Butternut Squash and Red Bell Pepper Pasta

Its no secret that I am a huge fan of the squash family. As we hit the Atlanta Farmers' Market every other weekend, I can't wait to get to that aisle. I guess one of the biggest reason I love squashes is that they're so versatile. They can be used in soups, koftas, purees, koottus, saambaars, sauces and pies among many others. Heck, people even make pastas out of them!

N, on the other hand is not a big fan of the family. She cares about squashes as much as I care about Hugh Grant and chick flicks. She that they're vapid and slimy. She thinks that every squash tastes the same. I retort by saying that she is confusing squashes with Hugh Grant's movies ;) I guess I'm entering dangerous territory now so I'd better stop!

No big story here...we typically experiment with pastas. We tried this on a whim and it turned out pretty good.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

1 large (or 2 medium) large butternut squash, peeled and cubed

2 large red bell peppers, cubed

1/3 c parmesan cheese

4 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp butter

1 lb spaghetti, cooked al dente as per instructions

salt, to taste

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 tsp sage (I used dry, crushed sage)

1. Heat oven to 400F. Take the olive oil in a small bowl and place it in the middle rack while its preheating.

2. When the oil is hot enough (the viscosity goes down quite a bit), immediately pour it on the squash and red bell pepper cubes, placed in separate bowls. I use this trick often to use less oil to coat the veggies. Add the salt, paprika and the sage and toss the veggies.

4. Get started with the pasta.

3. Put the butternut squash cubes on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with aluminum foil/parchment paper) on the middle rack. Cook until fork tender, about 10 mins. Broil lightly until the top starts to brown. Take out the squash and put it back in its bowl.

4. Roast the red bell peppers next until nicely roasted. Remove from the oven.

5. Heat some butter in a pan and toss the pasta right after you drain it. Add the red pepper flakes. If there is any oil/spice remaining in the bowls used for tossing the veggies, take some of the pasta from the pan and roll it into the bowls. Never waste fats!

6. Toss in the roasted veggies.

7. Parm the pasta, i.e toss the pasta with Parmesan cheese. If Google can be a verb, then say hello to Parm!

7. What are you waiting for, dig in!

This is a dry pasta but simple and flavorful. We thought that the squash and the red bell pepper went really well with each other. The sage worked well with the squash and the paprika and the red pepper flakes were a nice contrast to the inherently sweet squash and the red bell peppers.

Enough chutzpah...but I do recommend it ;) Its tasteful and not too unctuous...take that, Hugh Grant!

Ricotta Gnocchi - Daring Cooks!

We are back! Can you tell? Can you tell that I'm posting this in a hurry? This time, the cooks got an opportunity to get daring, and you know how Daring A and I are :P, so we signed up and didn't really regret it. Oh, my waist did, but then what is that treadmill for, and husbands for, if not for venting it out. Right?

Okay, I'm going to cut to the chase and tell you what we did for Daring Cooks. I'm sure you've seen on all other Daring Cooks' blogs, the fabulous Ricotta Gnocchi. Well, we did the same, only some of ours weren't firm enough thanks to inexperience, some arguments in the kitchen and sheer exhaustion. I promise we will do better next time! We made our own Ricotta and halved the recipe. This recipe is from the famous Zuni Cafe.

Ingredients

1 cup fresh Ricotta
1large cold egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tbsp Butter, melted
A couple of Sage leaves/1/2 tsp Dry Sage
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1/8 tsp Salt
All-Purpose Flour for rolling the Gnocchi

We made our own Ricotta and let it strain overnight and for half a day. In spite of this, there was still some moisture left. Sigh.

Anyway, we decided to pucker up and do our best on this recipe and make the Gnocchi. Here are the steps we followed.

1. Mash the ricotta well to form a smooth paste like mix. You may mash it with a spatula and make sure to rub it across the dish to make sure there are solid curd like formations.

2. Add the lightly beaten egg to the mashed ricotta.

3. Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you’re using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture.

4. Add in any flavouring that you’re using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you’re not using any particular flavouring, that’s fine.

5. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.

6. Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).

To form the Gnocchi:

7. In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that’s ½ an inch deep. Meanwhile, fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first Gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your Gnocchi batter isn’t too damp.

8. Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.

9. At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the Gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the Gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the Gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you’re looking for is an oval lump of sorts that’s dusted in flour and plump.

10. Gently place your Gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the Gnocchi until it’s just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.

Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed Gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.

For the sauce:

5-6 tbsp Red pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp Sage or any herbs you may want
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper/paprika

We stuck to a simple sauce. We tossed some finely chopped red peppers and some sage in some butter and accentuated our already rich Gnocchi with some colour ;)

The recipe recommended that we make the Gnocchi, test one or two and then refrigerate the rest for an hour or so. We highly recommend this step. If it wasn't for this resting time, our Gnocchi would have surely crumbled in the water.

And this Gnocchi is WORTH it all. It was so light and so, so, so good that my mouth salivates even now as I write this post. Some of our Gnocchi was not firm while the rest withstood the hot water test pretty well ;) Frankly, we were too tired to take too many pics. So, I leave you with few pics, but this is a must try at least once. I've tried the potato Gnocchi (which I thought was tough) but found the Ricotta Gnocchi needs a lot more patience and yeah, make sure that Ricotta was drained properly. I'm sure if we'd let it strain for another day, our Gnocchis would have been firmer.

At the end of it all, we loved doing this challenge. We've always wanted to try Ricotta Gnocchi, just not had the courage so far. This challenge pushed us and we are looking forward to doing more with the Daring Cooks!

Keeping it simple: Pasta!

I'm N posting this recipe and it does come as a surprise for people who know me and my likes and dislikes regarding food. I do like Pasta but am not in love with it like A is. He can live on pasta and is known to eat one whole pound of pasta in a single day. I was introduced to 'proper, authentic' pasta only after I moved to the US. A made pasta for over 3 months once or twice a week. With Marinara sauce. And Alfredo sauce. I was okay with it. I needed the sauce to eat the pasta. However, no longer do I need wet pastas to whet my Pasta love! Now, I love it dry, loaded with veggies and less cheese. So, when Soma of Ecurry asked for pasta recipes, I was unsure. You see, I NEVER make pasta. Every time we've had pasta, A's made it and I've eaten it. However, this time around, I decided to give it a try. This one goes out to Hay Hay Donna Day, an event hosted by Soma this time around and preceded by Bron Marshall.

I usually skip lunch or eat a fruit when I'm alone and bored to cook for one. However, yesterday, I got enthusiastic about the rotting green bell peppers in the fridge and decided to make this Pasta. I love bell peppers -all colours and types. The recipe is simple and not fussy at all. I had my lunch ready in 10 mins and I loved it.

Ingredients

1 large bell pepper, chopped lengthwise
1/4 cup onion, chopped lengthwise
A pod of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup Pasta
Water to boil the Pasta
Salt
Pepper and Paprika
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp butter
1 tsp oregano
Some Parmesan cheese for garnishing

1. Cook the pasta per instructions on the box. I used Penne coz I love Penne pasta. I'm not a huge fan of Rotini. I like the smooth texture and the almost invisible ridges of Penne. Cook it and add olive oil after draining to prevent the pasta from sticking together in the colander.

2. Throw in the butter on a hot skillet, add the onions and garlic and let it cook for 2 mins. Add the bell peppers, close the skillet and let it cook for a good 3-4 mins.

3. Add salt, oregano and pepper. I also added some Paprika. Stir this mixture well to avoid burning.

4. Add the cooked and drained pasta and add 1/2 tbsp of olive oil (optional). Mix well. Let it cook for 2 mins. I like my pasta 'almost' roasted.

5. Serve garnished with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled over it!

See? Wasn't it simple! This was a weekday lunch and I got back to my studies in 10 mins after I entered the kitchen to make lunch. And it was scrumptious. This is from a girl who is not too fond of pasta. I added more bell peppers because like I said I love my bell peppers and the crunch it adds to the dish!

Soma, take it away. Its all yours! :)