Proud Italian Cook

Butternut Squash Noodles with Sausage, Mushrooms and Kale

September 23, 2014 by Marie 11 Comments

Here I go again with my Spiralizer, but this time it’s all about butternut squash “noodles”! As soon as fall arrives you’ll always see a butternut squash or two sitting on my counter, it’s my favorite squash, it’s so versatile and easy to incorporate into so many meals.

If you did a search on my blog you would see how often I cook with it. I’ve made ravioli, polenta, lasagna, tarts, salads, pizza, I could go on and on and one of my most popular recipes, butternut squash gnocchi, I always get requests for it.

I like using a Spiralizer because you really get spaghetti like strands, in the past I’ve used a julienne peeler and while that works pretty good you don’t get that curly continuous look of real spaghetti. A good tip to remember when making spiralized butternut squash is to pick a squash on the smaller size that has a long neck on it, because basically you’ll just be using the neck of the squash, just dice and roast up the bulb part for something else.

See how long and curly the strands are? It’s a wonderful thing!

You’ll have to slightly roast the squash beforehand by placing the “noodles” on a baking sheet, tossed and drizzled with olive oil, a little salt and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for a mere five minutes or so. I personally like to check them as they’re roasting by taking my tongs and tossing them just to make sure they don’t over cook, you want them slightly limp with no signs of burning, they’re delicate. You’re not looking for mushy and overdone, you want al’dente like pasta.

I added crumbles of spicy Italian sausage that I pre-cooked, roasted mushrooms and kale that was sauteed in olive oil, minced garlic and red pepper flakes.

Gently toss everything together and add a ton of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and another pass of your best olive oil.

This is heaven in on a plate!

11 Comments Filed Under: Fall, Greens, Vegetables Tagged: butternut squash, butternut squash noodles, gluten free, kale, Spiralizer, squash noodles

Gnocchi with Swiss Chard and Ricotta

September 16, 2014 by Marie 9 Comments

As soon as there’s a chill in the air I have the urge to make gnocchi, I don’t know why, but I just do. So on a cool, dark, dreary Sunday I whipped up a batch.

I’m partial to ricotta based gnocchi instead of the potato ones, they’re light as a cloud and melt in your mouth plus you can get a batch together in no time at all.

This time I wanted to add some Swiss chard to mine, I still have a ton growing in my garden and since I’ve done kale gnocchi before I’d thought I’d try it with chard.

You don’t need a bunch of chard because a little goes along way. Rinse it really good then blanch it for a few minutes, the key thing to remember is make sure you squeeze out all that excess water because you don’t want super wet greens added into your dough. I use my potato ricer for squeezing, it works wonders!

Making gnocchi isn’t difficult, it’s all about how that dough feels, you don’t want a sticky dough, it can be slightly tacky but that’s about it. Make sure to drain your ricotta, some deli ricotta can be very wet so you’ll want to make sure to drain it really good, otherwise you’ll be adding too much flour and your gnocchi will tastes like lead!

Add your flour a little at a time, you might need more or less than the recipe calls for, you’ll know by the feel of it.

A simple marinara always goes well with gnocchi but this time I added a little roasted red pepper puree into mine, ( roast a couple of red peppers then puree them with a little olive oil in a food processor) and we loved it even more, it was a match made in pillowy cloud heaven!

I also tossed some into a warm garlic butter sauce using just two tablespoons of butter, one small chopped garlic clove and the juice and zest of one lemon, I added diced and roasted zucchini along with freshly grated parmesan cheese, delish!

The main thing to remember is that the sauce is just a compliment, the gnocchi is always the star of the show!

My Ricotta Gnocchi recipe can be found HERE, just replace the kale with Swiss chard.

9 Comments Filed Under: Fall, Fresh Pasta, Greens Tagged: gnocchi, lemon parmesan sauce, red pepper sauce, swiss chard

Kaleslaw with Kale-onaise

September 8, 2014 by Marie 9 Comments

Our garden is still overflowing with kale so I’m always looking for different ways to use it up. Kale thrives in cool weather so I know I’ll have plenty for upcoming soups and stews this fall, at least until the first frost hits us, but for now I’m still on a salad kick.

Recently I bought a cook book called, Fifty Shades of Kale, catchy title don’t you think? Anyway, it got my attention plus the fact that it had 50 unique and different recipes for kale. One that I wanted to try right away was this colorful dish of Kaleslaw. It’s a little twist on traditional coleslaw where the cabbage is replaced with sturdy leaves of shredded kale.

It’s the perfect side dish sitting next to any kind of meat you might be serving, we had it with pork chops and chicken but it’s even great all by itself for a nice hardy lunch.

The book also had a recipe for kale-onaise which they suggested you use with the kaleslaw, it’s mayo based with lots of chopped kale added in along with lemon, lemon zest and garlic, not only did I use it for the kaleslaw, I started scooping it into my deviled eggs and chicken salads, it’s so good and it’s even better as it sits in the fridge for a day or two.

I adapted the original recipe and added more veggies that was called for, along with toasted sliced almonds for added crunch, it was a hit!

All you kale lovers out there, make this for yourself, make this for your family or serve it up at your next party, you’re going to love it!

Kaleslaw with Kale-onaise

Ingredients

1 large bunch of kale, stemmed and chopped in shreds
1 large handful of coarsely shredded carrots
1 whole red pepper, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
½ yellow pepper, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
½ orange pepper, cored, seeded and cut into thin strips
½ red onion sliced into thin strips
1 handful of shredded purple cabbage
¼ cup of toasted sliced almonds
Kale-onaise to coat your kale and veggie mix , the amount is up to you.
KALE-ONAISE INGREDIENTS
2 cups of packed and chopped kale
2 garlic cloves, chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 cup of organic mayonnaise
pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

For the KALESLAW, place kale and all veggies into a large bowl, add kale-onaise and toss well.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight before serving.
For the KALE-ONAISE, in a food processor, combine the kale, salt, pepper and garlic. Process until finely chopped.
Add the mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, process until nice and smooth.
Store in the fridge like regular mayonnaise.