Lentil Raviolis

I stumbled upon a recipe on Epicurious.com for lentil raviolis. The thought never occurred to me! I didn't follow the recipe but made up my own.

In a saucepan:
2 shallots, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
I added a handful of diced pancetta but this could be left out and be a vegetarian dish.

If you do what I did which is get sidetracked, leave it on high and nearly burn them, you get a nice caramelized flavor!

Deglaze with 1/2 c. white wine

Add
1/2 c. chopped shiitakes
Cook until soft.

Add
1 c. lentils
2 c. stock (I used chicken)
Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer ~25 minutes until lentils are tender

Once cooked, mash up the lentils a bit. I zapped it a few times with my stick blender so some would be mushed but some would be whole.

Chill. Not you, the lentils. Although you *could* chill too...wine is always good while cooking but not too much!

I didn't have time to make my own pasta so I used the store-bought square wonton wrappers. They're great in a pinch.

Brush the wrappers with some egg-white wash, put 1 t. lentil mixture on one wrapper, top with another wrapper and press shut, making sure there's no air in the ravioli. I have a pasta-cutter-wheel dealy that i use to cut around the edges. It makes them pretty and helps seal them shut. I made 18 ravioli for 3 of us. I have a ton of lentils left over.

Boil for 4 minutes (not at a rapid boil or the raviolis will break open).

I topped with my classic red sauce with some andouille sausage in it (again, sausage optional for the vegetarians!). My son had them with just butter and pepper and gobbled them up.

Calamari in Brodo with Salmon

I combined a couple of dishes I've done in the past and the result was excellent. The first was a dish that I modeled after an Eric Ripert recipe. The second was the Prosciutto-wrapped Salmon I did a while back.

This recipe serves 2.

First component, the broth.

In a small saucepan, drizzle some olive oil and then:
1/4 c. diced pancetta...cook until starting to brown
Add 1 sliced shallot and 1 sliced clove of garlic...cook until soft
Add 3T rice wine vinegar, boil until reduced by 1/2
Add 1 c. chicken stock, boil then simmer until reduced by 1/3

Strain and keep broth warm.

Second component:
Sauté:
1/4 c. diced shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 c. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

Cook until softened...keep warm.

Third component:
1 1/2 lb. squid...clean and slice into rings. I only use the bodies, I don't like the squiggly bits. It was 1 1/2 lbs before I took the squigglies away.

4T butter
2 cloves garlic, minced.

Melt butter on high heat. Before it browns but when it's really hot, add the squid and garlic. Cook on high heat, tossing a few times for even cooking, for 2 minutes....no longer or they'll be tough.

I'll copy my salmon instructions but change the portion sizes:
1 pound center cut salmon, cut into two pieces
2 slices prosciutto
4T minced parsley
2T cup minced thyme

Mix the parsley and thyme together. Press the herb mixture into the salmon fillets. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each of the herbed salmon fillets.

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. My 12 inch copper pan was big enough to do three salmon fillets at a time. Place salmon fillets in the pan with a little olive oil and cook about two minutes on each side. If the fillets are thick like mine were, finish them in the oven at 400° for about 2 minutes.


To plate, place the celery-mixture in a bowl, add the squid, place the salmon on top and pour the broth around the outside.

Buttermilk Waffles with Blueberry "Compote"

I always make a double batch of my waffles and freeze the leftovers for quick toaster snacks and breakfasts. Our freezer stash had run out so it was time for a waffle morning.

The problem is, it's winter and berries are my favorite waffle topping! I don't like just maple syrup, it's not right.

So I got the blueberries out of the freezer. I put about 1 cup of blueberries in a small saucepan with about 1T of honey and a little water. Put the heat on high and let it bubble until it was thick and syrupy. It was a great winter solution!