Proud Italian Cook

Mushroom Marsala with Cipollini and Thyme

September 16, 2013 by Marie 28 Comments

My husband is the official taste tester around here so when I see him take a bite, close his eyes, move his head from side to side I know I’ve made something really good, that’s exactly what he did when he tasted this dish! We’re all familiar with Chicken Marsala, Veal Marsala and I even make Pork Chop Marsala, but in this dish there is no meat and you won’t miss it one bit because the star of the show that gets to soak up the creamy Marsala sauce is the pasta, along with some wonderful earthy mushrooms and those adorable saucer shaped cipollini!

Recently I was asked to be a part of the La Cucina Italiana Blogger Ambassador panel which was very exciting for me since I have been an avid reader of their magazine for years, and I have the stacks of them to prove it! They also invited me to participate in The Dish your Blog with Delverde Recipe Challenge. They sent me a sample of three different cuts of pasta and I was to choose one, then create a recipe with the cut of my choice. If I win I get to go to New York City and share my pasta recipe with the world! If I don’t win, guess what, you’re getting the recipe here anyway.

You can use any mushrooms you so desire for this dish, the more of a variety the better, I hand picked some shitake and crimini so they would all be about the same size but if I would have found some good looking oyster mushrooms I would have added those too. The sauce consists of Marsala wine, garlic and thyme with mascarpone cheese to thicken it up. I also added cipollini, which are small saucer shaped onions, the Italian version of a pearl onion.

The pasta shape I chose was Delverde’s Mezzi Rigatoni, handmade flavor artisinal pasta half the size of traditional rigatoni. Short and stocky with a nice bite, it was the perfect match for the other bite size ingredients.

All drenched in creamy Marsala sauce, who needs meat?

Mushroom Marsala with Cipollini and Thyme

Ingredients

Assorted mushrooms, a dozen of each kind, hand picked to keep them on the smaller size
8 cipollini, small
1¾ cup Marsala wine
1 heaping ¼ cup, mascarpone cheese
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon butter
fresh thyme and parsley
½ lb. cooked Delverde Mezzi Rigatoni

Instructions

Pre boil cipollini for 2 minutes with skins on then submerge in ice bath for easy peeling.
Heat oven to 400 degrees, then place all mushrooms and cipollini on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive, oil salt and pepper. Cook until caramelized around 10 minutes or so. Set aside.
In the meantime make your sauce by placing the garlic, butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a sauce pan, saute until garlic turns golden then pour in the Marsala and the thyme from one or two branches, let the alcohol cook down for a few minutes then whisk in the mascarpone cheese, reduce heat and slowly let the sauce thicken.
When the sauce thickens then add in your roasted and caramelized cipollini and mushrooms then toss in the cooked pasta, gently stirring to coat everything with the sauce.
Garnish with parsley and more thyme.
DISCLOSURE: This recipe is posted as an entry in the Delverde Dish Your Blog recipe contest to try to win a trip to NYC. Some entrants may have received free sample products in addition to the opportunity to compete for the prize.
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28 Comments Filed Under: Pasta, Vegetables Tagged: cipollini onions, Delverde pasta, mezzi rigatoni

Butternut Squash Cannelloni with Ricotta and Kale and a Lemony Sage Brown Butter Sauce

September 9, 2013 by Marie 35 Comments

It’s that time of year when you start seeing butternut squash all over the place, it’s my favorite kind of squash so I usually always have one on hand sitting on my counter ready and waiting for me whenever I need it. I’ve made scones with butternut squash, individual lasagna, stuffed shells, gnocchi, ravioli, tossed it in salads, soups, risotto’s. I made other lasagna, sformato, tarts and even pizza with it, and I’m sure I missed a few, but never stuffed it into cannelloni, until now! Fresh ricotta, kale, parmesan and a little lemon zest gets mixed into the tender baked squash for a very flavorful filling. Try to get a hold of some good quality fresh pasta sheets, you could make your own if you like especially if your doing it for a crowd or for the holidays but this is my quick mid-week version. I like to cut my store bought pasta sheets in half, I find the cannelloni gets too doughy otherwise. So for every sheet of pasta I can make two cannelloni. Spoon on a generous amount of filling then roll them up and place each one seam side down on a buttered baking dish.

When finished, spoon the nutty brown butter sage sauce that has a touch of lemon all over the cooked cannelloni, tossed together a nice salad, and dinner is ready!

Butternut Squash Cannelloni with Ricotta and Kale and a Lemony Sage Brown Butter Sauce

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash
1 package of good quality premade pasta sheets
1 lb. ricotta drained of liquid
¼ cup of chopped cooked kale, squeezed and drained (swiss chard or spinach will also work)
¾ cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 garlic clove, finely chopped and smashed
salt and pepper to taste
zest of 1 lemon
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1 stick unsalted butter
10 sage leaves
juice of ½ a lemon

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds. Add squash to a parchment lined baking sheet then drizzle both halves with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until tender and knife tip goes through easily, about 45-60 minutes. Let it cool completely then scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
Add ricotta, egg, grated cheese, garlic, zest and squash into a food processor and pulse, just until mixed. You can also whip it all together by hand.
Add in the chopped kale little by little folding in between, just making sure the greenness of the kale doesn't overwhelm the ricotta mixture.
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Cook pasta sheets for 2 minutes in boiling water, then cool them in an ice water bath. Drain on tea towels.
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For assembly, cut pasta sheet in half, my package had 8 sheets so I was able to make 16 cannelloni from it. Add filling then roll up placing them seam side down on a buttered baking dish.
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For the sauce, melt butter in a sauce pan on medium until bubbly and golden brown, throw in all 10 sage leaves, let them sizzle and get crisp.
Take sauce off heat and squeeze in juice from ½ lemon.
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Spoon a tiny bit of sauce on top of each shell and sprinkle each with grated parmesan or romano. Loosely cover with foil and place in 400 oven until filling is cooked, around 15 minutes, remove foil spoon remaining sauce on top along with the crispy sage leaves. Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove and enjoy!

35 Comments Filed Under: Fall, Fresh Pasta Tagged: butternut squash, cannelloni, ricotta

Grilled Onions with Thyme and Cream

September 3, 2013 by Marie 20 Comments

Even though summer is winding down there’s still plenty of time for grilling. I made these over the weekend, charred slabs of onions bathing in a shallow pool of cream and garlic. Pure decadence!
What is it about onions and cream, they’re such a perfect combo! I’m now adding this to another favorite onion recipe that I adore and previously did a post on back in 2011, my Roasted Parmesan Cream Onions, they’re always a big hit, so simple to make and a great side dish for the upcoming holidays. I think that’s why I was instantly drawn to this recipe when I saw it in Fine Cooking magazine, it’s similar but with grilled onions.

The grilled onions become super sweet when caramelized and then you have the smokiness of the grill which gives this dish a whole other flavor dimension. Who would ever think that the humble onion could transform into something so luxurious! Don’t stress about the cream, for 12 slices you only use 1/2 cup!