5 kinds of non-dairy ravioli filling

For Kerryn:

1. Chicken (just shredded coooked chicken breast).  Add egg or pesto for texture, or a little stock for moisture.
2. Pumpkin or squash.  Mash and add garlic and a pinch of nutmeg.  
3. Sundried tomato, finely sliced, with pine nuts - add shredded beef for a little extra.
4. Make a soft stuffing mix with breadcrumbs, lemon zest, pine nuts, chopped herbs and stock or oil.  Make sure it's nice and moist.
5. Slow-cooked lamb or ox-tail with a bit of veg and LOTS of stock.  Chill it to make the liquid set or gel, so it doesn't make a mess, then wait for it to melt in your mouth once cooked.  I've been dreaming about this one for weeks, and have just about got it right.  Think of good Chinese dumplings, and the way the stock pours out when you pierce them.

And.. because I can't resist a challenge.. here: 

Filling number 2 in spinach pasta.  Next time I'll puree the spinach a little more. 

Requests! 2. Beef Wellington

Thank you for keeping me busy this weekend.  Emma, Jason thanks you too - he usually only gets Beef Wellington on his birthday!

I used to order Beef Wellington at a favourite restaurant in Wellington city (which closed years ago).  It intrigued me, and I always though it looked terribly difficult - until I checked, and found out just how easy it is!!



Are you ready?  The following is for two:

• Two sheets of frozen puff pastry
• Two small fillet steaks (about 100g each)
• Paté (any flavour - I'll let you make that decision!)
• Onion and mushrooms

Preheat your oven to 220C
Lay two sheets of frozen puff pastry on the bench to defrost.  Leave the plastic wrap on, to stop them sticking to the bench.  And cover with a damp teatowel so they don't dry out.
Next, prepare the filling:  finely dice 2-3 large button mushrooms, and half an onion.



Heat in a small frypan with a splash of oil.  Cook until the onion is softened, and just starting to brown.
Set the vegetables aside, and return the pan to the heat.  On a high heat (you'll know it's hot enough when the oil starts smoking), sear the steak on both sides - you don't want to cook it, just seal the outside to lock the juices in, then remove from the heat.

Now, assemble your parcels:
On each sheet of pastry, place a tablespoon of the cooked vegetables.. then a slice of paté
(if you're sure you don't like paté then don't make this at all.  Don't leave it out!  There is a time and place for substitutions and this is not it!).
Top with a steak, and any remaining vegetables.



Now, simply wrap it up (I trim about a third of the pastry first):



I just wrap them like a birthday present (without the ribbon!). Place seam-down on a baking tray, and brush with milk or egg yolk.

Pop into the oven for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.



Serve with vegetables.

Requests! 1. Bircher Muesli

I've been out of town all week for work, so am just catching up on comments, and I've had TWO requests this week (and one challenge, which I'll address separately).  Because I'm all about instant gratification, I'm going to post both requested items this weekend.  I've been sitting here trying to figure out what to cook for dinner tonight, so will make Beef Wellington shortly, and post it as soon as I get a chance to process photos and type it up.  Bircher muesli I can do straight away, if you don't mind going without photos until the weather warms up.

Bircher muesli is summer porridge, so I'm not making it til at least Spring because at this tine of year I like my breakfast warm.  But I'll tell you how to make it in one line so you can make it yourself if it happens to be warmer where you are.

Make porridge mix and then add equal volumes of porridge to liquid.  Refrigerate overnight.

Seriously.  It's the same recipe.  Instead of water/milk, add fruit juice, or a mixture of juice and yoghurt. I make anywhere between 1/4 and 2/3 cup for myself, depending on whether I plan to add a lot of fresh fruit, and how hungry I plan on being in the morning.  The only problem with bircher is that it requires a little planning - you have to remember to make it the night before!  If I was better at this part, I'd eat it a lot more often.

See, you don't need a new photo, it's just like this except more wet.

Porridge!

It's cold, and it's raining, and there's only one thing I'll consider having for breakfast.  It's winter.  I need porridge.  End of story.

I like wholegrain porridge, with lots of texture.  Vogels used to make a great one, but stopped as soon as soon as I got addicted to it.  So I improvise, and make my own..

 

This is my porridge jar.  To it I add the following:
6 parts rolled oats
4 parts rolled barley
2 parts each buckwheat, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, and raisins
1 handful of linseed (flax seeds)
Isn't it pretty?  Look:

Be sure to leave a bit of space at the top, so you can shake it all up.

To make porridge, I use 1/2 cup of dry porridge mix to 1 1/2 cups of liquid.  I find a mix of milk and water gives the right balance (not too thick or watery).  Heat in a saucepan from cold, stirring until bubbly, steamy, and thick.

Serve with a little cold milk or cream, brown sugar, and fruit.

Ravioli (ricotta and spinach)

I typed this earlier this week, and then cringed when Michael Ruhlman posted a ravioli recipe the next day.  Then I realised two important things: 1) His recipe is completely different to mine, and quite specific (I have to try this) and 2) I am in no way competing with Michael Ruhlman. I have three readers.  (And 51 robots.)

I'm on a bit of a pasta kick this week: after figuring out how to make ravioli, I remembered how easy and delicious pasta is, and made fettucine two nights in a row.  If you haven't made your own pasta yet, you should apply yourself more.  It really is a lot easier than it looks.  I've made it twice this week on work nights.  Seriously.
Ravioli, though is a weekend job.  It needs a little more time and patience than I have most weeknights, but is totally worth it.

First, a warning: I purchased a ravioli pan because it looked like fun, and it seemed to be the kind of thing that would make this a lot easier.  This was not the case.  Even the tiniest quantity of filling squished into the next hole, and the pasta didn't seal well.  The edges weren't sharp enough to cut through the pasta, and basically the whole thing was a mess.  If you don't believe me, please keep an eye on Trade Me.  I'll be listing my new, barely used ravioli pan for sale soon.
The reality is, you don't need extra attachments or toys.  You can make ravioli with basic pasta sheets from your pasta machine, a teaspoon, and a sharp knife.  And it's easier than you think.

The following quantities are for 4 hungry people.

For the filling:
200g fresh ricotta
200g frozen spinach, defrosted, water squeezed out, and finely chopped (I threw mine in a food processor for a few seconds)
100g grated parmesan
1 egg
1/2 tsp crushed garlic

Mix the filling in a bowl with a spoon. Cover and refrigerate.


Make pasta sheets, using the basic pasta recipe here, with 200g flour and 2 eggs.  Don't cut the sheets.  Obviously.
Lay a rolled pasta sheet on a floured benchtop, and brush the top side with milk.

Then, starting at the half-way mark (for reasons which will become obvious), dot filling at even intervals.

Keep going til you reach the end.  Make 'em as big or as small as you like - you're in charge.  When you reach the end, pick up the non-spinach end, and fold over the spinach half.

Fold carefully: you don't want to squish the filling, because you need pasta on pasta to get a good seal around the edges.  If spinach gets squished in the gaps, the ravioli can open when you boil them, and you just wasted a bunch of time making filling.
Gently press between the squares, and try to remove any excess air as you go.
Use a small rolling pin (this is a cute miniature one, about 25cm long) to form a better seal in between:

Then, simply cut into individual pieces.  You could use a knife, a ravioli wheel, or a small biscuit cutter like me:

Resist the urge to stack these: they stick even with flour or baking paper in between, and your efforts are wasted.

Throw into lots of salted, boiling water for 5 minutes.  Serve with a simple sauce: melted butter with sage and a pinch of nutmeg seems to be the agreed standard online, and it certainly won me over.  Good pasta doesn't need big, heavy sauces.

I served with seared salmon fillet.  And it was pretty darned awesome if I do say so myself.

Who are you?

I know you don't normally use the Comments box, and prefer to lurk in the dark corners - but just this once I'm going to ask you, as a special favour to me, to say hi and introduce yourself!


I don't need your bank account number, and I don't even mind if you want to use a pseudonym (heck, I have done until today!) but I'm curious, and often wonder who is out there reading this.  The clever machine that is Google Analytics tells me that I've had 54 unique visitors in the past month.  Gut feel tells me that 40-50 of you are robots, but I'm keen to hear about the 4 real people!!

So.. who are you?  Do you know me?  How did you find your way here?  And most importantly, is there anything you'd like me to cook for you?  I love a challenge!

I'll kick off: 
My name's Janette, I live in New Zealand, and I've known me my whole life.
I work full-time in a small town in New Zealand, which is the most beautiful place in the world.  I love cooking and gardening.

My favourite foods involve simple methods and clean flavours.. but I like to try something different and/or difficult when the mood strikes.  I tend to get stuck in themes for months on end, where I cook with rice a lot, or have to have lemon in everything (until I get told to stop, usually), or slow-cook every day, and then completely forget about the ingredient or recipe I was so obsessed with until someone mentions it years later.  My mother cooked dinner for me when I visited a few weeks ago:
  Mum: "I'm making your chicken schnitzel recipe"
  Me: (blank look) "I have a chicken schnitzel recipe?"
  Mum: "You know, with lemon and mushrooms - you used to make it all the time"
  Me: (blank look) "are you sure that was me?" 
Turns out it was me, and I love that recipe, but haven't given it a thought in at least two years.  It's delicious - I'll make it for you soon!


This blog is my way of keeping track of my favourite things, so that I don't forget!  Thank you for sharing it with me! 

Red wine risotto

I love this for so many reasons, I'm going to make a list:
1. It tastes fantastic.
2. It's a low-maintenance risotto.  No need to stir!
3. It uses exactly one bottle of wine.  If you drink two glasses.
4. As long as I have the rice, I can make this with what's in the pantry.

The only tricky bit is the rice.  You need vialone nano rice - this technique doesn't really work with other rice varieties.  I buy mine here, but have just found that it's (a lot) cheaper here (but I've never used this company so can't make any claims aside from price!!)  If you're not in NZ, you'll have to do your own Google search, sorry.  I know you can cope. 

Cast of characters:  vialone nano rice (1 and 1/2 cups), a bottle of red wine (I usually use something mid-range, with guts like a Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon.  Just don't use cheap stuff.  Please.), 1 cup of beef stock (low salt), 1 large or 2 small onions, 2 cloves of garlic, and a handful of rosemary.  You will also need 50g of butter and about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan.  Yes, I'm incapable of taking a perfect ingredients shot, thank you for noticing!

Pour the beef stock and 1 and 1/2 cups of wine into a small saucepan, cover and set heat to medium.  You want this to start heating up, so it's just simmering when you need it in a few steps time.

Finely dice the onion, crush the garlic, and finely chop the rosemary (remove stalks).  Cook gently on low heat with a splash of olive oil, stirring until onion softens.

Add rice, stir to coat with oil, and turn the heat up to medium.  Keep the rice moving, letting it toast slightly (the grains will become a sharper shade of white - we are not looking for any colour here, just white!)

Add a splash of wine, and stir until most of the liquid evaporates:

Pour in the simmering beef stock/wine mix (all of it, all at once), then as soon as it starts bubbling turn back to low heat, and cover securely.

I weigh the pot lid down with a couple of wet tea-towels (old ones with a few red wine stains on them already).  This step is not compulsory, but stopped the lid from rattling and driving me crazy..

Now for the low-maintenance part.  Pour yourself two glasses of wine (OK, share one if you're feeling generous).  Walk away for 15 minutes.  Leave the lid on and resist the urge to meddle.  Magic is happening.
Once your time is up, grab a spoon and give it a poke and a stir.  Throw in the butter and the parmesan, and stir until melted.

Serve with steak (mushrooms work well too), and veges.
Reheats well, I love this for lunch the next day - if there's any left.