Ravioli with Brown Butter-Basil Sauce

Here's an easy recipe, although it's better (and considerably more work) if you make your own ravioli. Good alternatives to homemade are fresh pasta from a local pasta maker, or some of the fresh or frozen pastas from a good grocery. In spite of the butter, it's not an overly rich sauce (although it can be if you do more than drizzle it over the pasta). Serve with a fresh green salad and a chewy Italian bread for an easy, light meal!


RAVIOLI WITH BROWN BUTTER-BASIL SAUCE


Ingredients

1 T. butter per serving
1 T. olive oil per serving
fresh basil to taste (I used about 1/4 c. per serving)
1-2 T. walnut pieces per serving

cheese ravioli, amount to your liking/appetite per serving

parmesan cheese


Method

Have water boiling for pasta when you start the sauce.

In sauce pan, heat butter over medium high heat and cook until browned. Add olive oil and reduce heat. Toss ravioli in boiling water; toss walnuts into butter to brown lightly. Fresh pasta only takes a few minutes to cook so watch carefully.

As you're draining the ravioli, throw the basil in the sauce just to wilt. Plate ravioli and pour sauce over. Pass parmesan separately.

Other ideas: if you like more sauce on your pasta, try adding some chicken or vegetable broth to the sauce just long enough to heat -- a few tablespoons per serving. Try different herbs -- rosemary or sage are both excellent. Try different ravioli -- sweet potato or winter squash are good with sage.

And of course, cook, eat, dance, love!

Hearth Bread

This is one of the first yeast breads I ever made, over 30 years ago. I fell madly in love with it and it's still my favorite bread. The recipe has French origins -- to the best of my memory, it's also called la fouace aux noix ("the fouace" -- couldn't find a translation for that word so maybe I have it wrong -- "with nuts") -- and is excellent as a picnic bread with a good cheese and fresh fruit. It's also incredibly easy to make and I've never had a loaf not turn out well, so if yeast breads intimidate you, this is a good one to start with!




HEARTH BREAD

Ingredients:

• 4 c. unbleached white flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 T. salt
• 1 T. yeast
• 1/3 c. lukewarm water
• 1 c. lukewarm milk
• 3/4 c. coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Method:

Dissolve yeast in the warm water; let start for 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix the flours with the salt, then make a well in the center and add the softened yeast. Add milk and stir well to make a spongy dough. Mix in nuts and butter with a hard rubber spatula or your hands. The dough will be fairly stiff.

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl, turning the dough so that the entire surface is oiled. Cover with a damp towel; set in a warm, draft free area to rise 1-2 hours or until double. I often use the inside of my oven (unheated, of course) for rising bread, especially in winter.

Punch down dough and knead for a few minutes. Form into a ball. Sprinkle a cookie sheet or pie pan with cornmeal, place the loaf on it and let rise 30 minutes, then turn the oven on to 425° F. When the oven is hot, slash a cross in the top with a very sharp knife. Put a pan of hot water on the lowest shelf of the oven, and the bread on the middle shelf.

Bake for 30 minutes; remove the water and turn the oven down to 300° F; bake for 30 minutes more.

Slice (or, if you're on a picnic, go ahead and just tear off chunks!) and enjoy!

And always remember to cook, eat, dance, love!

Yum Yum Lentil Pie

At last -- the lentil pie I promised a month ago. Hope you love this recipe as much as I do!


YUM YUM LENTIL PIE

Ingredients:

• 1 c. dried lentils (I like French lentils best but any will work)
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 t. herbs: mixture of thyme, basil, rosemary
• 1 15 oz. can tomato puree
• 2 T. soy sauce
• crust for 2-crust pie

Method:

Cook lentils in saucepan with enough water to cover; simmer until done, about 45 minutes. Drain.

Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until tender, 5-10 minutes. Add tomato puree, soy sauce, herbs, and lentils; simmer while completing next steps. (Or, you can prepare ahead up to this point; keep mixture in refrigerator until ready to use).

Preheat oven to 400. Line pie pan with crust. When oven is hot, pour lentil mixture into pie crust and cover quickly with top crust. Crimp edges and slash crust with knife.


Bake, 45-50 minutes, or until crust is golden.


Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

This is great with cooked carrots (gingered carrots, perfect!) or sweet potatoes, and a leafy salad.

It's a very hearty and savory dish with a tender texture and nice blending of flavors.

The pie can also be made in a casserole without the crust, and with mashed potatoes as a topping (like a shepherd's pie).


Life is great when you cook, eat, dance, love!!

teaser

I know, I know: I've been gone awhile. I've done plenty of cooking and even some baking but I haven't been posting anything here. Well, there's a new post coming in another day or so, and the photo above is a hint. A pie? yes, but what kind of pie... I'll tell you this much: it's a savory one. Stay tuned!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I got some nice acorn squash at the last farmer's market of the season, along with some other beautiful fall vegetables. Preparing it to bake, I decided to add a bit of stuffing and began looking in the refrigerator. The resulting dish is light and flavorful and not overly sweet like some baked squash recipes. The sage gives the otherwise fruity dish a savory touch. Give it a try.


STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Ingredients:

• acorn squash (I used two for two people because they were small; you may only need one for every two people if they're larger)
• butter (about 2 t. per squash)
• brown sugar (about 1 T. per squash)
• maple syrup (about 2 t. per squash)
• leftover cooked apples or applesauce (at least 1/2 c. per squash)
• golden raisins (about 2 T. per squash)
• toasted pecans (at least 1 T. per squash)
• dusting of finely ground sage

Method:

Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Score the flesh with a sharp knife. Rub each half lightly with butter -- about 1 t. per half. Place on baking sheet or in shallow pan.

For the filling, mix together the remaining ingredients and divide among squash halves.

Bake at 375 for about an hour.

Serve and enjoy!


And... cook, eat, dance, love!