Make Ravioli At Home–Susanne Jensen Shows Us How

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Editor’s Note: My friend Susanne Jensen is a natural foods chef who’s had a long and varied career, including having been both a student and teacher at the Kushi Institute in Massachusetts. Currently, she teaches cooking at Willard Middle School in Berkeley. She’s the one responsible for the delicious ravioli we enjoyed at my open house last week. In this guest post, she shares her insights into making ravioli– her recipes and step-by-step photos are after the jump.

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Making ravioli is something fairly new to me. It started a few years ago, when I had to find a fun and creative bean recipe for my middle school students. We had done bean soups, bean chili, bean burgers and beans for burritos, but needed a new recipe. I came upon White Bean Ravioli in Peter Berley’s book  Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. I purchased a few pasta makers and off we went on a bean ravioli adventure. The students made dough, bean filling, rolled out the dough, stuffed the dough with filling, cut and cooked. At the end we all sat down to a feast of bean ravioli. Even the most reluctant bean eater enjoyed these raviolis. At home I have now expanded the repertoire to squash ravioli, cheese ravioli (for my daughter, who loves cheese) and the  newest:  fish ravioli, which was invented this week inspired by a piece of left over fish and some left over squash.  There are really no limitations, other than the imagination, to the varieties of ravioli one can make.  Bon Appetit!

In the recipe for Gary’s New Years open house, I used butternut, carnival and red kuri squash. Any variety or mixtures of squash can be used for this recipe. I prefer the sweeter kinds. I cut the squash in half, removed the seeds and roasted the squash on a baking sheet, open side facing down, for about 35-40 minutes at 400˚F. Once the squash was soft, I scooped it out of the skin and blended it in a food processor.

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Produce Superstars: Red Kuri Squash Shines In This Simple Miso Soup

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I awoke this morning wondering (among other things) what to do with the half of a red kuri squash which had been lounging in my fridge for a week.  I knew that, while it was still good, it wasn’t getting any better and needed to be used. As far as I’m concerned, winter squash and miso soup are made for each other. For one thing, winter squash is in season as the days grow cooler, just as our appetites turn to soup.  For another, their natural sweetness contrasts wonderfully with miso’s mellow saltiness. And while all winter squash are versatile and easy to like, I find red kuris to be especially sweet and flavorful (I’ve written about them here). Having said that, if you find an especially good looking butternut, kabocha, or buttercup squash at your market, any of those would be a fine substitute. You’ll also appreciate that, aside from the squash and  green onions, the ingredients in this recipe  you probably have in your pantry already. Try this soup for breakfast, lunch or dinner– it’s a comforting addition to any meal.

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Winter Veggies: Moroccan Spiced Carnival Squash

Carnival squash are new to me and so beautiful, I just had to try them. They’re smaller (5-7 inches in diameter) than many winter squash, but they can be treated much the same. Here’s a simple recipe to try while last year’s squash are still around.