Foodie

Some people - Tracey - have asked questions about the recipes I spoke of earlier. The two I am posting today are from a Barnes and Noble cook book : The Cook's encyclopedia of Vegetarian Cooking (Ed. Linda Fraser). I was surprised that this book is so full of great stuff, and I think it was even a bargain book! I was going to link to it on their web-site, but I can't find it there so this is the best you get.

Page 22 : Cream of Zucchini Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 lbs zucchini trimmed and sliced (food processor is great for this)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
about 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
4 oz dolcelatte cheese, rind removed, diced
1 1/4 cups light cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh oregano, extra dolcelatte and cream, to garnish

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan until foaming. Add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened but not brown.

2. Add the zucchini and oregano with salt and pepper to taste. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil, stirring.

3. Lower the heat, half cover the pan, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. Stir in the diced dolelatte until melted.

4. Process the soup in a blender of food processor until smooth, the press through a sieve into a clean pan.

5. Add two-thirds of the cream and stir until hot but not boiling. Add more stock or water if soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into heated bowls. Swirl in the remaining cream. Serve, garnished with oregan extra cheese cream and pepper.

serves 4-6

Page 188: Cilantro Ravioli with Pumpkin Filling
scant 1 cup unbleached bread flour
2 eggs
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
sprigs of cilantro, to garnish

For filling:
4 garlic cloves
1 pound pumpkin, peeled and seeds removed (I think I used canned)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
4 sun dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained and finely chopped (reserve 2 tablespoons of oil)
freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the flour, eggs, salt and cilantro in a food processor. Pulse until combined.

2. Knead the dough on a lightly floured board until smooth.

3. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees farenheit. Place the garlic cloves on a backing sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until softened. Steam the pumpkin for 5-8 minutes, until tender, and drain well.

5. Peel the garlic cloves and mash into the pumpkin together with the ricotta cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Season with plenty of black pepper.

6. Divide the pasta into four pieces and flatten slightly. Using a pasta machine on it's thinnest setting, roll out each piece. Lay the sheets of pasta on a dish towel until slightly dried.

7. Using a 3-inch crinkled-edge round cutter stamp out 36 rounds.

8. Top 18 of the rounds with a teaspoonful of the pumpkin mixture, brush the edges with water and place another round of pasta on top. Press firmly around the edges to seal. Bring a large pan of water to a boil, add the ravioli and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain well and toss with the reserved tomato oil. Add pepper and serve with cilantro sprigs.

serves 4-6

I don't have the butternut squash recipe with me, I believe it is a risoto. I will check at home post it once I find it. I cut corners and improvise on some of these things. For example the canned pumpkin. As an added bonus you don't have to steam it. Also, I don't have a pasta machine so I rolled it out with a rolling pin.