ah what can we say about fall cooking that has not been said so many times before? We can adore its dusky comfort, we can wax poetic about sweet potatoes, we can turn the humble squash into our modern day madeleine if we had enough words for it.
Writing about fall cooking is all at once repetitive and comforting. It is comforting in its repetition. We eat the same things every fall, the same combos, and still we twist orgasmic at the first bite.
The weather cools and I crave kale, squash, sweet potatoes, cabbage, apples, curry, beans.
I crave cooking, I spend more time cooking in the fall than any other time. It’s when the food is the best, it is when I am the least busy and it is the calm before the dead of winter beats my soul into a filthy snowbank and leaves it there to die.
I had food in the house, I needed to do something about it. I had the itch to create. I had no idea what to make I just knew I had to make something, something tasty, a treat for David.
For whatever reason my brain settled on ravioli. I don’t know why, it just did. I was not even detered by the fact that I had no eggs in the house. No eggs? I don’t care! I can make ravioli without eggs! The vegans do it, why can’t I?
Incidentally, I often find myself without eggs in the house but an intense craving for something specific that involves eggs. Vegan recipes save my ass many times (though I change the margarine and soy milk or whatnot back to butter and cow milk). I even have the Millenium Cookbook to help me with that, but they did not have a single recipe for fresh pasta in there. Bastards.
I fought on against the eggless tide! Of course I could go the 6 blocks and get eggs, but I’m feeling too lazy. Feeling too lazy but determined to make homemade ravioli.
I do a little searching and find a basic gyoza wrapper recipe. DURRRR! Of course. Hell, in lazier moods I’ve been known to buy potsticker wrappers and make raviolis with those.
8 ounces (by weight) flour
I used 7 ounces bread flour and 1 ounce semolina
4 ounces hot water
Mix the hot water into the flour with a fork until you cannot mix with a fork then start kneading and kneading. Everything should come together in a ball and then the ball should suddenly seize up. Let the ball rest, covered for 45 minutes.
Cut a small butternut squash in half and microwave for 12 to 15 minutes or until fork pokeable. Scoop out the seeds and discard (or feed to the dogs) and then scoop the searing hot squash flesh into the food processor (note to self, let squash cool a bit). To the squash add a tablespoon or so of candied ginger pieces, 1/2 tbl curry powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, and a good sprinkle each of salt, pepper, and cardamom. Food process the squash to paste. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice and a mighty handful of breadcrumbs (I used panko, it was all I had).
Remember when I said I was feeling lazy? Yeah, too lazy to get eggs and now too lazy to get out the Atlas pasta maker.
Take the well rested ball of dough and divide into 24 pieces (cut in half, cut in half again, roll that half into a thick, even tube, cut in half the long way and then into 3rds). Roll each piece into a ball and then using a coffee mug instead of a rolling pin because it’s easier to handle for small applications, roll each piece into a slightly oblong round, about 3 inches in diameter (except slightly stretched one way)
With the dough wrapper down so that slightly longer way is up and down as you face it (this is not easy to describe) place a dollop of filling in the middle, wet the edges and bring the bottom over to the top. You will always add too much filling to the first few. Oh well.
Put your ravioli cooking water on to boil.
Peel and chop 2 apples.
In a large fry pan melt 1/2 stick butter, add a tablespoon of garlic paste (cloves from 2 heads roasted garlic food processed with a little olive oil and a little salt, store in fridge). Just before the garlic starts to brown (don’t let it brown) add the apples and a healthy sprinkle of rubbed sage. Saute until things start to brown. Add 1/4 cup water, reduce heat and cover; this will help keep the apples hot without burning them. Once the ravioli cooking water is boiling and ready, add the raviolis and take the cover off the apples and kick the heat up to high, your apples will be perfectly cooked without burning, then you cook off the water and everything will start to brown nicely.
The raviolis are ready once they float to the top. Scoop them out as they finish cooking and add them to the apple pan. Toss them around in the delightful garlic, apple, sage butter and serve.
This is what fall cooking does to me, I may be feeling lazy but damn, I still make homemade ravioli.
You will have squash filling leftover. Some will go into risotto, some will be mixed with chevre and cream and tossed with chicken and penne, some could be added to a spinach and chick pea curry.
Unfortunately, I am too damned lazy to do the dishes now.