Roasted Pumpkin, Apple and Fennel Pollen Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce

For the raviolis:
1 pie pumpkinsRavioli (about 2 cups pureed, cooked pumpkin)
2 apples
1 shallots
2 cloves garlic
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
¼ cup maple syrup
1 heaping tsp fresh grated ginger
½ tsp fennel pollen
½ tsp salt
¼ white pepper
1 package wonton wrappers
 
For the sauce
¼ cup chopped fresh sage
2 tbs butter

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.  Poke a few small holes in the pumpkin.  Place the pumpkin, shallots, garlic, and apples onto a roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast until soft.  The pumpkin will take about an hour.  The remaining ingredients about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Place the roasted pumpkin, apple, shallots, and garlic into a blender and blend until smooth.  In a mixing bowl, add the puree along with the ginger, fennel pollen, salt, maple syrup and white pepper.  Fold in the ricotta and parmesan cheese.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper.  Place two wonton wrappers onto a plate.  Moisten the inside of the wrapper with water.  Add a heaping tsp of the filling to one wrapper and then place the second on top.  press firmly together to seal. Repeat. Place filled ravioli onto the baking tray and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large sautee pan until it begins to brown.  do not burn!!!  add the sage and stir until the sage is aromatic. turn off the heat. Add the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes until the ravioli floats to the surface.  Place the ravioli into the sage brown butter sauce and toss to coat.

enjoy!

recipe notes: For more information please watch the video "Reaping Fall's Bounties" and "Fun with Fennel Pollen"

Thyme and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Thyme and Caramelized Onion Pizza1 batch pizza dough (I love this recipe from la cucina italiana.  you make the dough the night before which gives it a wonderful flavor.)

1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 medium Vandalia onions, sliced
3 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp fresh garlic, minced
tomato sauce (optional)
1 large ball fresh mozzarella, sliced

If you have a pizza stone, place it in the oven.  Preheat your oven to 425.

Stretch the pizza dough to form a roundish pizza on a piece of parchment paper.  Allow it to rest while you prepare the toppings.

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir until it begins to turn golden (about 1 minute).  Add the onions, and stir regularly until they begin to caramelize and turn golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in thyme, salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

To assemble the pizza, pour the tomato sauce onto the pizza dough.  If you prefer a white pizza, brush the dough with olive oil.  Arrange the mozzarella in slices over the sauce followed by the onions.  Slide the pizza onto the hot stone in your preheated oven.  Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is brown.

Recipe Notes: If you want to skip a step, buy pre-made dough.  I haven't tried it, but I have heard that Whole Foods makes really good frozen pizza dough.  This pizza would also be delicious with goat cheese instead of the mozzarella cheese.  If you use goat cheese, however, don't use tomato sauce!

Gazpacho with Aged Goat Cheese Crosatini

For the Gazpacho:

4-5 medium sized tomatoes, quartered
3 medium cucumbers, peeled and quartered
1/2 orange pepper, quartered
1/2 yellow pepper, quartered
1 small sweet onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp fresh thyme ( I love thyme, but tarragon or basil would be great substitutes)
1/2 tsp fresh oregano (don't use oregano if you use tarragon instead of thyme)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2-1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and puree for about 30 seconds.  Resist the urge to overly puree the soup--it should be a little bit chunky.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Allow to chill for at least 2 hours.  serve with crosatini (recipe is below) or croutons.  It is also delicious with lump crab meat or smoked salmon or trout.  Thanks to the acidic nature of the soup, it will last in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Recipe notes: I have a very powerful blender (a Vitamix.  I love it).  If your blender is not as powerful, you may need to peel the tomatoes.  Don't worry, this is easy. core the tomatoes and, using a knife, make an "x" in the bottom of the tomato.  Submerge the tomato in boiling water for about 30 seconds (you should see the skin peeling away) and then immediately submerge it in ice water.  The skin should easily peel off.  Squeeze the tomato to remove the seeds.  Even if you do have  a powerful blender, you may find the tomato seeds bitter.  If so, follow this step.

If you find this soup too thick, add some tomato juice.  Just be careful not to make the soup too salty.  Store bought tomato juice is very high in sodium.

For more information, see the blog post "Eating for Three."

For the Crosatini:

1 Loaf French bread, sliced
olive oil
aged goat cheese ( l used the Cherry Clen Crottin.  it's delicious)

Move a rack to the uppermost shelf in your oven and turn on the broiler.  Lay the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet or broiling pan and lightly drizzle or brush both sides with olive oil.  toast the bread for about 30 seconds per side until the edges are golden brown.  Grate some goat cheese over one side of the crosatini and return to the broiler for 10 seconds.

Recipe Notes:  If you don't like goat cheese, parmesan cheese would be a great substitute.  

Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

4 Red PeppersRoasting the Red Pepper on Top of the Stove
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic
1 tsp kosher salt

Wash the peppers.  Place the peppers directly over a gas burner or under the broil.  As the skin blackens, rotate the pepper.  Continue rotating until the skin of the pepper is black.  Place the pepper under running cold water to remove the skin.  Cut pepper in half and remove the stem and the seeds.

Place all of the ingredients into a blender.  Blend until smooth. 

Recipe Notes: This pesto is delicious sauce for pasta or gnocchi.  It is also a great marinade for chicken or fish.  For more information see, "I hate Potatoes."

Maple Cornbread

Golden Cornbread1 Cup Flour (4 1/4 oz)
1 Cup yellow cornmeal (4 3/4 oz)
1 Tbs baking powder (or 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar and 3/4 tsp baking soda)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
6 Tbs butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.  In a separate bowl, combine the milk, maple syrup, butter and eggs.  Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir, just to combine.  Place in a greased 9 inch round baking pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.

Recipe notes:Do not over stir!!!!  Even if the batter looks lumpy, this is ok.  I use "grade C" maple syrup.  It's hard to find, but has a very distinct maple flavor.  Even with the maple syrup, this cornbread is not very sweet.  I also always weigh the flour and cornmeal instead of using measuring cups--it allows for more accurate measurements!