, and seasonings. Add the tomatoes and enough stock/water to cover the veggies. Bring to a simmer, and cook covered 20 minutes. Note: if using wild or brown rice, cook 40 minutes, until rice is soft.

Serve with fresh bread for dipping.

Pasta Primavera

This is a dish that I spontaneously remembered the other day. As the name implies, pasta primavera (spring pasta) is typically made during the warmer months of the year when many vegetables are in season. There are many ways to make this--it's essentially pasta with fresh veggies--but I will share my favorite variation.

Ingredients:
1 lb tomatoes, diced
1/2 c grated ricotta salata or pecorino cheese OR 1-2 balls fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 1/2'' pieces.
1 lb pasta
1-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
fresh basil, cut into thin slices
salt, to taste
olive oil

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile prep the other ingredients. In a large bowl combine tomates, 1/2 the grated cheese (or all the mozzarella , garlic, basil, and 2+ T of olive oil. Mix and let sit for the flavors to develop.

Drain the pasta and add to the bowl, mixing until evenly coated. Add more olive oil and salt, if needed. I don't usually add salt when using one of the grated cheeses. Garnish with fresh basil and serve with the remaining cheese. The mozzarella will melt, resulting in a magical combination of textures and flavors.

This time I used pecorino cheese--something I haven't tried before--and it was as delicious as the other variations.

Ingredients mixed, prior to adding pasta

Matzo Lasagna

I try to buy products from the grocery store when they are in season. In addition to produce, many other items are often stocked at specific times during the year--cookies, cakes, preserves. Currently I have several boxes of matzo in the house, and was intrigued by the recipe for matzo lasagna on the back of one package. I immediately thought, "this could be the perfect combination of my heritage (Jewish-Italian), or a complete failure." Let's begin!

Ingredients:
1 box matzo (about 15 pieces)
fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce
spinach, or other vegetable
shredded mozzarella cheese

I did not specify quantities for these ingredients as it depends on how much lasagna you are making. Also, I prefer to lots of sauce to keep the lasagna moist and less cheese. For this recipe I used both tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes with 4 sheets of matzo.

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and preheat the oven to 350 F. Slice the tomatoes and prep other veggies. Prepare the baking pan by spreading a layer of tomato sauce (if using) or olive oil to evenly coat. Place 1 sheet of matzo in the pot and boil for 1 minute. Remove, and place it in the baking dish. Repeat until the 1st layer is complete. Follow with fresh tomatoes, vegetables, tomato sauce, then cheese. Repeat layers in this order until the dish is full. The last layer should be tomato sauce topped with cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20-30 minutes, until hot. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes if you want the cheese to brown.

Matzo boiling

First layer of lasagna

The verdict? Not bad! I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. The matzo did have a similar texture to cooked pasta and did not throw off the dish because of it's mild flavor. I will probably make this again.
A word of caution: The next day I made matzo pizza in the toaster oven, and my mother commented, "it's kind of soggy". This was indeed true, and something to consider before you make this dish. I did not really notice the sogginess until my mother mentioned it, but perhaps I was so satisfied with my success, I overlooked this quality.

Shrimp & Grits

I lived in Louisiana long enough to fall in love with Cajun food. (I'll admit, this doesn't take very long.) One popular dish is shrimp and grits, which I happened to have a craving for today. I came up with the following recipe after browsing through a few versions online.

This makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 c cooked grits (about 1 c dry + 4 c water)
1 T butter, for grits
1 stalk celery, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 c tomatoes, diced
2+ cloves garlic (if you love garlic, add more)
2 T vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
cayenne, tabasco and/or red pepper flakes to add spice
sat and pepper to taste

Prep all veggies. Boil 4 c water and cook the grits with butter, mixing often enough to keep them from sticking to the pan or clumping together. In a large saucepan heat the oil and saute in this order: onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic. After a few minutes add the tomatoes and seasonings, then add the shrimp. Cook 3-5 mins, until shrimp are cooked through. If you are not sure if the shrimp are done or not, remove from heat and let sit covered for a few minutes.

When the grits are done, divide into portions and top each dish with a few spoonfuls of shrimp and veggies.

I really loved how this came out and thought the spice was spot-on. My family complained that it was too spicy--they didn't live in Louisiana. Some people prefer their grits to be very creamy (I personally think the dish is too rich). If you desire, add cream, milk, cheese, or butter to the grits to achieve desired taste/texture.