Kabocha Ravioli Food

KABOCHA SQUASH RAVIOLI WITH THYME-LEMON BUTTER

Steps:

• Start by making the filling. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush quartered squash all over with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch sea salt. Lay squash pieces side down in oven, cover tightly with foil and cook until fork tender, 40 - 50 minutes. Use caution when opening foil - the steam plume can be hot.
• When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop flesh from skin and mash with a fork until smooth. Measure 1 2/3 cups mashed squash. Reserve the rest for another use. Use a fork to mix Parmesan into mashed squash. Taste and add sea salt and pepper as needed. Fold in eggs. Set aside while you prepare dough.
• To make ravioli dough, on a large lightly floured board or counter, form a flour mound with 3 cups flour and make a deep well in the center. Crack eggs into a bowl, add milk, and tip into flour well. Gently, whisk eggs with a fork. As you go, slowly incorporate more and more flour. Once eggs and flour are fully incorporated, use your hands to fold flour into mixture. Dough should not be sticky at all - continue folding in flour, adding up to 1/2 cup more as needed. Once dough is no longer sticky, clean the work surface with a pastry scraper and knead dough 8 minutes, until it is very smooth to the touch.
• Divide into 8 equal pieces. Wrap 6 tightly with plastic and keep at room temperature. Cover 1 of the remaining 2 pieces with a tea towel. Set pasta roller to widest setting. Stretch dough into a 5 x 3-inch rectangle. With widest side parallel to the rollers send the dough through several times. Tighten rollers one notch at a time and repeat. When dough reaches 1/16-inch thick and is roughly a 5 x 13-inch rectangle, lay out on a lightly floured surface and roll the second piece of dough.
• If making ravioli by hand, lay dough rectangle out, dot with about 1 tablespoon filling at 1-inch intervals on 1 side only. Brush edges with water. Fold dough over, press around filling, and then cut with a fluted ravioli cutter or sharp knife.
• If using a ravioli maker, lay sheet of dough across metal ravioli mold. Use the plastic mold to press divots for ravioli filling. Add filling. Top with second sheet of dough. Roll over layers with a rolling pin several time until ravioli are sealed. Turn over, and gently release ravioli from mold. Use a ravioli cutter or sharp knife to separate individual ravioli.
• Repeat for remaining dough and filling.
• Before cooking ravioli, make lemon-thyme butter. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add thyme sprigs and sea salt. Simmer very gently for 10 minutes, stirring often to dissolve salt. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest. Before serving, remove thyme sprigs and stir in 1 tablespoon thyme leaves.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add a generous splash of olive oil. Cook ravioli 4 minutes. Remove from water with a slotted spoon.
• Top with a drizzle of lemon-thyme butter and garnish with remaining tablespoon thyme leaves and minced parsley. Serve right away.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE-STUFFED KABOCHA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the dried porcini and let sit while you prep your other steps, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Peel, de-seed and medium dice the kabocha squash. Pour onto a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes to cook through.
• In the meantime, use a small serrated paring knife to remove the top of the pumpkin wide enough to later fill the pumpkin stuffing and scoop out the seeds.
• Dice the baguette and place in the oven on a sheet pan to make croutons, about 5 minutes.
• In a large skillet over medium heat cook the Italian sausage breaking it up into little pieces and cook it all the way through. Remove it from the pan leaving the grease. Now add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
• While the onions are cooking, take the porcinis that are re-hydrating in the hot water, wring them out and give them a rough chop. Remove the cooked onions and put in a large bowl with the Italian sausage. In the same skillet, add the sliced white mushrooms, chopped porcinis along with 1/2 cup of the mushroom liquid and cook for about 5 minutes. Remove and add to the large bowl with the sausage mixture.
• Add the cooked kabocha and croutons to the sausage bowl. Mix well and add the ginger, paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Add the milk and heavy cream to a saucepan and bring it to a simmer.
• To assemble: Sprinkle the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper. Add a layer of the sausage mixture, some of the heated milk-cream mixture, add a layer of Gruyere and continue by pressing down repeating the layering process until the pumpkin is completely full. Place the top of the pumpkin back on, put it in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and fill with 1- to 2-inches of warmed water. Bake until it's cooked through, about 1 1/2 hours
• Serve by scraping the inside of the pumpkin and getting some of the pumpkin flesh along with the filling to serve warm.

ROASTED KABOCHA HUMMUS WITH SPICY CRUNCHY SEEDS

Steps:

• For the squash: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove the skin from the squash and cut open down the middle. Scoop out the seeds and reserve for later. Cut each half into eighths. Spread out on a roasting pan and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• For the spicy seeds: Pour the pepitas on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. In a small bowl, combine the granulated garlic, paprika, cayenne and cumin. Mix well and sprinkle over the pepitas. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place both the squash and seeds in the oven. Roast the squash until tender and caramelized around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Roast the seeds until toasted and crunchy, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on the baking sheet so they get extra crispy.
• For the hummus: In a blender, combine the chickpeas with an equal amount (by volume) of the roasted squash pieces. Add the tahini, olive oil, paprika, cumin and garlic. Start the blender on low, then increase the speed, using the blender tamper to push down the ingredients into the blades to get a smooth consistency without having to water down the mixture too much. If you need to, stop and scrape down the sides occasionally. Season with salt and pepper and continue to blend until you have a smooth puree. Add a little water if needed to get the mixture moving.
• Scrape out the hummus and place into a wide serving bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with paprika and fresh parsley and scatter the spicy seeds around the edge. Serve with pita chips or toast points.