Ypsi Cooks

Two weeks ago, scratch that, last October (I've had a hard time getting to back to the computer with the cookbook in hand to finish this post, but I just told a friend about one of the recipes below, so I figured I MUST finish this post now) we had some of our first squash of the season. Hearty, sweet and full of great nutrients, it's hard to go wrong. Pretty much every time we turn on the oven, we cook up a squash with whatever else is going in. It reduces energy consumption and guarantees that there is always some squash in the fridge to heat up. 1. A squash and spinach galette. 2. Cheese ravioli with squash sauce, walnuts and goat cheese. 3. Vegetarian pot pie with squash base. Oh yeah. Looking forward to making some stuffed acorn squash soon. We'll keep you posted. Read more for recipes.Squash & Spinach Galette
1 pie crust (we use 1/2 whole wheat flour or more in ours)
2-3 c. cooked squash
1 cup cooked spinach
1/2 cup ricotta
Salt & Pepper
1/2 t. nutmeg
Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350/400. Spread the rolled pie crust on a cookie sheet. Thoroughly mix the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the parmesan. Shred a fair layer of parmesan onto the center 9″ of crust. Glob the filling on top. Fold over the edges to create a freeform pie. Bake for 30-45 mins until the crust is golden. Let stand a few min before serving.

Autumn Ravioli
1 lb dried cheese ravioli
2-3 cups squash (we used 1/2 a butternut and 1/2 a buttercup. 1 small buttercup should do)
3-4 shallots, sliced
Oil for sauteing
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 oz cream cheese
1/4 c. broth

Salt and pepper
goat cheese
1/4 c walnuts
1 tbsp butter, optional
1 tbsp brown sugar

Boil ravioli in a generous amount of water. Saute the shallots until beginning to caramelize. Add chopped garlic, saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Empty pan into food processor. Put stock in pan, add cream cheese. Break up the cream cheese and stir until heated through. Add the squash if it's cold. Empty pan into food processor. Blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss sauce with drained pasta. Sprinkle with goat cheese & walnuts (melt butter & brown sugar in a pan and cook chopped walnuts for a min or two, if desired). Serve with a green salad or some broccoli. Baked apples would be a delicious dessert!

Deluxe Vegitarian Pot Pie in spired by Wynell's Pie from Sunday's at Moosewood Resturant.
Base: 2-3 cup squash, seasoned to taste (nutmeg, salt, pepper, maple syrup would all be good…). Smooth into the bottom of a large casserole dish (9×13 or a bit larger)

Filling (all veggies coarsely chopped/sliced):
1 large onion
2 carrots
1-2 med. potato
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t dried marjoram
1 cup mushrooms
1/2 c frozen peas
1/2 c frozen corn or beans

Sauté the onions w/ some oil until soft. Add carrots, potato and herbs and cook, covered for about 10 min, stirring frequently. Stir in remaining veggies and continue to cook, covered until the carrot are just tender. Gently spoon on top of the squash.

Sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
salt & pepper

Melt butter, stir in flour until smooth and stir constantly about 3 min. Mix in milk and seasonings and continue to stir until thickened, but do not boil. Remove from heat and add cheese. Stir until melted, season with salt and pepper. Pour over the vegetables.

Crust:
1 pie crust, preferably made with at least 1/2 whole wheat flour.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 4th, 2009 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Things we Made. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.