pumpkin & mascarpone ravioli with brown butter hazelnuts

This is a dinner to make on a rainy weekend when you're not in a hurry and as was a real marathon effort, starting the day before with the homemade mascarpone. You could speed things up by using bought mascapone or even cottage cheese or ricotta and using a pasta roller rather than a rolling pin (as I will next time...) But even if you cut a few corners it's still a dinner that requires lots of prep (or "admin" as Miriam would say) before it all comes together.

The filling was inspired by this recipe, found via a google search for "fresh pasta fillings". I made a few additions so my filling was rich mixture of mascarpone, roasted pumpkin, red onion, bacon and roasted garlic. For a lighter version, cottage cheese would make a good substitute for the mascarpone (which is really just solid cream) and leave out the bacon.

I used a Jamie Oliver recipe for the pasta dough - basically a ratio of 100g of 00 flour to every size 7 egg. You need to get this underway several hours in advance too as it need to rest before rolling.

Unfortunately when I went to roll the dough with the mechanical pasta roller it had seized up and stubbornly refused to work. So most of the dough was rolled using a rolling pin - about two hours of hard work! The pasta roller was fixed during this time with much cursing of shoddy Italian workmanship - it's now all ready to roll out the last of the dough into something simple like lasagna sheets or pappardelle.

The quantities below make enough pasta for six generous servings.

Pasta (as per this recipe)

600g 00 flour

6 eggs

Filling

Half a pumpkin, peeled, and chopped into 2cm dice

4-6 cloves of garlic

A sprig or two of rosemary

1 red onion, finely chopped

Olive oil

2 rashers of bacon

250g mascarpone

Salt & pepper to taste

To finish

A generous knob of butter (as much as you are prepared to use!)

A large handful of toasted hazelnuts (or walnuts)

Shaved Parmesan cheese

Baby spinach (Becs' addition)

Roast the pumpkin with the whole, unpeeled garlic, rosemary sprigs and enough olive oil at 180 degrees Celsius until tender - about 20-30 minutes. Cool and transfer pumpkin to a large bowl (discard rosemary sprigs). Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves from its skin into the bowl too.

Cook the onion in a little oil over a medium heat until very soft, add a splash of water now and again to keep from browning. Throw it in the bowl.

Fry the bacon, finely chop and add to the bowl with the pumpkin etc. Once all the bits and pieces for the filling have cooled add the mascarpone and season with salt and pepper. Mix it all up, squashing the pumpkin a little so it looks like this:

Now you can roll out the dough as per Jamie's instructions and make the little raviolis. Once you have nice thin sheets of pasta, cut circles with a round cutter, put a teaspoon of filling on each circle and top with another circle and pinch the edges together firmly.

Dust each little ravioli with a little extra flour. Keep going until you have used up all the mixture. You'll probably have some extra dough left for another night. I used about 3/4 of the dough and made this much:

To cook, boil a BIG pot of salty water and drop the pasta in and cook for 7 minutes.

While the pasta is boiling heat the butter and toasted hazelnuts in a frying pan over a medium heat until the butter is golden brown.

Carefully drain the pasta (if you tip them from a height they may explode!) and place on hot serving plates. Top with a spoonful of butter and nuts. If you want more of a sauce, you could top the pasta with a small teaspoonful of mascarpone and the roasted nuts (without cooking them in butter). Add some baby spinach leaves if you have them and some shavings of parmesan cheese.

The following day, a some of the ravioli made it's way from Wellington to Christchurch for Mum and Becs to enjoy for lunch. Becs added baby spinach for a nice bitter contrast to the richness of the creamy filling and buttery nuts!

roasted tomato sauce

It has been a good summer for tomatoes, I collected this homely looking bowlful from the garden the other day. I have been on a bit of a preserving binge lately, but sometimes you just want to do things the lazy way. (Besides, I have run out of jars!) This oven-roasted tomato sauce is perfect for when you don't have time to hang over a pot for an hour or two. I freeze it in ziplock bags and use it on pasta - it's that sort of tom sauce, not the old fashioned kind you would eat with chips. It's super easy to make. Just roughly chop enough tomatoes to fill a couple of roasting trays (I chop the bigger cores out but leave skins on, no need to be too fussy) then top each tray with 2 wedged onions, 6 garlic cloves, a teaspoon of salt, lots of black pepper, a stem of rosemary, a good drizzle of olive oil and a dollop of tom paste if you have it. Add chopped red capsicum, carrots and celery if you have them or want to make it more vegetable dense, but just the tomatoes is delicious for an intensely tomato flavoured sauce.

Throw the trays in the oven and roast at 160c for a couple of hours. I tend to do this in the evening then turn it off before bed and leave the trays in there overnight. Because the oven is on for such a long time you want to make a few trays full to make it worth your while, or maybe throw in a banana loaf or two at the same time?! After roasting for a few hours the tomatoes will caramelise beautifully, with all the liquid cooked out of them they will look like this...

Use a spatula to scrape the veges into the food processor, making sure you include the lovely sweet sticky bits stuck to the sides and bottom. Blitz it up, add a drizzle of olive oil or thin with a little water if too thick for your liking.

And there you have your starting point for many a delicious meal...although I love it simply tossed through spaghetti with lots of parmesan.

dinner date - chicken ragu with pappardelle

On Friday I bought a new cookbook: Manna from Heaven by Rachel Grisewood. I'd almost bought this book on a couple of other occasions but had never quite got round to parting with my money. This time, I was spurred into action by the prospect of my Borders book voucher becoming worthless currency given the company's current financial state. It was slim pickings among the cookbook section of Borders Lambton Quay. There were plenty of Gordon Ramsey titles and generic 1001 baking recipe books but little that appealed. When I spotted the bright pink and orange cover of Manna from Heaven on the shelves it was an easy decision.

Wanting to make the most of my new purchase, I adapted the recipe for duck ragu with pappardelle for dinner on Sunday night. It was a wintery choice given the uncharacteristically good weather Wellington's experienced of late, but I like making slow cooked meals on Sundays when I'm not in a hurry. Not this was a difficult or time-consuming meal to make. It needs an hour and a half in the oven but while in there, it needs only minimal supervision.

This recipe lends itself to all sorts of adaptations. Like chicken instead of duck - so much cheaper and more accessible. In fact, it's a fantastic way to turn dirt-cheap drumsticks into a luxurious meal. I added a couple of boneless thighs too but drumsticks alone would do just fine. A little bacon or pancetta thrown in with the celery would make a delicious addition, as would a few sliced field mushrooms.

1tbsp olive oil

4-6 chicken pieces (I used 5 drumsticks and 2 thighs)

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

200ml chicken stock

1 canned Italian tomatoes

3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used basil, sage, oregano and thyme)

3 bay leaves

200ml red wine

1 tbsp fresh cream

sea salt & cracked pepper

400g pappardelle pasta

parmesan cheese & fresh herbs, to serve

Heat the oil in an ovenproof & stovetop safe casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Drain all but 1 tbsp of fat from the pan and add the celery and red onion. Cook for a few minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook a further few minutes. Add the chicken, stock, tomatoes (plus half a tinful of water), herbs, bay leaves and wine.

Bring to a gentle simmer, cover with a lid and place into an oven heated to 180 degrees Celsius. Cook for 1.5 hours, or until the meat falls from the bones. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little.

Remove the skin from the chicken (with tongs if too hot to handle) and cut the meat from the bones. Discard the bones and skin and set aside the meat. Simmer the sauce over a medium heat on the stovetop, adding extra water if too thick or reducing if too thin. Skim off any fat that comes to the surface.

Once it's at the consistency you like, return the chicken meat to the pan along with the cream and lots of salt & pepper and cook until warmed through.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water. Drain well once al dente and stir some of the ragu through the pasta. Distribute into bowls and top with more ragu. Serve with parmesan and more fresh herbs.

dinner date - spaghetti & prawns

I made this spaghetti as a quick dinner for two on Sunday night but it's one of my favourite "dinners for one". I don't see occasions when cooking for myself as a reason to just have toast for dinner, rather I see it as an opportunity to have special treat... like prawns!

If you don't like prawns you could add bacon instead, or go without either for a very simple meal.

Like many pasta "recipes" its more an assembly of ingredients than a recipe. I've given rough quantities for two servings, increase or decrease as necessary.

Olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 red chilli, finely chopped

1 dozen raw prawns

A splash of white wine (optional)

1 can chopped tomatoes

A handful of chopped Italian parsley and/or basil

Salt & pepper

Spaghetti

Get a large pot of salted water boiling for the spaghetti & heat a lidded pan over a medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil to the pan and throw in the red onion. Cook for 10-15 minutes until soft but not browned. (Now add the spaghetti to the boiling water)

Add the garlic & chilli to the softened onion and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Turn up the heat and throw in the prawns along with a splash of white wine (if using). Stir for 2-3 minutes then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook over med-high heat for five minutes, reducing a little. Once the spaghetti is cooked, season the prawns/tomato sauce with salt and pepper and throw over the herbs.

Drain the spaghetti, then put it back into the pan and stir in a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce to cook. Distribute the spaghetti into bowls and top with prawns & tomato sauce.

Eat!

dinner date - spaghetti with crispy crumbs

This is one of our favourite standby dinners. Quick and easy and really delicious. Spaghetti tossed with crispy bacon, sliced semi dried tomatoes, roughly chopped Italian parsley, baby spinach leaves, freshly grated parmesan and the best part, crispy, garlicky breadcrumbs. These crumbs give the pasta the most amazing texture, and really make this dish.

To cook the crumbs, just heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add a few sliced garlic cloves and cook gently, you don't want it to fry and burn, it's more about allowing time for the garlicky flavour to mellow and blend into the oil. Add a cup or two of coarse fresh (homemade) breadcrumbs and toss to coat in the oil, stir them regularly over a low heat until they turn golden and crispy.

It's lovely too if you add a couple of anchovies with the garlic too, smushing them up into the oil; they don't taste at all fishy, rather they add another layer of savoury saltiness. These crumbs are spectacular over pasta with finely chopped broccoli, lemon zest, a little chopped red chilli and some grated parmesan.

A few of our favourite things...

Miriam: I have quite a collection of scarfs - I love both the warmth and splash of colour they provide during the colder months. My latest addition is this wee silk number from State of Grace in Kingsland. I'm not sure it will provide much warmth, but I rate it quite highly on the prettiness / French chic scale.

Libby: I love this dried pappardelle pasta and much prefer it to any of the commercial fresh pasta you can buy. I buy a couple of different brands - Divella, (though Thorndon New World always seems to run out of it), and De'Cecco (always in stock at Mediterranean Food Warehouse in Newtown). I think they're pretty reasonably priced ($5/250g box) given you can pay upwards of $20 for some imported Italian dried pastas but an Italian friend was horrified to hear what I was willing to pay for something that only costs a euro or two in Italy!

Becs: I think most of us have good intentions of eating more fish, but it can be difficult to source good quality, fresh fish. Let's face it, most supermarket fish counters leave a lot to be desired, and good fishmongers can be few and far between. Homefresh Deliveries is a Christchurch based business that make it easy to eat more fish. They deliver fresh fish to your door once a week, in our case each Tuesday. You fill in a form when you sign up with them ranking your fish preferences, so they never deliver anything you dislike, but what turns up in your reusable chilly bin each week is a complete surprise. It is such a great way to eat a wide variety of fish, and a challenge to cook it creatively.

Daisy just loves her snug new sleeping bag that attaches to her buggy. With her sheepskin tucked inside too she is as warm as toast when we are out and about in wintery Christchurch weather. Oh the luxury of being a baby!

a quick dinner

I make courgette pasta for dinner when "I don't know what I feel like". It's so quick to make and you don't have to think too much. But be warned - it's also easy to get sick of courgette pasta if those nights come around too often.

It's based on a Donna Hay recipe that Natalie sent to Miriam who then sent it to me. I've added a couple of extras - garlic and feta and I cook the courgettes rather than let the heat of the pasta warm them through. It's very quick to make as the courgettes only need a flash in the pan - any longer and they'll go soggy and lose their lovely deep green colour.

I use an oxo julienne peeler to shred the courgette but you can grate them with a cheese grater if you don't have one of these handy little tools.

I never worry too much about quantities, apart from courgette - you always seem to need more than you think so allow about 2 courgettes per person. Here's the list of ingredients, just adapt to suit numbers.

Spaghettini (the skinnier, the better)
Olive oil
Garlic cloves (crushed)
Courgettes shredded (about two per serving)
Feta
Chopped fresh mint
Lemon juice
Parmesan
Salt & pepper

Cook the pasta, when its neary cooked heat a pan and add a little olive oil. Toss in the courgettes and garlic, cook for 1 minute then add the drained pasta, lemon juice and more olive oil. Stir over the heat for another minutes then toss in the mint, feta and salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with more mint, freshly grated parmesan and sprinkle with chilli flakes.