Squash Ravioli with Sherried Onion Sauce, Walnuts and Cranberries

Butternut squash ravioli is a favorite of mine and I'd eat it once a week if it weren't for the butter or cream-based sauce that usually tops it. So when I purchased some ravioli the other day, I went in search of a lighter alternative. This sauce is from Fine Cooking issue 35. The recipe includes instructions for making the ravioli too. But I think you can find really good quality frozen ravioli in the market so I used those and picked up on the recipe with the sauce. The ravioli I used are the 365 brand from Whole Foods.

I stock sherry in my fridge because I use it quite a bit with asian cooking. If you need to buy sherry, pick a dry one. It isn't expensive and will last a long time in your fridge. You'll detect no boozy flavor in the sauce once you cook it down, but there is a warm sweetness from the sherry and the long-cooked onions. The sauce does use some cream or you can make it with stock alone. I used mostly stock and finished with a splash of cream. The toasted walnuts and tart cranberries add texture and zing.

This is a really good recipe and one perfectly suited to a weeknight if you buy the ravioli. Take your time with the onions, low and slow as they say.

If the link won't give you the recipe (some are free access, some aren't) you can always e-mail me.

Sweet 100's

If you're like me and you planted cherry tomatoes this year, they should be coming out of your ears about now. I planted one plant of Sweet 100's and 6 regular size tomato plants. But once things started to ripen I had to check that count. It seemed like there were cherry tomatoes coming up all over my garden plot. The prolific plant had grown and stretched its way to every corner of the plot. I slow roast the cherry tomatoes for "tomato candy." I eat them raw by the handful, add them to salads, saute them and serve them as a side dish and still they keep coming, more than a pint a day. I tried a cherry tomato gratin that was only so-so.

But here's a couple good pasta recipes to use up a bunch in a hurry. These are also great recipes for when the supermarket runs its "buy one, get one free" sale on pints of cherry or grape tomatoes. The first is called Pasta Pomodorini (little tomato) from Michael Chiarello of the Food Network. This is not a saucy pasta. The tomatoes exude some juices that mix with olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes, but the tomatoes don't ever actually completely breakdown into a "sauce.' Nonetheless, there is plenty of flavor to coat your pasta. I like to toss in some cleaned raw shrimp in the last few minutes for a really nice dish.

Another great recipe (that I can't believe I've never posted about before) is Sara Moulton's Penne with Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese. This is where I learned the tomato candy method from above. And if you make those tomatoes (plus, somehow manage not to eat them all before it is time to prepare dinner,) and add them to some hot pasta and fresh goat cheese and basil ... well, you're in for a treat. This is one of dear husband's favorite pasta dishes.

Creamy Goat Cheese and Beet Green Pasta

Fresh beets from the market are a good deal because you get two different veggies for the cost of one. When you buy beets at the farmer's market, the beet greens should look super fresh, green and perky. At home, you can separate them from the beet root (leave about an inch of stem on each beet.) Then take your greens and put them in water as you would a bouquet of flowers, store in the fridge and make plans to cook them in the next day or so. The beets can go in a plastic bag and they'll store nicely until the latter part of the week or into the next.

When you are ready to cook the beet greens, pull the greens away from the mature red stems and veins. If the veins are thin, they are tender enough to eat so you don't have to be too meticulous about this process. Then plunge all the greens into a big bowl of cold water and swirl around like a washing machine. Lift the greens into a colander to drain. Pour out the water in the bowl and observe the last bit of water as you pour it out. If it is sandy and shows dirt, dump it, rinse and add clean water to the bowl. Repeat the process with the greens. You want that water to pour out clear, meaning there is no sand/dirt/grit left on those leaves. Then they are ready for cooking. Use your beets greens as you would fresh spinach or swiss chard. I think they are milder than chard.

To use the greens today, I made an interesting pasta that I found on a really great blog called Food Blogga. The blog also features some great shots of the beet greens themselves. You'll just have to see for yourself because I didn't think ahead and I have no photos of gorgeous beet greens to offer you. Also interesting to note: if you read Food Blogga's post, she talks about how the farmer chopped off the greens without a word. The farmer I bought these from was ready to behead mine too but, thankfully, asked first if I wanted the greens. And I said the same thing, "They're the best part." It is sad to think that oftentimes these greens go right into the trash when they are full of nutrients and taste so good. Though I think the farmers I bought these from would have saved them to eat for themselves because the beets were from Henry's Farm, a organic, communal farm that takes pride in not wasting things.

So back to the recipe: it is Creamy Goat Cheese and Beet Green Pasta, a simple mix of pasta, half and half, goat cheese, beet greens and pistachios that comes off complex and sophisticated. I didn't have pistachios (I wish I did; they would be awesome here.) I used pine nuts instead. They also have a buttery, rich quality and add a crunchy texture. Also, my pasta of choice here was papardelle. I think the recipe calls for fettucine. Both are flat, egg based pastas and both are an ideal match for the sauce. Dear husband loved this dish. It is really good and simple to prepare. If you see some beets with healthy greens attached, scoop them up and make this pasta. Or if you just want to sample the veg in its purist state, scroll down to consider this preparation from Henry's Farm.

As for the other half of those beets, stay tuned ;)

Hearty Fare

I have never been much of a meat sauce lover but I cannot get enough of this short rib ragu especially on papardelle.

Short Rib Ragu

ingredients

3 to 4 lb. meaty bone-in beef short ribs, preferably

English style Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

3 oz. thickly sliced pancetta (about 3 1/4-inch-thick slices) or 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch squares

1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 heaping cup)

1 celery stalk, diced (about 1/2 cup)

1 carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms

3 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

2 Tbs. tomato paste

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth

1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes

how to make

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 300°F.
Cook the ribs:
Trim away any excess fat from the top of each rib down to the first layer of meat, but don’t remove the silverskin or tough-looking tissue that hold the ribs together or onto the bone. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels, and season them with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven (or other heavy pot with a lid) over medium heat until hot. Add only as many ribs as will fit without touching, and brown them on all sides, turning with tongs until nicely browned, 3 to 4 min. per side. Transfer to a platter, and continue until all the ribs are browned.
Pour off and discard most of the fat from the pot. Return the pot to medium heat, and add the pancetta or bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta or bacon has rendered some of its fat but is not crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrot, mushrooms, and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 min. Add the tomato paste and red pepper flakes, and cook for 2 min., stirring. Add the wine, increase the heat to medium-high, stir to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot, and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and their juices and bring to a simmer.
Transfer the ribs to the oven:
Return the short ribs (and any juices) to the pot in a single layer, nestling them into the sauce. Crumple a large sheet of parchment and smooth it out again. Arrange it over the pot, pressing it down so it nearly touches the ribs, allowing any overhang to extend up and over the edges of the pot. Set the lid in place, and transfer to the oven. Braise, turning the ribs with tongs every 45 min., until fork-tender and the meat is pulling away from the bone, about 2-1/2 hours.
Make the ragù:
Use tongs or a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the ribs to a shallow baking dish or wide bowl. Set aside until just cool enough to handle. Skim any visible surface fat from the braising liquid and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. If the tomatoes haven’t broken up, break them up with a wooden spoon. If the sauce seems watery, increase the heat to medium-high and simmer to thicken. If not, keep it warm. Taste for salt and pepper.
When the beef is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and the bands of connective tissue that encircled the bones. Chop the meat into bite-size chunks or pull into large strips. Return the meat to the sauce, and keep warm until ready to serve, or if making ahead, cool and refrigerate.
Make Ahead TipsThe finished ragù can be refrigerated, covered, for up to three days.

From Fine Cooking 77, pp. 45, Article by Molly Stevens

Spring Pasta

For my weekly installment of Things to do with Pasta and Cherry Tomatoes, I borrowed the idea for this spring pasta from the current issue of Cooking Light (Penne with Asparagus, Spinach and Bacon), however I changed it so much that it really bares little resemblance to the original, except for the vegetables used. The method for cooking is closer to this recipe, where I usually start with this type of pasta dish. Here I added spinach, asparagus and bacon from the Cooking Light recipe. This pasta turned out lovely. There is spicy pepper flakes in the oil that really come through, plus the bacon and the green vegetables made it very satifying and beautiful. Even dear husband, at first shocked by the idea of not one, but two green vegetables to contend with, enjoyed it very much. The best way to tell a good pasta dish is if it gets better down toward the bottom of the bowl and you scrape the last bits of sauce as we did with this one.

Pasta with cherry tomatoes AGAIN

Here's one from the current issue of Fine Cooking magazine, issue no. 86. It's another pasta dish with cherry tomatoes which we seem to have some incarnation of at least once a week in our household. Grape tomatoes are so reliable, they're always good and sweet. This one incorporates them with shrimp, garlic, herbs and some hot pepper flakes and then is garnished with toasted breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs add a lot to the dish. They stick to the shrimp and pasta and give them some crunchy texture. The recipe suggests mint for the herb, but I went with basil, not being a huge mint fan. The only other change I would make would be to add the shrimp after the tomatoes have cooked down a little, so that the shrimp don't get overcooked and the tomatoes have time to give up some juice.

Pasta with Cherry tomatoes, basil and garlic

Here's a great thing to make when pints of grape tomatoes are selling as
"Buy one, get one" at Jewel or your local supermarket. This recipe for Pasta Pomodorini is from Michael Chiarello of the Food Network. This is a great way to make a fresh tomato pasta sauce when tomatoes aren't in season. The reliable grape tomatoes break down and get sweet. Their juices mix with olive oil and garlic and a dash of red pepper flakes and it all makes a delicious sauce to serve with pasta. The only problem with this pasta is that it does not photograph well in a yellow bowl.

Marinara Sauce

Talk turned to signature dishes over at CT this week. Defined as a dish that you've made repeatedly and have been asked by others to make, something you are proud of and that's been with you for a long time, I decided that my marinara sauce would have to be my signature dish. It's not difficult to make and there's no secret to making it. But I can make it with my eyes closed and it turns out good everytime. I see no reason to try another basic tomato sauce. I've given the "recipe" to people but the recipe is sort of just a vague description of what I do. It's really just an adaptation of my Mom's sauce. In my own hands, I reduced the onion, use fresh basil, and puree a bit with the stick blender for a smoother finish. Also, I upgraded on the tomatoes because I think Muir Glen Whole Tomatoes are especially good. I think I'll work on a concrete recipe and include it here soon. For now the picture above will have to do.

My marinara goes especially well with these fantastic ravioli from Perfect Pasta. This is a company from the Chicago area. I don't know if they're national or not. I find the pasta in the freezer section of the local Whole Foods. We like the big pillowy cheese ones, but there are quite a few varieties. All are made from rich egg pasta. You can really taste the ricotta inside. I think the quality is very good.

Trader Joe's Ravioli

I'm really enjoying these Portabella ravioli from Trader Joe's. The ravioli filling is really flavorful and includes provolone cheese. Here I've made them with a sage walnut cream sauce - a classic combination. Although this dinner is somewhat improvised (i.e. no recipe,) I give credit to my gal, Deborah Madison and her wonderful books for planting the idea in my head.

Short Rib ragu redux

I haven't stopped thinking about this Short Rib ragu since the last time I made it, earlier this month. This time I served it with Paparadelle, a ribbon-like egg noodle pasta. In Italian restaurants, it is common to see meat sauces served with this type of pasta. The sauce is fantastic and would also be good served alongside polenta . But with this pasta, it was really special.

Short Rib Ragout

Making a meat sauce out of short ribs is a breaking new ground for me. I was a little hesitant because I love short ribs just as they are. But this recipe from Fine Cooking issue #77 got great reviews so I decided to give it a try. Basically, short ribs are browned and then simmered in a vegetable-enriched tomato sauce until very tender. Then the meat is removed from the bones, all the fat trimmed and the meat is shredded and added back to the de-fatted sauce. It turned out great. The meat was a pleasure to eat because all the work had been done. The sauce was delicious. I served the ragout tossed with Ziti. But it would also be nice on top of a cheesy polenta.