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Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne

Cathy loves Butternut Squash with all kinds of pastas. She Googled Butternut Squash Lasagne and found a recipe Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne on Epicuirious.com. We made the Butternut mixture ahead of time and then assembled the lasagna when we were ready to make it, a few days latter.

We really liked this dish. The flavors and colors remind us that winter is approaching. It is a great treat to eat because of the crunchy texture of the nuts combined with the soft texture of the lasagna. We know we will make this lasagna again, perhaps we will add some bacon (my favorite seasoning). I think it will enhance it.

We used Lasagne from Rustichella d’abruzzo. It is hard to find, we bought ½ a case via Amazon. We think it is the best pasta and try to always use it.

We started with a Pear Salad. We use lettuce, blue cheese, almonds and topped with prosciutto and balsamic. It was our first pears of the season. The salad was a treat.

Epicurious.com

Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Active Time: 1 1/2 hr
Total Time: 2 1/2 hr

For squash filling
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz), toasted , loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and coarsely chopped

For sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups milk
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

For assembling lasagne
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz)
12 (7- by 3 1/2-inch) sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb)

Make filling:
Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling.

Make sauce while squash cooks:
Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.)

Assemble lasagne:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.
Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Cooks' note:
• Filling and sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling.

T and T Dinner (Tart and Tagine)

Bea came over for dinner. We made a recipe for Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton from the New York Times. I really liked it, very rich! It reminded Cathy and I of a Pizza we use to get at Café Quattro in San Francisco.

We then made a Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes from The Food of Morocco. Susan had recommended the cookbook to us. I loved this recipe. It was a combination of tastes of both Moroccan Spices and the sweetness of the Potatoes. The meat was extremely succulent. We used the Tagine maker that Courtney had given us, it gets very hot and steams the meat. Plus it is beautiful!

We served Couscous with it.





New York Times
________________________________________
September 30, 2009
Recipe
Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton
Time: 1 1/2 hours
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions (1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 sprig rosemary, more for garnish
Pinch sugar
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Flour for dusting
3/4 pound prepared puff pastry
1 pint fresh figs ( 3/4 pound), stemmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 1/2 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled (about 6 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Good-quality honey for drizzling, optional.
1. In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter with oil. Add onions, rosemary and sugar. Cook, tossing occasionally, until onions are limp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until smooth. Stir in the onions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Transfer to baking sheet.
3. Use a fork to spread onion mixture evenly over pastry (let excess egg mixture drip back into bowl), leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange figs, cut-side up, in even rows on onion mixture. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over figs. Use a pastry brush to dab edges of tart with egg mixture. Gently fold over edges of tart to form a lip and brush with more egg mixture.
4. Bake until pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with rosemary needles and drizzled with honey, if desired, warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 servings.

THE FOOD of Morocco
TAGINE LAHM BIL BATATA HELWA

BEEF TAGINE WITH SWEET POTATOES

USE THE ORANGE-FLESHED SWEET POTATO AS IT IS MEALY AND. SWEET, AND KEEPS ITS SHAPE COOKED. THE TAGINE IS FINISHED AND BROWNED IN. THE OVEN; IN TRADITIONAL MOROCCAN COOKING, IT WOULD BE COVERED WITH A METAL LID WITH GLOWING CHARCOAL PLACED ON TOP.

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) blade or chuck steak
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 tomatoes
500 g (1. lb 2 oz) orange sweet potatoes,

TRIM the steak of any fat and cut into 1 inch pieces. Heat half the oil in a saucepan and bi the. beef in batches over high heat, adding a more oil as needed. Set aside in a dish.

REDUCE the heat to low, add .the onion and the remaining oil to the pan and gently cook 10 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, ginger and paprika, cook for a few seconds, then add 1 teaspoon salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Return the beef to the pan, along wi parsley, coriander and 250 ml (9 fl oz / 1 cup) Cover and simmer over low heat for 11/2 hour until the meat is almost tender.

PEEL the tomatoes. To do this, score a cross in the base of each one using a knife. Put the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 20 seconds, then plunge into a bowl of cold water to cool. Remove from the water and peel the skin away from the cross the skin should slip off easily. Slice the tomatoes. Peel the sweet potatoes cut them into ¾ in chunks and leave in cold water until required, as this will prevent them discoloring. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

TRANSFER the meat and its sauce to the ovenproof serving dish (the base of tagine would be ideal). Drain the sweet potatoes and spread them on top of the beef. Top with the sliced tomatoes. Cover with foil (or the lid of the tagine) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 425 F and raise the tomatoes and sweet potatoes are flecked with brown and are served tender. Serve from the dish.

Last Pre-Indian Dinner

We decided to cook one last Indian dinner before going for the real thing. We made two of our favorite dishes. Goan Style Shrimp Curry is delicious and rich with coconut milk. I really like it. At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we bought beautiful large shrimp from the fish truck. I wonder if we will have lots of Goan Shrimp when we go to Goa on our next trip. Hope so! It will be interesting to see the difference. One difference, I am sure, is that it will be a lot spicier in Goa! We use a recipe adapted from Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur, from the restaurant Devi in New York City. You can get the recipe from our blog of: Aug. 9, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.

We also made Gobi Jalfrezi (Cauliflower blended with tomato puree and vinegar) from Rocky Mohan The Art of Indian Cuisine. At the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we picked up probably the last tomatoes of the season, and candied them in the stove. We then used them in this delicious recipe. The Indian’s sure have a way with vegetables! You can get the recipe from our blog of: Sep. 11, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe.

Fig Pasta

Fig season is growing to a close. We made Fig Pasta once last time. It is unusual in that it is a sweet pasta. We use the recipe from Lynn Rossetto Kasper in her cookbook: The Splendid Table Cookbook. It is very simple and delicious. You can get the recipe from our blog of Aug. 22, 2006. Click the date to get the recipe.

We started with a salad of White Nectarines, Prosciutto, Almonds and Saba. We love salads made with fresh fruit!

Moroccan Tuna on Skewers

We were so impressed with the quality of the fish from the truck at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market we decided to make another Moroccan Dish. We used the cookbook: The Food of Morocco – a journey for food lovers. Susan had the book in Santa Fe and we decided to purchase a copy. The recipe is called: Tuna Skewers with Herb Marinade. Doesn’t sound that special in English but it tasted great!

The J & P West Coast Fish truck had fabulous fresh Sushi Grade Tuna. It looked like giant steaks. I wondered if the tuna would fall apart when skewered but it held together. The herb marinade is really a Chermoula. Nice and spicy!

The tuna grilled very fast on the grill (just a about 1-2 minutes per side.
We made another Moroccan dish to go with it. Grilled eggplant covered with onions that had been slow cooked in spices. It was OK but not great. Win some loose some. The Tuna is a keeper! We served it with Tunisian Couscous.

We had also made Corn Pasta. It will probably be our last fresh corn dish of the year. You can find the recipe for the corn pasta in our blog of: Aug. 12, 2008. Click the date to get the recipe.



QUOTBAN DEL TON BIL CHERMOULA
TUNA SKEWERS WITH HERB MARINADE
From the food of Morocco a journey for food lovers

TUNA IS IDEAL FOR SKEWERS AS IT IS A FIRM-FLESHED FISH AND DOES NOT FALL APART DURING COOKING. THE CHERMOULA GIVES THE TUNA A FLAVOUR BOOST AND KEEPS IT MOIST. WHILE MOROCCANS COOK TUNA THOROUGHLY, YOU CAN SEAR IT AND SERVE RARE IF DESIRED.

1 Ib 12 oz tuna steaks, cut into 1 1/4 in cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

CHERMOUUX
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
3 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 1/2 fl oz/1/3 cup lemon juice
4 fl oz / 1/2 cup olive oil

SOAK eight bamboo skewers in water for 2 hours, or use metal skewers.

PUT the tuna in a shallow non-metallic dish. Combine the olive oil, cumin and lemon zest and pour over the tuna. Toss to coat, then cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 10 minutes only.

MEANWHILE, to make the chermoula, put the ground coriander, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper in a small frying pan and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Combine with the remaining chermoula ingredients and set aside.

THREAD the tuna onto the skewers. Lightly oil a chargrill pan or barbecue grill and cook*the skewers for 1 minute on each side for rare, or 2 minutes for medium. Serve with the chermoula drizzled over the tuna.

A Taste of Morocco (Tagine)

We went to the Hollywood Farmer’s Market and bought a beautiful piece of fresh Halibut from J & P West Coast Fish. They sell fresh fish from their truck - that kind of looks like a typical Los Angeles roach truck (for those of you not from LA – there is some seriously good food available from these trucks). Their truck has been modified to sell fish and has lots of ice to keep the fish fresh. The fish is better than most of the fish you would get in a market. It is straight from the boat to San Pedro to the truck to us!

We have been on a bit of a Moroccan quest and found a recipe for a recipe for Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomato, Peppers, and Preserved Lemons in Paula Wolfert’s World of Food Cookbook. This is a fish dish we will definitely make again! It is great. I usually don’t like leftover fish, but this dish re-heats well in the microwave. Part of the reason it is so good has to be the quality of the fish. It was very firm and cooked perfectly!

Cathy made our favorite Couscous from Tunisia to go with it.

Two days later Kashmera and Krushna stopped by to say goodbye (they were returning to India). We offered them some leftover Tagine but they demurred saying they had a big lunch and had to get on a plane. We let them smell the tagine and they decided they wanted some. It was cute they kept eating it. I think we will continue to expand their food horizons.

Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomato, Peppers, and Preserved Lemons
From Paula Wolfert’s World of Food Cookbook

SERVES 4

A popular Moroccan green-hued sauce used in fish stews, or tagines, is called charmoula, a balanced combination of quantities of flat-leaf parsley and fresh coriander, oil, cumin, paprika, and hot pepper. I love it for its powerful taste and the way it permeates the delicate flavor of fish, and in this dish especially it makes marvelous eating. You can make it ahead of time and keep it refrigerated for 1 or 2 days.

In Morocco fish stews are always cooked in earthenware, which is especially helpful when the stew contains tomatoes. (Tin-lined copperware and aluminum definitely alter flavor.) In this Moroccan fish tagine, the rich tastes of tomatoes, green peppers, and hot peppers are offset by the tart, briny flavor of preserved lemons. Traditionally this tagine would contain an entire fish with head intact, but I have found it easier to make with thick fillets. Serve the fish directly from the baking dish. Pass slices of anise-flavored Moroccan bread, and accompany with a light, dry red or white wine.

CHARMOULA
1 large garlic clove, crushed with 2
teaspoons salt in a blender or mortar
until smooth
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin seed
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped Italian fiat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red-pepper flakes, seeds removed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fruity olive oil
4 thick lean fish fillets or slices, about 8 ounces each: monkfish, red snapper, sea bass, tilefish, or other ocean fish
1 large carrot, sliced very thin
1 pound red, ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced thin
small green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced thin
1 small green or red hot pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced thin
Sea salt and pepper
2 wedges of Preserved Lemons, rinsed and drained, pulp discarded, peel sliced thin
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Sprigs of fresh coriander, for garnish

Early in the day, or the day before, make the charmoula: In a blender, combine the garlic, spices, herbs, and pepper flakes. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a small saucepan and heat it slowly, stirring, until hot and aromatic, about 30 seconds; do not boil. Let it cool, then divide the spice mixture, or charmoula, in half.

Rinse the fish and pat it dry with paper towels. Rub one portion of the spice mixture into the fish and let it stand at least 1 hour, or overnight. Add 1/2 cup of hot water to the remaining spice mixture, cover, and refrigerate separately. (The recipe can be prepared to this point a day ahead.)

About 1 1/2 hours before serving, preheat the oven to 300° F. Spread 2 tablespoons of reserved charmoula over the bottom of a shallow 2 1/2-quart baking-serving dish (about 10 inches in diameter). Scatter the carrots on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with a little charmoula. Add half the tomatoes, bell peppers, and chili pepper; sprinkle with a little charmoula. Lay the fish over the vegetables and cover with the preserved lemon peel and the remaining tomatoes and peppers in a decorative pattern. Spread the remaining charmoula over all. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Pour off the liquid from the fish into a small non-corrodible saucepan. Bring it to a boil over moderately high heat, and boil until it is reduced to 1/2 cup of thick liquid. Pour it back over the fish. (The dish can be prepared up to 1 hour ahead to this point.)

Raise the oven temperature to 500° F. Uncover the baking dish, baste with the pan juices, and bake in the top third of the oven for 10 minutes, or until a nice crust has formed over the vegetables. Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with sprigs of coriander. Serve warm.