Roasted Winter Squash and Apple Soup

from Dr. Andrew Weil:

1 large winter squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), such as butternut, buttercup or kabocha; peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tart, firm apples, peeled, cored and quartered
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and red chili powder to taste
4 to 5 cups vegetable broth

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large roasting pan, toss the squash, onions, garlic and apples with the oil to coat. Season well with the salt and chili powder. Roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until the vegetables are fork tender and lightly browned, about 40 minutes.

2. Put half of the vegetables and 2 cups of the broth in a food processor and purée until smooth. Repeat with the remaining vegetables and broth. Return puréed mixture to the pot. If the soup is too thick, add more broth. Correct the seasoning and heat to a simmer.

3. Serve in warm bowls with dollops of cilantro-walnut pesto.

Dr. Andrew Weil’s
Cilantro-Walnut Pesto

1 cup walnut pieces
2 cups cilantro leaves, washed, drained and stemmed
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1. Put the walnuts in a food processor and grind them fine.

2. Add the cilantro, jalapeño, salt, vinegar and 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and blend. Blend in a little more water if necessary to make a thick sauce. Taste and correct the seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.

Sweet Potatoes With Pecans and Parmesan

In a weak moment of curious consumerism, I once subscribed to the online tips from the folks at Real Simple magazine. I found that the tips did anything but simplify my life, always consisting of multiple approaches to the "problem" of either acquiring new items that I didn't realize I lacked, or finding ways to better organize stuff that wasn't really needed in the first place! But as a sucker for a list promising "15 All-time Favorite Fall Casseroles" (or something like that), I happily stumbled across the dish that was the hit of the vegan Thanksgiving gathering I recently attended.

This particular recipe is not vegan, but I "simply" substituted vegan parmesan and was not disappointed! A variety of vegan parmesan recipes are scattered throughout the food blogosphere. I blanched 1/2 c. almonds, sliced them, then pulsed them in a food processor with 2-3 T. nutritional yeast, 1/2-3/4 t. salt and some lemon zest. Thanks Veganomicon for that!

Veganized or not, do try this recipe- it is "simply" delicious! ( And thanks to Real Simple for finally being a little useful. Guess I won't cancel quite yet. :-)

Hands-on Time: 15m

Total Time: 1hr 10m

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1⁄4-inch-thick rounds
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Oil a shallow 2 ½- to 3-quart baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the Parmesan, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper; transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake until tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the pecans, sugar, thyme, cayenne, the remaining tablespoon of oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.

4. Remove the foil from the baking dish, sprinkle the pecan mixture over the potatoes, and continue to bake, uncovered, until the pecans are toasted, 10 to 12 minutes.

Tip

This dish is delicious with a variety of nuts. If you don’t like pecans, try almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, or a mixed-nut combination.

Nutritional Information

Calories 297; Fat 16g; Sat

Curried Sweet Potatoes with Spinach and Chickpeas

Vegetarian Times Issue: September 1, 1999 p.32

Always rinse canned chickpeas (and other beans) before using to reduce the sodium content and improve their flavor.

Ingredient List

6 servings

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 scallions (white and light green parts), thinly sliced
• 1 to 2 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 10 to 12 oz. fresh spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 2 large sweet potatoes (about 2 lbs.), peeled and diced
• 16- to 20-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes

Directions

1. In large saucepan fitted with steamer basket, bring 2 inches water to a boil over high heat. Add sweet potatoes, cover and cook until just tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in another large saucepan, combine chickpeas, tomatoes and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add spinach, cover and cook just until wilted, about 3 minutes.
3. Stir in sweet potatoes, cilantro, scallions, curry powder, cumin, cinnamon and salt to taste until well combined. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until flavors have blended, about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information

Per serving: Calories: 278, Protein: 8g, Total fat: 2g, Saturated fat: g, Carbs: 59g, Cholesterol: mg, Sodium: 392mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugars: g

Apple Pie with Hazelnuts and Dried Sour Cherries

3/4 c. dried tart cherries
1/2 c. merlot

crust
3 1/4 c. flour
3 sticks chilled unsalted butter
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2/3 c. ice water

filling
4 lb. golden delicious apples ( about 12 cups)
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. hazelnuts chopped

1 egg beaten w/ 1 T. water
2 T sugar

1. The day before: Bring cherries and merlot to boil. Remove from heat and cool. Let stand overnight.

For crust:
1. Combine flour, butter, sugar, and salt until small clumps form. Drizzle ice water over mixture until dough just comes together.
2. Gather dough into ball and divide into 2 pieces and flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Let dough disk stand 15 minutes to soften. Roll into 13 in. round dough. Transfer to 9 in. deep dish pie pan. Chill at least 30 min.

For filling:
1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Toss apples, 1/3 c. sugar and cinnamon in bowl to combine. Transfer to large rimmed sheet. Roast until apples soften slightly, about 15 minutes. Cool.
3. Reduce oven temp. to 425.
4. Toss cherries, apples and hazelnuts to combine.
5. Let second disk stand 15 minutes and roll out to 13 in. round.
6. Transfer filling to dough lined pie pan. Brush edge of crust with egg. Drape dough over filling and crimp edges. Slash top. Brush dough with egg glaze and sprinkle with sugar.
7. Bake 30 minutes. Be sure to put pie on cookie sheet to keep juices from bubbling onto oven bottom. Reduce oven temp. to 350. Tent pie with foil. Continue baking about 25 minutes more.

Joan's Sweet Potato Stew

This recipe comes from Joan Bailey, former Frog Holler Farm intern now living in Japan :-(. Joan keeps us posted on local food, Japanese style, as well as green and conscious food initiatives around the globe. Check out her blog Popcorn Homestead.

This recipe is so tasty, doubling is strongly recommended. If not finished at first serving, you won't be sorry that you have leftovers!

Here are Joan's directions:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups (or one whole medium to large onion) chopped a bit coarsely
2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger (without is ok, too, but it is a lovely addition)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2-3 medium to largeish peeled sweet potatoes, cubed
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 cups of orange juice
1 15 ounce can of black beans (2 is good, too) rinsed and drained
Salt to taste

Heat the oil in the soup pan, throw in the onion, and cook covered until the onion is well-cooked and soft. I find the longer I cook it (without burning it) the better. Throw in the garlic, ginger, and cumin, and cover again. Toss in the cubed sweet potatoes, stir, and add the orange juice. I tend to add orange juice until the mixture is covered and the sweet potato bits are swimming a little. Then I throw in the beans, and let it simmer along until the sweet potatoes are soft.

Editor's note: Optional alternative: Cook beans separately with bay leaf, or just hold off on adding the canned black beans. Follow other directions and when sweet potatoes are soft, use immersion blender to puree soup to desired level of homogeneity. Add black beans, adjust seasoning, add salt as desired, and simmer a bit longer.

Ribollita

I had a number of beans in my freezer and used a few of them here. Yes, you can even see some flageolets in there. But when starting from scratch, I usually opt for cannellini. On the bread front, I used a loaf of two-day-old whole wheat bread, but have at times opted for ciabatta. Canned beans can be used here, the equivalent is roughly two 15-ounce cans. Look for cavolo nero - a craggy evergreen-hued kale that might also be labeled lacinato or Tuscan kale.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 celery stalks, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots or equiv. winter squash, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 14-ounce / 400 ml can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 pound / 16 ounces / 450g cavolo nero (lacinato kale, Tuscan kale), stems trimmed off and leaves well chopped

4 cups / 22 oz / 620g cooked white beans
1/2 pound / 8 oz / 225g crustless loaf of bread
1 1/2+ teaspoons fine grain sea salt
zest of one lemon
lots of well-chopped oily black olives

In your largest thick-bottomed pot over medium heat combine the olive oil, celery, garlic, carrot, and red onion. Cook for 10 -15 minutes sweating the vegetables, but avoid any browning. Stir in the tomatoes and red pepper flakes, and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, long enough for the tomatoes to thicken up a bit. Stir in the cavolo nero, 3 cups of the beans, and 8 cups / 2 liters water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the greens are tender, about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, mash or puree the remaining beans with a generous splash of water - until smooth. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks. Stir both the beans and bread into the soup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the bread breaks down and the soup thickens, 20 - 30 minutes. Stir in the salt, taste and add more if needed. Stir in the lemon zest.

Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate overnight. Serve reheated, or "ribollita" meaning reboiled, the next day ladled into bowls. Finish each serving with a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped olives.

Makes a large pot of soup - enough for 10 servings.

Brown Butter Tortelli

from Heidi Swanson, of the blog 101 Cookbooks:
I used a dozen big, chubby fresh tortelli here. You can certainly use ravioli. The ones I used were stuffed with ricotta al limone, but a bit later in the year I can imagine substituting winter squash / pumpkin tortelli/tortellini/raviolis - about 1/3 pound / 150g for 2 servings.

one dozen fresh tortelli pasta
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
fine grain sea salt
grated zest of one lemon

2 - 3 big handfuls of torn arugula or other bitter/spicy greens

plenty of grated fresh pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook tortelli per package instructions, or until the pasta floats, in well-salted water. Then drain, reserving a small cup of the pasta water.

In the meantime, place the butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the butter has browned and is very fragrant and nutty smelling. Remove from heat, and let it cool off for a minute or so. Whisk in the vinegar, a couple pinches of salt, and most of the lemon zest.

Add the cooked pasta to the brown butter pan and toss gently. Add a tiny, tiny splash of the reserved pasta water and toss again. Add the arugula, then turn out immediately into individual bowls or a serving platter topped with a bit of cheese and the remaining lemon zest.