Since nurses have fun schedules and I will GET to work Valentine's Day until 2100, I made a romantic dinner tonight.
It took brainstorming through the week, planning for timing, planning for groceries, to making food half of the day.
I made Butternut Squash Tortelloni with Cranberry Walnut Sauce
This recipe is from Giada de Laurentiis' book, "Everday Pasta" with my special twists.
Husband comment: " this is Ludivine quality"
Click on Ludivine to understand.
The menu
The appetizer:
Liquid salad
1 cup spinach
1 cup almond milk, soy milk, or water
1-2 Tsp local raw honey
Blend it
Add a touch of mint extract to cleanse the palate.
The drink pairings were perfect with romantic cups.
To make the Tortelloni
1- butternut squash, 2 lbs, peeled and cut into cubes (yields about 3 cups)
Olive oil (recipe says 4 Tbsp- I use what I want)
1.5 tsp Italian seasoning (recipe called for herbes de Provence)
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 large shallots, chopped (yields about 0.5 cup)
2 garlic cloves chopped
1- cup cashew cheese (recipe called for whole-milk Ricotta cheese)
4 biscoff cookies, crushed (recipe called for amaretti cookies but couldn't find those and I <3 biscoff)
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg (recipe calls for freshly ground)
36 small square wonton wrappers
36 small square wonton wrappers
Step 1- The Filling
Preheat oven 375'. Toss butternut squash, enough olive oil to coat, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper together and spread on foil-lined baking sheet.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until soft and golden brown.
While this is baking, heat olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat and add the shallots and garlic for 3 minutes or until lightly golden.
In a food processor, combine roasted squash, the shallot mixture, and the cashew cheese and pulse a few times.
Add the crushed biscoff and the nutmeg and pulse until smooth.
Step 2- The Wrap
Lay out 6 wonton squares. Keep the others in the package to keep moist.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until soft and golden brown.
While this is baking, heat olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat and add the shallots and garlic for 3 minutes or until lightly golden.
In a food processor, combine roasted squash, the shallot mixture, and the cashew cheese and pulse a few times.
Add the crushed biscoff and the nutmeg and pulse until smooth.
Step 2- The Wrap
Lay out 6 wonton squares. Keep the others in the package to keep moist.
Place about half a tablespoon of the squash mixture in the middle of each wonton wrap. The recipe said to use a pasta brush...my kitchen isn't quite that sophisticated so I used a wet paper towel to wet all the edges of the square.
Fold the wrapper into a triangle, making sure the edges are securely closed and there are no air pockets inside.
Dampen the corners of the longest side of the triangle and gently bring them together, pressing lightly to secure. Place on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap.
These cute little guys kind of looked like hearts.
As you repeat these steps until all squash mixture is gone, make sure the work space is dry to prevent sticking.
Once ready and ready to serve, bring a large pot of salt water to a boil.
Make the sauce while the water is heating.
Once boiling, add the tortelloni. They will float when ready, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to plates.
Step 3- The Sauce
Cranberry Walnut Sauce
0.75 cup earthbalance vegan butter (recipe calls for unsalted butter)
2 Tbsp fresh sage, coarsly chopped
0.5 cup dried cranberries
0.5 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
0.25 tsp salt
0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper
(Recipe calls for 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese- I deleted)
Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.
Add the sage and cook until the butter starts to brown, about 3 minutes.
Turn of the heat and add the cranberries, walnuts, salt and pepper and stir.
Spoon over the ready tortelloni.
And dinner is served.
Guten Appetit!
Dessert was supposed to be a pear tartlet, but despite following directions to a T, the pears became part of the pan (overcooked).
Luckily I had a backup vegan chocolate torte in the fridge :)
Everything was lovely.
It was worth every bit of the work. Delish. One meal a year.
Confession: everything was vegan except the wonton wrappers.
A little egg, a little B-12!
i'm super curious about this liquid salad....
ReplyDeletei love the presentation of it in champagne flutes
The liquid salad was made in the blendtec blender. It was spinach and orange, peach, mango juice. I like to make these in the morning too. In the mornings I put soy milk for the protein and nutrients, hemp seeds, spinach, banana, mango and spinach- this is the perfect blend of nutrients to get you started.
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