A Taste of Holidays: Cannelloni al Pesto

As someone use to sing "All good things come to an end" and so it happens to the holidays too. I know we wouldn't appreciate them as much if we'd be on holidays all the time, but it takes a certain kick in the behind to go back to work after enjoying a couple weeks of rest.
No clock to watch, no appointment to get to, just living on your own rythm, following the sun and your mood, does make your life feel smoother and peacefull.

Hopefully we all keep something from that inner peace and quiet that lives with us during that time, and take it with us to our daily lives. Obviously I need to watch the time again and follow my schedule, but beside that trying not to multi-task all the time, enjoying some time to just do nothing or do what I want instead of what I'm supposed to, is something I will try to apply to my daily life.

Holidays also mean time to cook, not that I don't take time the rest of the year (I have a food blog afterall!!), but cooking in a different place, not having to be finished at a certain time, always makes it a bit different.
Last month's daring kitchen challenge made us choose from the archive, and this recipe from the daring cook section immediatly sounded appealing: Cannelloni al Pesto! Without my pasta machine, it took a bit of work with the rolling pin, and even if it didn't end up as thin as with the machine, the cannelloni were lovely and tasted like holidays!

Cannelloni al Pesto

EGG PASTA

Ingredients (to make enough cannelloni for 4 persons):
100 grams (2/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons) (170 ml) (3½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 large egg

Directions: 1. Put the flour and eggs in a food processor and mix. When the dough looks like crumbs, pour it onto the bench top sprinkled with a little flour. Knead well by hand until you obtain a smooth dough. Make it into a ball, wrap it in cling wrap and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
2. Now you are ready to make your egg pasta. Cut out a piece of egg pasta dough and flatten it into a rectangular shape with your hands. Put a little flour on it and begin passing it though the pasta machine. Turn the dial to the widest setting (#1) and, starting with one of the shorter sides of the rectangle, feed it through the rollers. Now fold one side of the piece of dough into the middle, then fold the other side over that to form 3 layers. Starting with one of the narrower sides of the folded dough, feed the pasta through the machine, again at the widest setting. Repeat the folding and rolling technique on the widest setting for at least a couple of times.
3. Now you can start rolling it thinner, by turning the dial to the next narrowest setting (# 2). Roll the pasta through the machine without folding the dough between settings. Keep reducing the settings until #7 (it is the second last on my machine – about 1 mm thick). If the sheet of pasta gets too long, you can cut it in half with a knife. To make cannelloni, cut out rectangular pasta sheets (10x15 cm) (4”x6”).

BÉCHAMEL SAUCE

Ingredients (enough to make cannelloni for 4 people):
2 cups (500 ml) milk, hot
3½ tablespoons (52½ ml) (50 gm) (1¾ oz) butter
1/3 cup (80 ml) (50 gm) (1¾ oz) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 pinch salt
1 pinch nutmeg

Directions: 1. Put the butter in a non-stick pot and let it melt. Add the flour and whisk constantly until well incorporated: this is the “roux”. Let it cook for a minute or two.
2. Now start adding hot milk little by little, while mixing continuously until the milk is well incorporated. Do not add more milk unless it is well incorporated. Keep doing so until all the milk is incorporated.
3. Add salt and nutmeg and cook it on a low flame for 10 minutes or until it thickens.
4. When ready, cover it to prevent a film to appear on the surface.

CANNELLONI AL PESTO

Ingredients (serves 4)
Cannelloni sheets per recipe above (you should have about 8 sheets)

For pesto (makes about 190 gms/ 1cup)
2 cups (480 ml) (80 gm) (2¾ oz) basil, washed
¼ cup (60 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) parsley, washed
1 small clove garlic
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (25 gm) (¾ oz) Pecorino Romano, finely grated
1 tablespoons (15 ml) (10 gm) (¼ oz) Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
4 to 5 tablespoons (45 to 60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon (12½ ml) (5 gm) pine nuts
Salt to taste

For the filling
2 cups (480 ml) (500 gm) (18 oz) ricotta
¾ cup (180 ml) (150 gm) (5⅓oz) pesto (from the above recipe)
1½ cups (360 ml) (85 gm/3 oz) Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
1 pinch nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small potato, boiled and sliced
8 green beans, boiled

To assemble
2 cups (500 ml) béchamel sauce
¼ cup (60 ml) (40 gm) (1½ oz) of pesto (from the above recipe)
½ cup (120 ml) (35 gm/1 oz) Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated

Directions: 1. Start by making pesto. Simply blend the garlic, pine nuts, salt, basil, parsley and half the extra virgin olive oil together (I use a hand blender to do this) until obtaining a fine paste. Transfer to a bowl, add the grated cheeses and the remaining extra virgin olive oil and mix well. Adjust salt to taste and cover it with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil to prevent oxidation. Keep it aside.
2. To make the filling, mix the ricotta, ¾ cup (150 gm) of pesto, 1½ cups (85 gm/3 oz) of Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, salt and pepper together until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Mix the béchamel sauce with the remaining pesto.
4. Put a large pot with salty water on the fire and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta sheets in it for 1 minute. Do this in batches (I use a shallow but large pot and I cook them in 1 layer, so I am sure they do not stick together). Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them on a clean tea towel to cool down.
5. Now take one sheet of cooked pasta and put 1/8 of the filling along the long side of the rectangle. Put 1 boiled green bean and 1 or 2 slices of boiled potatoes on top and roll the pasta over to make a cannellone. Do so for the remaining rectangles of pasta.
6. Take a big enough oven dish to fit all your cannelloni tightly. Spray the oven dish with some cooking oil (or melted butter) and pour some béchamel and pesto sauce on the bottom. Spread it well, especially in the corners. Put the cannelloni in the oven dish on 1 layer.
7. Cover the cannelloni with the béchamel and pesto sauce and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup (120 ml) (35 gm/1 oz) of Parmigiano Reggiano.
8. Bake them in a pre-heated moderate oven 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes, then broil (grill) them at 400°F/200°C for another 5 minutes.
9. Serve immediately.

Avocado Pasta

I believe in indulging our cravings, afterall, why should that only work for pregnant women? There are enough frustration we have to deal with on a daily basis, not to have some more when we come to the kitchen. Obviously, that doesn't mean diving spoon first into a huge pot of Nutella (and no, I've almost never done that).

I was in the mood for avocado, which I don't have that often, because I try to stay reasonnable with the "exotic" fruits and vegetables. So an avocado and shrimp salad was on the menu of a lovely diner, but then I was left with with one extra avocado, so I just started browsing thru picture (that's how I mostly choose recipes over the internet) and came accross this creamy avocado pasta recipe.

Expressions like "it is to die for" or "heaven on a plate", always seems like a bit of an exageration. But without going this far, this is damn good for something so easy. The oily consistancy of the avocado  replaces the olive oil you'd use to make some pesto, garlic gives it taste and lemon a bit of a kick. This is a must try!

Avocado Pasta (from a recipe of Oh She Glows)

Serves 2

150gr of Soba Noodles (or any pasta)
1 Avocado
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon of Kosher Salt
10 Leaves of Fresh Basil
Freshly Ground Pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil in order to cook your pasta or noodles.

In the meantime, prepare the sauce in a food processor: blend the avocado, the garlic, the lemon juice, the salt and basil together until it's nice and creamy.

Sieve the pasta and serve dividing the sauce and add some freshly ground pepper to taste. See easy peasy!

Mushroom Lasagna

I'm not a supersticious person, or at least not to a point it prevents from stepping outside. Sure I try to avoid walking under ladders or opening an umbrella inside, I even have clothes or coins I believe are lucky, but that's about it.
But so far this year, I bruised (or maybe even cracked) a bone and I have been knocked out by a quite bad virus. And this is only january... Than it hitted me, we are in 2013! Like 2013...

Good thing that a friend of mine got me a "luck calendar", with good luck advices and quotes. Let's see how it gets me thru the year. Plus to focus on the positiv side, I also have a new favorit toy in my kitchen: the kenwood triblade and it's full accesories pack, I particularly like the little blender that comes with it: handy and easy to clean.

So to get back to something reliable in this crazy hazy days, I picked one of my favorit cookbook up: Bryn's Kitchen. Flicking thru it, the Mushroom Lasagna sounded like something I wanted to try. The results on picture is fairly unimpressiv, it lacks of height. I think making it smaller with one more layer is a good option. Nevertheless this is flavor packed, if you like mushroom obviously, I think it could take a few onions and parsley, but I stuck to the original recipe for this first try.

Mushroom Lasagna (from "Bryn's Kitchen")

Serves 2

for the pasta
10ml Olive Oil
1 Egg
150gr Flour
A pinch of Salt

for the filling
25gr of Butter
500gr of Mushroom (Button or cream)
1 Tablespoon of Thym
Salt, Pepper
100ml of Cream
2gr of Agar-Agar
Parmesan

Make the pasta, using a blender (or by hand, but it will take more time) blitz the ingredients together, until it has a crumbly consistency, than tip it on you worksurface and start bringing it together. Add a bit of water until you have a smooth dough. Wrap it in clingfilm, place it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out your pasta dough , preferably using a machine. I used the kitchenaid attachement, and rolled it out to size 6 (2 stops from the finest one). Lay the pasta sheet on a clean towel. I've cut the pasta sheet to roughly the size of my dish. Now cook them in boiling salted water for 1 minute and place them immediatly in a bowl with cold water. Once cooled, take them out and leave them on the clean towel, or kitchen towel, to dry.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Peel and slice the mushroom. In a large saucepan, on a medium heat, melt the butter and add the mushroom with the thyme, keep stiring every now and then for about 10 minutes, until the water is evaporated. Add salt and pepper.

Take half of the mushroom out, then pour the cream on the remaining mushroom in the saucepan, cook for a couple of minutes. This is the mixture you need to pour into your blender, adding the agar-agar. Mix until you have a smooth purée.

Now combine the mushroom purée with the slices of mushroom you saved, and set aside to start making the lasagna.
Grease the baking dish you are going to use, make a first layer of pasta, and spread half the mushroom filling on top. Place a second layer of pasta, and the second half of the mushroom. Finish with a last layer of pasta, that you wil sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan.

Place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, cut into portions and serve with a green salad.

Back from the forest: Trumpet of the dead cream sauce

Some time ago, I saw on TV that if you ask children to draw a fish, some of them actually draw a square or a rectangle, or whatever shape they get when they order (what passes for) fish in big fast food chains... Is it just me or is that plain scary?
Now I didn't grew up on a farm either, I've never milked a cow or butchered a pig (I'm thankfull for that actually). Beside cherry tomatoes or some fresh herbs I grow, I'm not much of a provider myself.

But a few weeks ago I had the chance to go mushroom hunting again, which I hadn't done since I was a child I think. And it's been so nice, walking around in a peacefull, sunbathed, quiet forest, looking for what nature has to offer us.
Trumpet of the dead is what I came home with. Once cleaned, they have been dried in the oven (door open, 50°C with fan, for about an hour) and store in glass jars for the winter.

Of course it means getting up at dawn on a sunday morning, walking a few kilometers in the cold, but it's so much more rewarding than queueing at the check out line of the supermarket.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cave person, quite the opposite, ask my friends: I'm such a geek. But I think it's important to know that fish don't have the shape of a rectangle, that peas don't grow in tin cans or that bread should not come in a plastic bag with a list of 23 ingredients in it.

Pasta with Trumpet of the Dead Cream Sauce

serves 1

60gr of Pasta (orechiette)
20gr of Dried Trumpet of the dead
Hot Water
10cl of Cream
1 Small Shallot
1/2 a Clove of Garlic
1 Teaspoon of Cornstarch
2 Tablespoons of Fresh Parsley
Butter
Salt, Pepper

In a bowl, rehydrate the mushrooms with some hot water. This should take about 20 minutes.

Heat up some salted water to cook the pasta, according to what the packaging is saying.

Chop the shallot  and the garlic as finely as possible, in a non-sticky pan slowly heat up some butter and add the shallot and garlic and stir for a few minutes.

Drain the mushrooms, but keep 10cl of the water you used to rehydrate them. Add the mushrooms in the pan, stir (still on a low heat) for a few minutes.

In the 10cl of water you kept from the mushrooms, add the cornstarch and stir to dissolve it. Pour this, aswell as the cream on top of the mushrooms. Keep stiring for a few minutes, until the sauce has the wished consistency. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

Drain the cook pasta and serve with the sauce on top, to finish sprinkle the freshly chopped parsley on top. Instead of pasta, you could serve this white meat or game if you like.

Pasta and Cheese, some other way

I don't have much of a green thumb. I killed a cactus once, but only with good intention: I gave it too much water... In my defense it did look dry. (Now i'm wondering if I already told that story... Gosh my brain is fried these days).
But I really want to make it better and improve. So now that I have some space outside, I started a little herb garden. With mixed results so far, but it's really nice to cut some fresh herbs and directly add them to a dish.
I'm also looking forward for some cherry tomatoes that my mum gave me. They start to blossom, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some red delicious vegetables (well, technically, fruits...).

Though I now make most of my pastas, I still like to buy the ones with a shape that I'm not skilled enough to form by myself, like those conchiglioni. A huge sized pasta in the shape of a shell to fill up with, for instance, a ricotta spinach mixture.
Here I wanted to use the fresh herbs with some goat cheese for a try. It's really not a "light" dish, I would advice you to go easy with the filling, even if it feels funny to dine on, literally, 4 pastas, it's plenty enough with a salad on the side.

Conchiglioni with Goat Cheese and Herbs Stuffing

serves 2

8 Conchiglioni (depending on the size)
100gr of Fresh Goat Cheese
4 Tablespoons of Freshly chopped Herbs (Minth, Sage, Chive, Rosemary, Thym...)
30gr of Parmigiano
Olive Oil
Pepper

Cook the pasta according to the instruction on the package, about 18 minutes in boiling salted water in this case. Be careful to stir every now and than, so it doesn't stick.
Drain the pasta in a colander, and pour cold water over them to stop them from cooking.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put all the herbs on a cutting board, and using a mezzaluna, chop them finely. Combine them with the fresh goat cheese. I wouldn't put any salt, as goat cheese is salty already, maybe a little bit of pepper, but try it and season it to your tastes.

Using a spoon, fill the conchiglioni with the cheese, not all the way up, and place them in an oiled oven dish. Grate the Parmigiano on top and place it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Serve with a green salad.