Meatless Monday - Summer/Winter vegetable stuffed shells

Last summer we put up both pumpkin puree (frozen) and a nice tomato eggplant relish. It came to the dear wife to combine them both.

She made this last fall but didn't document how, so we set out  to document the process today. The sweet vegetables, and the savory creamed spinach topping are a satisfying combination. This can be made a day ahead and refrigerated until ready. You could probably freeze it too, but I haven't tried that.

Ingredients:
2 cups pumpkin  or squashe puree
2 cups tomato eggplant relish, recipe here
25 large pasta shells
2 bags spinach
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
3 tbs butter divided
2 tbs flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste



Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

In a food processor, puree the eggplant relish.

Combine with the vegetable puree with the pumpkin.

Cook pasta according to package directions, rinse.
Stuff shells with vegetable mixture, place in 9x13 oven proof pan. Spray first wth cooking spray or lightly grease.

Make the creamed spinach.

Over medium high heat, melt  1 tbs butter, add onions an garlic.

When onions are translucent, add spinach and cook until soft.

Transfer cooked spinach to food processor and pulse until chopped.

Melt 2 tbs butter over medium high heat, add the flour.

Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

Add 1 cup milk - and whisk until mixture boils and thickens.

Add spinach and stir to combine.

Add another cup of milk, stir until thick.

Check seasoning - salt and pepper to taste.

Pour over stuffed shells.

Sprinkle with parmesan.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, remove foil and bake another 10-15 minutes until parmesan is golden brown.

Until next time Eat Well and Keep Digging!



The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
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Pumpkin Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

I've made this before but not for a few years. A perfect meatless dinner!

There are many of recipes for this on the Internet and in cookbooks. Look a few up and make it your own.

You can make your own pasta if you are so inclined, but the general availability of wonton wrappers makes this unnecessary unless you want bragging rights.

For the filling:
2 cups pumpkin puree (we had some in the freezer left over from the wife's pie making at Thanksgiving)
1/2 cup cottage cheese drained in cheese cloth (squeeze the liquid out, you could also use Ricotta)
1/2 cup finely minced onion
1 clove garlic finely minced
2 Tbs grated Parmesan
1/2 tsp ground sage
pinch freshly ground nutmeg
2 Tbs butter

For the ravioli - Wonton wrappers

For the sauce
4 tbs butter
Fresh whole sage leaves.

Grate the Parmesan, nutmeg, and add the ground sage.

Melt 2 Tbs butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.

Add the onion and the garlic. Cook, stirring often until soft and fragrant. You don't want to brown it.

Add the pumpkin. Reduce heat to medium low & cook gently. I'm trying to drive off some of the moisture.

I ended up adding another chunk of pumpkin (this brought it up to about 2 cups as listed above).

When thick, add Parmesan, sage and nutmeg. Stir to combine. Add the cheese.

Continue cooking until the cheese is incorporated.

I'm looking for a mashed potato consistency.

It goes into a bowl to chill. I like this time of year as we can just pop things out on the porch.

Prep the wanton wrappers.  Brush some water around the edges. You can see that on the far wrappers.

Add a scant tablespoon of filling in the middle. This picture really is too much filling. Use less.

Fold in half and crimp the edges with a fork.  It is easiest to pick them up to fold them in half. Keep working. It takes time but is worth it. This is about a third of them. The rest go out on the porch to freeze

Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil.

For the sauce, melt some butter (4 tbs).

Melt over medium heat. Add the sage leaves.

Remove leaves to a paper towel to drain. Continue cooking butter until light brown.

Reduce heat under the water so it is not a rolling boil. The ravioli are fragile.

Add ravioli to the pot. Cook for 4-6 minutes, until pasta is tender.

Add to the browned butter. Toss very gently to coat.

Plate and garnish with sage leaves.

For the amount of butter, it is really pretty light (well, I'll try to convince myself of that).

The pasta and filling are light and savory. The filling was surprisingly sweet since there is no sugar added. Must just be the pumpkin.  If you have the time, give this a try.


Until next time, Eat Well & Keep digging!


The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt

http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Thai Pumpkin Curry

Pumpkin is a highly versatile and today I made a Vegetarian Pumpkin Curry. This recipe is adapted from About.com’s Darlene Schmidt recipe. A rich dish, citrus tang and mild glow make this a delicious option on a cool autumn night. There is a long list of ingredients but do not let that scare you off.



Serves 6


Ingredients:
For the vegetables:
½ small pumpkin
1 small or ½ large yam or sweet potato peeled and cubed
1-2 carrots peeled and cut into thick slices
1 yellow bell pepper large dice
1 cup chopped tomato or 1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
Grated orange rind from 1 orange – (save the orange for the sauce)
1 tbs oil
Green onion for garnish

For the curry sauce:
3-4 cloves of garlic
3 tbs Thai chili sauce ( you can use 1-2 fresh chilis)
1 can coconut milk
3 tbs lemon juice
juice of 1 orange
2 ½ tbs soy sauce
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tbs ground coriander seeds
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tsp fennel seed
½ tsp turmeric
½ onion  sliced

Directions:
Put all sauce ingredients in food processor (or blender). Process until smooth. Set aside.
Prepare the pumpkin by scooping out the seeds, slice off skin and cube flesh.

Put wok over medium high heat, add oil.
When oil is hot, add pumpkin, yam, and carrots.

Stir fry for 2 minutes, add curry sauce, stir well.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover.
Simmer until vegetables are fork tender – 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add bell pepper, tomatoes, chickpeas and orange rind, stir to incorporate.

Simmer for 2 minutes

Serve with rice, garnish with sliced green onion.

This was an excellent dish, I highly recommend it!

Until next time Eat Well & Keep Digging.

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Pumpkin with cranberry wild rice

A friend dropped off some nice little pumpkins. Sometimes a light dinner is in order. A pumpkin, some wild rice and cranberries. Simple.

Preheat oven to 350F. Halve the pumpkin and scoop out seeds.

Into a pan with hot water and into the oven.

While the pumpkin is cooking, make the rice. The cranberries are a nice sweet touch.

Hot out of the oven.

Stuff with the rice and enjoy!

Until next time Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener