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Cultivating Sustainability

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Daily Archives: October 12, 2009

Butternut Squash Tortellini with Brown Butter Sauce

12 Monday Oct 2009

Posted by John Reinhardt in Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Recipe, Vegetarian

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

butternut squash, onions

Butternut Squash Tortellini

I based my dish on a recipe by Giada DeLaurentis.  However, I’ve made this dish before, but I was unable to find amaretti cookies at the store.  If you can find the cookies, use them.  It adds a nice flavor to the dish.

I substituted a little bit of fresh thyme from our CSA for the herbs de provence, and roasted some onions from the farmer’s market with the squash in lieu of the shallots.  I’m not crazy about nutmeg, so I substituted cinnamon.  The recipe is flexible enough to make similar adjustments as you see fit.

The use of wonton wrappers is a nice shortcut that can be applied to any tortellini recipe.  You can usually find them in the fresh vegetable section, by the fresh herbs (that’s where they seem to be stocked at the local Harris Teeter, Giant, and Safeway stores I’ve been to).

INGREDIENTS

Filling:

  • 1 butternut squash, cubed
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese, skim
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1-2 tbps milk, if needed
  • 1 package small wonton wrappers
  • 1 egg

Brown Butter Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (for 2 servings)
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/6 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. Cut butternut squash into cubes and dice onion.  Toss on a cookie sheet with oil,  salt, and pepper.  Bake at 375 until vegetables are tender.  Cool.
  2. Pulse the squash and onions in the food processor with ricotta cheese, thyme, and cinnamon.  Empty into a bowl.  Thin mixture with 1 or 2 tablespoons of milk.  It should hold it’s shape when spooned, but not be too thick.
  3. Beat the egg in a smal dish with 2 tablespoons of water.  Remove wonton wrappers from the bag, six at a time and place on a flat, clean surface.
  4. Place one tablespoon of mixture into each skin.  Dip your finger into the egg wash and run it along two edges of the skin to make an “L”.  Fold the opposite corner over to seal the skin, creating a triangle.  Place eggwash on the two long ends, and fold together to meet.
  5. Place completed tortellini on a cookie sheet.  Repeat the process until the filling is gone.  At this point, you can freeze the tortellini on the cookie sheet.  After 30 minutes, they can be transferred to a freezer bag and cooked at a later date.
  6. If you are serving immediately, bring a pot of water to a boil.
  7. In a skillet pan, melt butter until it is clarified and almost brown.  Do not burn.
  8. Add pine nuts and toss until toasted.
  9. Drop the tortellini into boiling water.  Cook 2-3 minutes, until skins are translucent and tortellini float.
  10. With a slotted spoon, transfer the tortellini to the skillet and toss in butter and pine nuts.
  11. Add cranberries, salt, pepper, and half of the parmesan cheese to the skillet.  Toss.
  12. Plate the tortellini, and sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese.

Note – I usually make a batch, cook half, and freeze the rest on a cookie sheet.  They hold up great in the freezer!  As such, the brown butter recipe is proportioned for two servings.  You can multiply the recipe to meet your needs (or if you really love butter sauce).

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Mexican Lentil Stew

12 Monday Oct 2009

Posted by kimhodgson in Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Recipe, Stew

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

bell peppers, chicken sausage, cilantro, garlic, jalapenos, lentils, mustard greens, onions, potatoes, swiss chard

This is a scrumptious, hearty and medium spicy stew and a great way to use a lot of winter greens, jalapenos, and random autumn vegetables. Use french lentils instead of regular, because they hold their shape better and have a nice firm texture. Served with buttered cornbread, drizzled with honey.

MexicanLentilStew

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tbsp EVOO
  • 1 large sweet onion, chopped
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium orange bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 3 fresh jalapenos, seeded, and minced
  • 1 long red fresh hot pepper, seeded and minced
  • 2 small, fresh very dark jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
  • 4-8 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 3 medium potatoes, cut into ¼ inch cubes
  • ½ bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped
  • ½ bunch flat leaf parsley, rinsed and chopped
  • 7 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups French lentils
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 links, already cooked andouille chicken sausage (such as Trader Joe’s), sliced
  • 1 medium bunch red swiss chard, rinsed and chopped
  • 1 large bunch mustard greens, rinsed and chopped
  • tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat EVOO in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, and other hot peppers. Saute 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until they begin to brown.
  2. Stir in cumin, coriander, and minced garlice. Cook for another 1 minute.
  3. Add broth, water, lentils, parsley, cilantro, potatoes, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, brown sliced sausage in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add to stew. Pour about ½ cup stew liquid into sausage pan and stir, until browned bits have been removed. Add this liquid back to the stew.
  4. When 20 minutes is up, add swiss chard and mustard greens to stew. Stir well, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes until potatoes and lentils are tender.
  5. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

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