hrwalf’s blog

handmade ravioli

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:09:07 -0700

i eventually want to make some flavored raviolis, but for the first time i wanted to keep it simple.

ingredients:
for the pasta
eggs
flour
for the stuffing
ricotta
thyme
sea salt
for the sauce
butter
thyme
pecorino romano

Dough

step one: make the dough

as i've done before, i piled up flour and put 3 eggs into the middle. mixed up the eggs, kneaded it together for 5 minutes. then covered it and let it rest.

Filling

step two: make the filling

simple as can be. mix together the ricotta, the thyme, and the sea salt. in the future i may use eggs, to keep it together, because like this the filling kind of oozes out. but it's still good.

step three: roll out the dough

split the dough in half. on a floured board, roll out the dough pretty thin. not too thin, of course, it's got to hold the filling in. then cut the edges off of the dough and square it off.

Dollops

step four: form the ravioli

lay out one of the rolled halves on the board. put small dollops of the filing at even intervals, leaving room at the edges. be careful not to use too much filling. then dip your finger in water and use it to make lines in between the filling. this is to help the top half stick to the bottom half.

Covered

lay the other half on top of the filling, and gently press down in between the humps to form the ravioli. when you have the ravioli formed, press more firmly and make sure the outside edges are sealed.

Cut

then use a sharp knife to cut and separate the ravioli.

for a finishing touch, use a fork to crimp the edges. this seals the ravioli shut and also makes them look real purty.

Floating aggresively

step five: cook

boil salted water, then lower the heat so that it's not boiling too hard. don't want to break the ravioli in the water. carefully drop them in, and don't overcrowd the pot. you may want to cook them in batches. remove from the water when they are floating aggressively, and transfer them directly to the sauce.

step six: the sauce

simple again. melt the butter, add some fresh thyme. add the cooked ravioli until lightly browned, then top with grated cheese. simple as can be.

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stuffed collard greens

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 13:49:59 -0800

Finished product

One of the comfort foods from my youth is stuffed cabbage -- several of my relatives made their own versions. I had some beautiful collard greens and decided to try to make my own vegetarian version.

ingredients:

several collard green leaves, stems cut
boca recipe crumbles
carrots
celery
cabbage
onions
garlic
lemon
salt & pepper
tomato sauce
red wine vinegar
sriracha
sugar
water
eggs
breadcrumbs

Stuffing phase 1

step one: start the stuffing

in a large pan, brown the fake meat and then add finely shopped onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and cabbage. season with salt & pepper, red chile flakes if you like. when soft, add some fresh lemon zest and lemon juice, turn down the heat, and cook the liquid out. then turn off the heat and let the whole mixture cool.

Boiled leaves

step two: prep the leaves

after cutting out the stems and the hard center part of the leaf, drop a bunch into boiling salted water. when the leaves become soft (but not overcooked), remove them from the water and shock them in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color.

Stuffing phase 2

step three: finish the stuffing

when the stuffing is cool, add a lot f breadcrumbs and two eggs. mix together briefly, not too much. let the mixture set for a few minutes.

Dollop

step four: stuff!

spread out one of the leaves and pat it dry. add a small dollop of the stuffing towards the stem end. to roll, roll from the stem end over the stuffing, tuck the ends in, then roll up.

Loaded up

continue rolling up leaves and lay them seam side down in a roasting pan. save some leaves at the end for covering the dish.

step five: sauce

the sauce is key to the stuffed leaf. heat some olive oil in a sauce pot, add a bit of red wine vinegar and some garlic powder. then add some tomato sauce, some salt, pepper, sugar, and sriracha for heat and more acid.

Sauced

step six: bake

to prep for baking, pour most of the sauce over the leaves. then, cover the whole thing with the reserved leaves. these will help protect the rolls from burning in the oven, and to help them steam.

pour the remaining sauce over those leaves, and then bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.

step seven: remove

when you remove the pan from the oven it will look burned -- but remember, that's what the covering leaves were for. remove them and you should see the beautiful green leaves underneath. let cool then enjoy!

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handmade canneloni

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:54:45 -0800

Canneloni

ingredients:

for the crespelle:
    milk
    flour
    eggs
    salt
    olive oil
for the filling:
    spinach
    olive oil
    salt
    lemon
    ricotta cheese
for baking:
    basic tomato sauce
    ricotta salata
    pecorino romano
    parmesan
    fresh rosemary

Making a crespelle

step one: make the crespelle

much easier than i thought. combine the ingredients to form a thin batter. in a small crepe pan, heat a little bit of olive oil. pour a small amount of the batter into the pan, and swirl to cover the bottom. let it cook until firm, then flip. firm the other side, then remove from heat and repeat with more batter.

Stack of crespelle 2

when you have made 6-8 crespelle, let them cool on the side.

Spinach with goat milk ricotta

step two: prep the filling

sautee spinach in olive oil with a little salt, then add some lemon juice, cook it down. check for seasoning, then let it cool.

Cooked spinach with garlic and lemon

after it cools, add a bunch of ricotta (i used a goat's milk ricotta from the farmer's market). mix thoroughly, reseason if necessary, then set aside.

Stuffing the crespelle

step three: assembling the canneloni

holding the crespelle in one hand, put a small scoop of filling in the middle, then roll them up. lay them seam-side down in a deep baking dish.

The lineup

when the canneloni are stuffed and lined up, cover with tomato sauce (in this case i made my own, but feel free to use pre-made, if you're a sissy).

Sauced

then cover the sauce with cheese -- i used ricotta salata (to match the ricotta inside), pecorino romano, and parmesan. then add a splash of olive oil and some fresh rosemary (i used rosemary in the tomato sauce, so that matched as well).

bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-45 minutes.

Baked

step four: finishing touches

remove from the oven, and add a dash of olive oil, and some more fresh rosemary. let it cool, then eat. delicious!

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acorn squash gnocchi

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 18:43:39 -0800

The final plating

ingredients:

acorn squash
flour
eggs
salt & pepper
olive oil
butter

Roasted squash

step one: roast the squash

quarter the acorn squash, and add a little butter, salt & pepper.

roast in the oven at 400 for about 45 minutes. remove and let cool.

The dough

step two: prepare the dough

make a mound of flour, create a hole in the middle. add egg, and mushed up roasted squash.

knead and knead, until the squash in incorporated. then let the dough rest.

Cut gnocchi

step three: prep the gnocchi

roll the dough into dowels, and cut small, one inch squares.

roll the squares off the end of a fork to form the gnocchi.

Floating gnocchi

step four: cook the gnocchi

boil in salted water, until the gnocchi float aggressively. drain well.

Cooked in butter

step five: sauce the gnocchi

melt butter in a pan, add a little salt, pepper. add the cooked, drained gnocchi, and brown them.

step six: plating

you can add some shaved pecorino, some scallion greens to brighten up the plate. tasty!

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salt and pepper "squid"

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:55:45 -0700

Salt and pepper squid

this vegetarian version was inspired by an enoki bouqet i saw (and purchased) at whole foods. i should point out that i never once ate the real deal before i became a vegetarian.

ingredients:

1 enoki bouquet
inari skins
cold seltzer
flour
salt & pepper
oil
1 lime

step one: prep work

Sliced inari

i bought a package of inari skins at m2m on 3rd ave in mahattan. to prep the squid rings, i sliced the inari and opened them into rings.

Enoki bouqet

then i rinsed the enoki bouqet and copped it into 6 long peices, trying to keep the bottom intact so the "tentacles would stay together.

the inari is already seasoned, but the enoki is not. so i sprinkled the mushrooms with salt and pepper.

step 2: the tempura batter

tempura batter is insanely easy to make.
in a large bowl, combine flour with cold seltzer until you get a light pancake batter consitency. that's it.

step 3: fry 'em up

Cooked inari calamari

drop the inari rings into the batter and coat them well. carefully place the inari into heated vegetable oil. fry until golden, then remove to a paper towel to drain. immediately out of the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Cooked enoki tentacles

do the same with the enoki mushrooms. make an effort to spread the batter throughout the "tentacles" before frying. they will spread nicely in the oil. the goal is to get a crispy outside with a juicy inside. when you drain them, sprinkle with salt and pepper as well.

for garnish, i battered and fried up a few sage leaves as well.

step 4: the plating

arrange a few rings on one side, and mushrooms on the other side. garnish with a fried sage leaf and a wedge of lime. the lime matches really well with the mushrooms. enjoy!

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sweet potato salad with honey-lime vinaigrette

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 10:28:02 -0700

The finished salad

ingredients:
sweet potatoes
red onion, chopped
garlic, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
3 limes
honey
salt & pepper
olive oil
basil or mint leaves

Sweet potatoes

step1: prepare the potatoes

i picked up these potatoes at the prospect park farmer's market. they are now starting to get in the fall and winter veggies, and i couldn't resist.

Peeled

first, peel the potatoes, then cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Cut in bite-sized pieces

boil them until they are just soft. drain well and season with a pinch of salt. set aside.

Drain well

step 2: the vinaigrette

in a large bowl, combine the chopped onion, garlic, and jalapeno with the juice of 3 limes. add a bunch of honey, and season with salt and pepper. mix well, then stir in olive oil. pour this mixture over the potatoes.

Add the vinaigrette

step 3: let it sit

the hardest step, no doubt. let the flavors all intertwine. add some fresh basil or mint leaves, torn. when it is at room temperature, go ahead and eat it. you deserve it.

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melanzane ripiena

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:04:39 -0700

single plate

ingredients:

one whole eggplant
celery
chili peppers
ricotta cheese
pecorino romano
thyme
can of whole peeled tomatoes
salt & pepper

Whole eggplant

step one: the prep work

i had an eggplant from the park slope farmer's market. to begin, slice the thing in half, lengthwise. to scoop out the insides, make a long cut through the flesh, and then several cross cuts -- comme ca:

Sliced

then, using a large spoon, scoop out the insides and reserve them in a bowl, thusly:

Scooped

set the scooped out flesh aside, and turn your attention to the big pieces. in a large saute pan, brown the cut side.

Fried in oil

when out of the oil, lightly salt and set aside.

Eggplant, celery, and chili peppers

step two: the stuffing

in another pot, sweat celery and chili peppers in some live oil. add the scooped out eggplant, brown, then add salt.

add half of the canned tomatoes, but not the liquid from the can.

Tomatoes added

cook down, then add some freshly shaved pecorino romano. stir it through, then turn off the heat.

step three: assembly

Ricotta

spread some ricotta on the fired eggplant. then load on the stuffing.

Stuffing the eggplant

when all the stuffing is in, top with some more pecorino.

step four: cooking

in a large pan, heat some olive oil, and add the remaining tomatoes (still reserving the juice). add the eggplant, skin side down, and cook for a moment. add the tomato juice, then top with some more pecorino, and then some sprigs of thyme.

Ready to braise

cover the whole shebang and turn down the heat. cook for about 20 minutes, covered. make some pasta on the side.

Uncovered

step five: plating

remove the eggplant, turn up the heat, and add the cooked pasta to the braising liquid.

i cut an eggplant apart to see the layers and juice ran out everywhere. maybe i should have set the stuffing with egg and breadcrumbs. still, damned delicious.

Cross section of eggplant

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vegetarian gumbo

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 17:30:08 -0700

vegetarian gumbo

ingredients:

olive oil
flour
red onion
carrots
celery
okra
baby spinach leaves
vegetable broth
pasta
hot sauce
salt and pepper

making the roux

step one: making the roux

in a deep pot, heat some olive oil. add flour an cook it in the oil until dark brown. be careful that the roux doesn't burn. i found that the easiest thing to do was to turn off the heat when it got golden brown, and the roux continued to cook off the heat until it got the color of milk chocolate. this is perfect.

chopped onion, carrot, and celery

step two: the veg

turn the heat back on, and immediately add chopped onion, carrot, an celery to the roux. my roux had gotten a little tight, so i added some more olive oil before adding the veg. stir the stuff through and add salt and pepper. cook until soft.

fresh okra

i had picked up some nice fresh okra from the park slope farmer's market. i've never cooke with fresh okra before, which is why i picked it up at the market. it inspired me to make the gumbo in the first place.

tofu strips

step three: add some tofu

instead of chicken, sausage, or seafood, i used tofu. i cut the firm tofu in half long-wise, and then cut it into stips. first i added it to the roux-veg mix, and stirred it through. when the broth is added it firms the tofu up.

add the okra

trim the ends off of the okra and cut into big pieces. add the okra to the pot, season, and stir through. cook the okra until it begins to soften.

after adding broth

step four: add the broth

i use a kosher, parve fake chicken powder. i mixed it in a pot of water on a seperate burner, and brought it up to a boil. when it was boiling, i turned down the heat and left it at temperature.

when the okra is ready, pour the broth into the gumbo pot. bring this to a boil. it is important to boil this because this activates the thickening power of the roux. i also added a few whole black peppercorns.

after asding hot sauce and pasta

step five: pasta

i added sriracha for hot sauce, because that's what i had around.

traditionally gumbo is served over rice, but i didn't have any. instead i added corkscrew pasta. in addition to adding body to the gumbo, i figure the starch from the pasta will help thicken the stuff.

almost done

step six: finishing touches

when the pasta is cooked through, turn off the heat. add a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves. stir these through, and this will be enough to cook the spinach.

let the whole thing cool a bit -- it will thicken up really nicely.

step seven: eat!

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stuffed zucchini & zucchini fritters

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 13:08:35 -0700

zucchini love

this is one of the first really big cooking projects that i did. i got some really nice big zucchinis and squash from the park slope farmer's market, and some fresh tofu from a local market.

Ingredients:

2 large zucchini and or squash
eggs
breadcrumbs
tofu
fresh rosemary
parmesan cheese
olive oil
dried chili flakes
salt
pepper

hollowed out zucchini

step one: the prep work:

to hollow out the zucchini, first trim the ends and then cut it in half, lengthwise. make a long incision down the center of the zucchini flesh, and then cross cuts across the flesh. using a small spoon, scoop out the insides of the zucchini and reserve them in a large bowl. lightly salt the hollowed out zucchini and set them aside.

now for the bowl with the zucchini. add 2 eggs, salt and pepper, and finely diced tofu. mix well. add chili flakes, rosemary, and parmesan cheese. mix again. mix in enough breadcrumbs to bring the mixture to a paste.

stuffed before cooking

step two: stuff 'em:

spoon the mixture into the zucchinis. don't be afraid to over-stuff, and really pack the filling in. i know it doesn't look too appetizing, but it will brown up nicely.

you will have some filling left over -- don't worry, we'll use that later.

stuffed zucchini

step three: cook 'em:

in a large pan, heat a good amount of olive oil. when it's nice and hot, turn the zucchini stuffing side down into the oil. you can probably fit 2 at a time. after putting them into the oil, let them sit there browning. don't fiddle with them or anything.

when you see that the edges are browned, flip them over using a spatula. now we have to cook the zucchini bottom. let them sit again while they cook.

when done, use the spatula to remove them from the oil and place on paper towels to drain. while hot, season with parmesan cheese and chili flakes, and then some chopped rosemary. top with a little olive oil.

zucchini fritters

step four: what about the leftover stuffing?

no, i haven't forgotten. when i was cooking this, i was trying to figure out how to use it. then it hit me -- fry it too. so i made them into what the french call canelles and fried them in the oil too. drain them on paper towels and season them the same way as you did the stuffedd zucchini -- parmesan, chili flakes, chopped rosemary, and olive oil.

step five: eat!

that's it -- just eat them. no further preparation requires.

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a pretentious beginning...

nobody@vox.com(hrwalf) — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 17:17:18 -0700

sour cherries

first i have to thank lia for putting me onto this thing. ok, now on to business...

i've always been interested in cooking. even as a child i loved helping my parents in the kitchen, and i even took a cooking class during a day camp i attended when i was 10 or so. i was one of two boys in the class, and all of the other boys congratulated us on devising such a brilliant scheme to meet girls. but i seem to have gotten off track...

i've been a vegetarian for maybe 12 years now, and i was first inspired to become one by my sister. when i say inspired, i mean i used to make fun of her for being a vegetarian until i decided to try it. now i can't go back.

my problem with vegetarian food has always been that people seem to try too hard. places like caravan of dreams are touted as wonderful, but it left me feeling cold (no raw puns intended).

why do most people ignore the fact that there are tons of great recipes out there? i'm all for innovation, don't get me wrong, but sometimes these recipes have been around for so long because they taste good. imagine that...

and so, inspired by my culinary hero mario batali, i began my journey...

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