Wintery Ravioli Salad

Following the rapid consumption of most of Ellie’s Halloween candy this last week I craved a dinner full of some hearty greenery.  When I have such a craving I often turn to Heidi Swanson’s 101cookbook blog for inspiration.  Her recipes are full of bright fresh flavours and simple enough to make anytime.  A recipe I’ve made a few times is her hazelnut and chard ravioli salad.  The ravioli is comforting, the lemon dressings tanginess is cut by the sweetness of caramelized onions and the hazelnuts add crunch and a bit of decadence.  

I also like this recipe as it takes me on a stroll through my neighbourhood.  First to the Ravioli store that carries a dairy free ravioli for Colin and then to the small grocer that has bulk to buy my teeny tiny amount of hazelnuts.  Once back home with my bounty the meals come together quick and is loved by the whole family, which means its now a part of our regular rotation of go to meals. 

Hazelnut and Card Ravioli Salad from 101cookbooks.com

2 small yellow onions, sliced

2-3 Tbsp olive oil divided

sea salt

1 lb ravioli (I used butternut squash)

2 cups chopped chard or kale, deveined

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice and it’s zest

2/3 cup chopped and toasted hazelnuts

¼ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup green onions, minced

I start by caramelizing the onions on low heat in a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt until deep brown and set them aside. 

In a large pot bring water to boil and add salt water before adding raviolis. Usually when raviolis float they are done but check for doneness by cutting one open to be sure pasta is cooked through.  

Drain and gently toss with one tablespoon of oil.

Combine the chard and lemon juice with a pinch f salt and massage for about 15 seconds. 

Add the ravioli to the chard along with the caramelized onions, green onions and hazelnuts. Fold gently to combine to avoid tearing the raviolis.Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon zest and enjoy!

Stay-cation Bread Celebration

Last week we were supposed to go away for the week but decided to skip the packing and driving and had a stay-cation instead.  It was glorious; having two parents to juggle two kids meant I had time to do some things I don’t usually have time or energy for. One of which was try a new bread recipe with a two-day process.  I often sit on my couch and flip through my bread books looking for inspiration and one particular recipe always catches my attention: potato bread with rosemary and roasted garlic. It sounded delicious, the potato part intrigued me and the picture in the cookbook enticed me.

The recipe starts with a biga the night before and the potato, rosemary and garlic is added the next day.  The smell of the garlic and rosemary filled the house as it cooked and the result was a gorgeous golden loaf with a super soft crumb on the inside.  

It was a lot more work than some of the bread recipes I usually use but it was a hit.  The recipe make two loaves and so we brought the prettiest one to our friends house for thanksgiving dinner as there really is nothing better than sharing your baking creations.

Potato Rosemary Bread from Peter Reinhart's Bread Bakers Apprentice 

Biga

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp instant yeast

3/4 -1 cup of water

Dough

3 cups plus 2 tbsp bread flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 cup mashed potato

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

3/4 - 1 cup warm water

4 tbsp coarsely chopped roasted garlic

Semolina flour for dusting

olive oil for brushing on top

The day before you want to make the bread make the Biga. 

 Stir together the flour and yeast in a large bowl.

Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of water, stirring  until everything comes together and makes a corse ball, adding more water or flour to make a dough that is neither too sticky or too stiff.

Knead for 4-6 minutes or until dough is soft and pliable.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and roll it around so the dough is coated in oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 2-4 hours at room temperature or until it is nearly doubled.

Remove dough and lightly knead to remove some of the air pockets and return it to the bowl.  Cover and refrigerate over night.

The next day take the biga out of the fridge an hour before you plan to make the dough.  Cut it into ten small pieces, cover with a towel and let sit for an hour to take the chill off.

stir together the flour, salt, black pepper, and yeast into a large bowl or in your stand mixer. Add biga pieces, mashed potato, oil, rosemary and 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp water.  Stir or mix with paddle attachment for one minute, until the ingredients form a ball

Knead dough or use dough hook attachment in mixer until dough is soft and supple, 6-10 minutes. 

Flatten the dough and spread the roasted garlic over the top. gather dough into a ball and knead garlic into dough for 1 minute. Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl and roll it around to coat dough with oil. 

Cover and let rise 2 hours at room temperature.

remove dough from bowl and divide into two equal bowl.  Shape each into a large round loaf (this is an important step, if you need guidance in shaping just youtube "shaping bread boule"). 

Line a baking sheet with parchment and dust lightly with semolina flour.  Place both loaves on the baking sheet, making sure they are far apart. Mist the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.  Let proof for 1-2 hours at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400 F with oven rack in the middle position.  Remove plastic wrap from dough and lightly brush loaves with olive oil. Place pan in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes.  The loaves should be a golden brown all around and the when you tap the bottom they should sound hollow. 

Allow to cool for 1 hour (if you can) before digging in!

Pie for the win

It’s been almost a year since we moved to our current home just off commercial drive in east Vancouver.  The three story duplex is located across the street of McSpadden Park which has a large field and a playground for young kids.  Through the winter we visited the park almost daily with other parents who had bundled their kids in layers of rainproof gear.  But it was in the spring when more and more of our neighbours came out to play that we realized what an amazing little community we had become a part of.

The neighborhood is chock full of young families like ourselves and with continued trips to the park we got to know a good handful of them well.  One of the moms we met, in an effort to foster community, started the McSpadden County Fair.  This was its third year running and included a kid’s zone, live music, vendors, zucchini races and a pie contest.

With the chaos of kids we were unable to get a zucchini car put together but I knew I could throw together a pie and I knew which recipe I wanted to use.  I chose a simple apple pie, partially because it made me excited for fall and partially because I wanted to use my sister’s recipe that she gave us in our wedding cookbook. Julie’s recipe always yields a flaky crust with a crunchy sugar coated top and tender apples in the middle. 

On the day of the fair the rain was coming down hard but in good Vancouver fashion the event was well attended. Kids in muddy buddies and rubber boots cheered on the zucchini races and at the end the winning pie was announced. Julie’s humble apple pie took home the blue ribbon!

I followed Julie’s recipe to a tee with the only change being I used my food processor to mix the dough.

Julies Winning Apple Pie

Pasty

¾ cup shortning

3 tbsp cold butter

2 ¼ cup flour

¾ tsp salt

½ cup ice water

Filling

8 apples thinly sliced (I used granny smith)

2 tbsp lemon juice

½ cup sugar

3 tbsp flour

½ tsp cinnamon

Glaze:

1 egg yolk

2 tsp sugar

 In food processor pulse together flour and salt until combined.  Add cold butter and shortening and continue to pulse until ragged. 

Pour in ice water and pulse just until dough forms, being careful not to over process. 

Remove dough from processor and form into two disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.  As you get ready to bake make sure to preheat your over to 425F

After an hour, remove one dough disk from fridge and roll out on a floured surface into a 13 inch circle and transfer to 9 inch pie plate. (I popped mine back in the fridge while I mixed my filling)

Combine filling ingredients and transfer to pie plate. Brush pastry rim with water.

Roll out second pasty disk to 13 inches and place over top of the apples.  Lift bottom rim and fold it under over hang and pinch to seal.  Cut 4 steam vents. Whisk egg yolk amd 1 tbsp of water and brush over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with sugar.

 Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes and lower the temperature to 350 F for another 30-40 watching closely that the edges don’t burn.

Allow to cool slightly before digging in!