Winter

Recipe

Pumpkin Ravioli with Kale and Pumpkin Seed Pesto

For the dough:
3 cups “oo” flour (you can use all purpose flour as well, though the texture is not as fine)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
warm water, about ½ cup

For the Filling:
1 cup cubed butternut squash, roasted
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

For the Dough:
Sift the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center, and add the eggs and salt. Add water as you knead the dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.
Wrap in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the fridge for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, make filling by simply roasting the cubed butternut squash in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until fork tender. Mash the squash with a fork and mix in the cheese and nutmeg.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface to be 1/8” thick. Cut even circles with whatever circular mold you have (an upside-down glass works fine). Place a small mound of the filling in the middle of the ravioli. Brush one side with water, fold over, and press down with the tines of a fork to seal the ravioli. Let dry for about 30 minutes on a tray lined with parchment.

Kale and Pumpkin Seed Pesto:
4 cups fresh Dinosaur kale, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup Kale cooking liquid (see directions)
½ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted

Bring a pot of water to boil with a big pinch of salt. Add the kale and boil for about 3 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain the kale, reserving at least ½ cup of the cooking liquid. In a food processor, chop the garlic and kale, and then add in the olive oil and cooking liquid in a stream. Blend until the kale breaks down into a pesto-like sauce. Finally add in the Parmesan cheese and pepitas, and blend a little bit more until the sauce is smooth.

Serves 6.

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December 26, 2008 | 2 comments
Tags: Entrees, Europe, Fall, Pasta & Risotto, Vegetarian, Winter

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Pumpkin Ravioli with Kale Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Pumpkin ravioli is a traditional dish eaten on Christmas and New Years in the Mantova region of Italy. Some recipes include crumbled amaretti biscuits, raisins, and mostarda, giving the recipe a real holiday feel. Although in Italy their zucca is different than ours, we think that butternut squash works just fine. Add this delicious homemade pasta to your own family tradition this holiday season.

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December 26, 2008 | 0 comments
Tags: Entrees, Europe, Fall, Mediterranean, Pasta & Risotto, Winter

Recipe

Viking Apple Cake

This cake is pretty light. We use yogurt instead of butter, and give the cake body with lots of apples. The batter starts out looking like more apples than batter, but then as it bakes the apples shrink and the cake forms beautifully. This is a delicious pairing of apples, cardamom, and buckwheat. It is quick and easy to put together for dessert.

1 cup yogurt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp orange blossom water
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp ground cardamom
pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups apples, peeled and diced
½ cups almonds, ground
Garnish: Crème Fraîche

Whisk together the yogurt and the sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs and orange blossom water and whisk.
Sift together the flours, cardamom, cinnamon, and baking powder in a separate bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and stir.
Stir in the apples and ground almonds and pour into a 10” spring-form cake tin.
Bake at 350ºF for 45-50 minutes.

Garnish with a spoonful of fresh crème fraîche.

This cake demonstrates the historical connection between Swedish desserts and Middle Eastern ingredients, which was established through Viking trade routes into the Middle East and Central Asia.

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December 16, 2008 | 3 comments
Tags: Desserts, Europe, Winter

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Cardamom Apple Cake

Watch as we make a delicious Swedish-inspired Viking Apple Cake. This cake has no butter, but gets its body from yogurt. We enhance the flavor with buckwheat and cardamom, which although are two very strong flavors, they work together beautifully. The apples make this a great Winter cake to make for cozy evenings by the fire.

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December 16, 2008 | 1 comments
Tags: Desserts, Europe, History, Winter

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Other Basic Fall Favorites

Fall vegetables like beets, cauliflower and parsnips are delicious when they are slowly roasted at low temperatures.

Try some of our favorite Kitchen Caravan recipes using slowly roasted fall vegetables: Slow Roasted Veggies with Garlic Yogurt Dip, Mamaliga with Roasted Beets

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November 20, 2008 | 0 comments
Tags: Fall, Healthy, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

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Fall Basic: Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are a delicious fall vegetable. We like them best baked and eaten simply. They can also be dressed up with pepper, nutmeg or other fall spices.

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November 20, 2008 | 0 comments
Tags: Fall, Healthy, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

Recipe

Ricotta Toasts with Pink Peppercorns and Honey

This simple preparation combines honey and pepper to create a sweet and hot combination. The ricotta cheese provides a little bit of substance and evens out the flavors.

1 cup fresh Ricotta cheese
1 drizzle olive oil (scant teaspoon)
Sprinkle of salt
3 T honey, divided
8 slices of the bread of your choice
1 T combined pink and white peppercorns

Mix together the ricotta cheese, oil, and salt. Toast the bread. Spread the seasoned ricotta on top of the sliced bread. Drizzle a little bit of honey on each toast. Grind the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle or in a peppermill and sprinkle on top of the toasts.

Perfect for breakfast, light-lunch, or even dessert.

Makes 4-6 toasts.

This simple preparation combines honey and pepper to create a sweet and hot combination. The ricotta cheese provides a little bit of substance and evens out the flavors.

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April 18, 2008 | 1 comments
Tags: Local, Mediterranean, Meze & Small Plates, North America, Vegetarian, Winter

Recipe

Seasonal Bibimbop

For the Meat:
½ lb ground turkey
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
½ an Asian pear, grated
1 T + 1 tsp. soy sauce
1 ½ tsp. agave nectar
2 T rice wine vinegar

For the Vegetables:
1 medium carrot, julienne
1 tsp. minced ginger
½ asian pear, julienne
1 daikon radish, julienne
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
2 cups shredded spinach
1 medium beet, julienne
½ tsp. sesame seeds
½ tsp. sesame oil

2 eggs

For the Rice:
1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
¼ tsp. salt

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meat marinade, and then strain through a fine mesh sieve, pushing on the solids to extract all of the liquid.
Add the ground turkey and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare all of the vegetables and set aside in separate bowls. Lightly steam the carrots and combine with the ginger. Combine the pear, radish, and rice wine vinegar. Steam the spinach and set aside. Steam the beets last, so as not to color all of the vegetables with their juice, and combine with the sesame seeds and sesame oil.

In a pot, combine the rice, water, and salt and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer until the rice is cooked through.

Heat up a saute pan with some sesame oil and cook the ground turkey until lightly browned.

Poach the eggs in simmering water. Or fry them sunny side up.

In each bowl, cover the bottom with the rice, and then add meat. Arrange the vegetables around the meat in separate little mounds, so as to create a colorful and appetizing appearance. Top with the egg and serve with some kimchee on the side to aid in digesting.

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March 6, 2008 | 0 comments
Tags: Antioxidant, East Asia, Entrees, Meat, Winter

Recipe

Korean Squash and Black Sesame Pancakes

1 cup flour
¾ cup cold water
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups roasted acorn squash
1 tsp. black sesame seeds
3 scallions, chopped, white and pale green parts
Some oil for frying.

Place the flour and salt in a bowl, and pour in the water, whisking to combine and remove lumps. Let sit for half and hour.
Stir in the roasted acorn squash, sesame seeds, and scallions.
Heat up a frying pan with 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the pancake on both sides for about 2 minutes, until cooked through.
Makes 8 pancakes.

Serve with seasoned soy sauce.

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March 6, 2008 | 0 comments
Tags: Appetizers, East Asia, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

Recipe

Whole Grain Pizzoccheri (Buckwheat with Melted Cheese and Chard)

Pizzocheri is a dish of the Valtellina Valley in Piemonte, Italy that is made up of buckwheat tagliatelle that are cooked with cabbage and potatoes, and then served with bitto cheese, and melted sage butter. Here we use the buckwheat grain in its whole form, and add some crunchy apples and healthy Tuscan kale to the mix. We also use fontina cheese, as bitto is difficult to find in the United States.

1 cup buckwheat groats
2 cups water
2 red bliss potatoes, medium dice
1 small head of Napa cabbage, Savoy also works, rinsed and dried
1 bunch of Tuscan Kale, rinsed and dried (you can use Chard here as well)
1 honey crisp apple
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
4 -6 sage leaves, torn up with your fingers
¼ lb fontina cheese, small dice

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place buckwheat groats and water in a pot. Bring it to a boil, and then cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the water is full absorbed.
Cut the cabbage and kale into fine ribbons.
Bring a medium sized pot of water to boil. Cook the potatoes in the water, and when they are fork tender, add in the cabbage and kale. Cook for one minute more, until the kale and cabbage are softened.
Take the pot off the heat, and drain the vegetables, reserving about ¼ cup of liquid.
In a small saucepan, heat up the butter and olive oil with the garlic on medium low heat, adding in the sage once the butter has melted. Let the butter infuse on low heat for 5 minutes.
Chop up the apple into small dice. (You can do this earlier, but apples turn brown when exposed to air.) Mix the apples with the cabbage, kale, and potatoes. Add salt if you would like.
In a 8-inch square baking dish, place a layer of the cooked buckwheat groats, followed by a layer of the vegetables. Now add on the fontina cheese dice. Repeat the layers again and bake the dish for 15 minutes.

Buon Apetito!

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February 29, 2008 | 2 comments
Tags: Antioxidant, Cheese, Entrees, Europe, Gluten-free, high-fiber, Whole grain, Winter

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