This was ok but I didn't love it. It has a rich cheesy sauce, but I feel like it's too cheesy for a cream sauce and not cheesy enough for a cheese sauce.

It was part of a meal with caramelized pear salad.

Ravioli Squash Bake

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 500g ravioli
• 340g butternut squash, cubed
• 100g shallots, cubed
• 10g thyme, chopped
• 10g parsley, chopped
• 30mL oil
• 90mL cream cheese
• 180mL sour cream
• 250mL grated mozarella

Directions

1. Toss squash, shallots, thyme, and oil. Roast at 425°F until tender, 22-25 minutes, turning halfway through.
2. While squash is baking, cook ravioli. Reserve 250mL of pasta water, drain, and buffer.
3. In pot, whisk cream cheese and sour cream into pasta water.
4. Return ravioli to pot with sauce. Mix in squash, shallots, and parsley.
5. Pour ravioli with sauce into a greased 9×13" baking dish. Top with mozarella. Broil on high until mozarella melts, ~5 minutes.

This recipe was part of a Hello Fresh dinner that included baked ravioli, but works fine on its own. The pears take a little while to cook but require almost no attention while doing so, so you can easily build this in parallel with something else.

I think this could probably have taken considerably more greens, perhaps twice as many, but it was tasty as is. It would probably also have taken very well to blue cheese.

Caramelized Pear Salad

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 2 pears
• 113g baby spinach, spinach-arugula blend, or similar greens
• 56g pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
• 30mL white wine vinegar
• 15mL dijon mustard
• 20+5mL sugar
• 30mL olive oil

Directions

1. Core pears. Slice into thin wedges.
2. Toast pepitas over medium heat, 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove to plate.
3. Put pear slices, 20mL sugar, and 30mL water in pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, remaining 5mL sugar, olive oil.
5. Combine greens, pears, pepitas, and dressing.

I may have gone slightly pumpkin crazy this year: two batches of Pumpkin Snack Cake, two different types of pumpkin soup, and a pumpkin chiffon pie. And I'm not done yet! We got two more pie pumpkins with our last produce basket. Some of it is earmarked for pumpkin pie. But I decided that some of it should go into waffles. There are a lot of different pumpkin waffle recipes out there. I looked at a few, but I was intrigued by the use of oat flour in this one.

Pumpkin Waffles

Slightly adapted from Cookie + Kate

Ingredients

• 200g oat flour¹
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 3 large eggs
• scant 2/3 c. milk
• 7 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. pumpkin purée
• 3 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Sift baking powder into flour.
2. Add salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice and mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs.
4. Add milk, butter, pumpkin, maple syrup, and vanilla to eggs and mix well.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir to just combine. (It will be a bit lumpy.) Set aside for 10 minutes.
6. Pour batter into preheated waffle iron and cook until done. (Amount of batter and cooking time will vary according to waffle iron and settings.)
7. Repeat until all batter has been used up.
8. Serve with maple syrup, fruit, and/or whipped cream.

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¹ I had a bit of extra whole wheat flour left over from making bread, so I used that and then added oat flour to make 200g. ^Back

I needed something to go with our Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas and I had this recipe kicking around and zucchini just happened to be on sale...

I'm not normally a big fan of zucchini (unless it's in the form of zucchini bread), but this was really good! I mean, cheese and heavy cream will go a long way toward making most things good, but still... it was better than I was expecting. The Kidlet didn't care for it (I thought she'd like the corn at least), but everyone else liked it. Definitely worth keeping in mind when looking for a good vegetable side.

Calabacitas

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2017

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (~230g) zucchini, diced
• 1 (~230g) yellow summer squash¹, diced
• 3-4 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• ~1/2 c. crumbled feta²
• lime wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion, poblano, bell pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
3. Add zucchini and summer squash and cook until tender (~6 minutes).
4. Stir in corn and cream.
5. Pat into and even layer and cook, without stirring, until liquid has evaporated and vegetables have browned slightly (~7 minutes).
6. Sprinkle with feta (or Cotija).
7. Serve with lime wedges.

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¹ I couldn't find any yellow summer squash this time of year, so I just tossed in an extra zucchini instead. ^Back
2 Use Cotija cheese if you can find it. I don't think I've ever seen it for sale around here, so I generally just substitute feta instead. ^Back

These were delicious! Not particularly healthy, but definitely delicious. I thought they'd be bland without the sauce, but they're still amazing even on their own. The sauce just takes them to the next level. We had our sopaipillas with calabacitas. I feel like they probably could've used another vegetable side as well, but this dinner already had enough moving parts as it was. Maybe some sort of simple garden salad next time?

Sopaipillas, as it turns out, can take on many different forms. Sometimes they're made entirely with masa harina; sometimes wheat flour is added. Sometimes they're stuffed; sometimes they're not. They may be flat or puffy. And they can run the gamut from sweet to savoury; part of the main course or a sweet treat for dessert. Based on a quick internet search, the sweet varieties seem to be more widespread than the savoury ones. So the "default" sopaipilla (as much as there can be said to be a default) might be something along the lines of a corn-based doughnut/fry-bread possibly coated in sugar and/or served with honey. These stuffed, savoury sopaipillas seem to be somewhat less common. Which is a shame because they are wonderful!

Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas with Green Chile Sauce

From Cook's Country October/November 2019

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. lard
• 14 Tbsp. water

Refried Beans

• 1/4 c. lard
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 c. cooked pinto beans
• 1 c. chicken broth

Green Chile Sauce

• 900g fresh Anaheim chiles
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile
• 2 Tbsp. lard
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. flour (hard or soft is fine)
• 1 c. chicken broth

Assembly

• ~2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• oil for frying

Directions

Dough

1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well.
2. Cut lard into flour.
3. Stir in water.
4. Turn out dough and knead a little (1-2 dozen strokes).
5. Divide into 8 equal portions, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes¹.

Refried Beans

1. Melt lard over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
3. Add beans and broth.
4. Mash beans with potato masher and cook until thickened (~8 minutes).
5. Season to taste and set aside to cool.

Green Chile Sauce

1. Adjust oven rack to ~15cm (6") from broiler element and preheat broiler.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Place whole chiles (Anaheims and jalapeño) in single layer on prepared sheet.
4. Broil until blackened all over, turning every 4-5 minutes so that all sides get charred.
5. Remove from oven and quickly wrap chiles and foil to trap steam. Set aside for ~10 minutes.
6. Unwrap chiles and remove skins.
7. Stem and seed Anaheims.
8. Stem (but do not seed) jalapeño.
9. Chop all chiles into half cm (~1/4") pieces.
10. Melt lard over medium heat.
11. Add onion and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
12. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
13. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
14. Stir in broth and chiles and bring to a simmer.
15. Simmer until thickened (~6 minutes).
16. Season to taste, cover, and set aside.

Assembly

1. Retrieve dough balls from fridge and keep all but the one you're currently working with covered with a damp tea towel.
2. Working with one dough ball at a time, roll into an 18cm (~7") circle on a floured surface.
3. Squeeze ~1/4 of Cheddar to form a slight oblong shape (vaguely like an American football or rugby ball).
4. Place your cheesy ovoid in the centre of the dough round and top it with ~1/4 c. of refried beans.
5. Fold the dough round in half to create a semi-circle/half moon shape.
6. Press around edges to seal.
7. Moisten the top of the sealed edge with a bit of water and pinch the dough diagonally up and over the sealed edge to seal again and create a decorative rope-like border.
8. Repeat with remaining dough and fillings. (You may have some beans left over.)
9. Use a paring knife to poke a 1cm (~1/2") hole in the top of each sopaipilla².
10. Line a baking sheet with paper towels (preferably a double or triple layer).
11. Heat frying oil to 190°C (375°F). Oil should be ~4cm (1.5") deep.
12. Add 2-4 sopaipillas at a time to the oil (depending on the size of your fryer/Dutche oven) and fry until golden brown (~3-4 minutes per side).
13. Transfer fried sopaipillas to prepared baking sheet.
14. Reheat green chile sauce over medium-high heat.
15. Serve sopaipillas smothered in chile sauce and accompanied by vegetable side(s) of your choice.

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Variations

Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
• 14 Tbsp. water

Refried Beans

• 1/4 c. vegetable shortening
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 c. cooked pinto beans
• 1 c. vegetable broth

Green Chile Sauce

• 900g fresh Anaheim chiles
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. flour (hard or soft is fine)
• 1 c. vegetable broth

Assembly

• ~2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• oil for frying

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¹ If you want to make ahead, dough will keep in fridge for up to 2 days. ^Back
2 Assembled but uncooked sopaipillas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. ^Back

We had a bunch of potatoes and blue cheese that needed to be used up so it seemed like a good opportunity to try out this recipe. The instructions having you making the pastry from scratch and rolling it out into a rectangle, but I already had some frozen pastry rounds in the fridge, so I just used one of them.

This is quite rich and very starchy: three kinds of cheese + potatoes and pastry. I served it with a salad to try to get some more vegetables and variety in the mix. Possibly a goat cheese and prosciutto salad was a bit too rich to be paired with this particular tart, but I really wanted to try it! I think, if I were to do it again, I'd go with a slightly lighter salad and probably add a soup as well just so the meal doesn't lean quite so heavily on the tart. I think a spinach salad with some fruit and nuts (maybe strawberries and almonds) and a nice balsamic vinaigrette would be a good complement to the tart. And maybe a fresh, homemade (not-too-creamy) tomato soup to go along with it.

Potato and Blue Cheese Tart

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2020

Ingredients

• ~200g pie crust pastry
• 120g cream cheese, softened
• ~1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese, divided
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. Roman Mustard
• 3/4 tsp. dried rosemary, divided
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 large egg, separated
• 450g russet (or other floury) potatoes, sliced thin
• 1-2 shallots, sliced thin

Directions

1. Roll pastry into a large circle or rectangle and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
2. Whisk 1/4 c. of Parmesan and 1/4 c. of blue cheese into the softened cream cheese.
3. Add oil, mustard, 1/2 tsp. of rosemary, pepper, and salt and mix well.
4. Mix in egg yolk.
5. Add potatoes and shallot to cream cheese mixture and stir/toss to coat.
6. Transfer potato mixture to centre of dough and spread evenly to cover, leaving a border for folding up edges later.
7. Sprinkle filling with remaining 1/4 c. of blue cheese and 2 Tbsp. of the remaining Parmesan.
8. Fold edges of crust over filling. (The aim isn't to cover all the filling, just give it a neat border.)
9. Lightly whisk the egg white and brush it onto the exposed bits of crust. (You won't need it all.)
10. Sprinkle the crust with the remaining 2 Tbsp. of Parmesan.
11. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 45 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
13. Carefully transfer to wire rack to cool for another 20 minutes or so before serving.

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Variations

Potato and Parmesan Tart

Just replace all the blue cheese with more Parmesan. Done.

This Cook's Country recipe was inspired by Dan Dan Mien; their goal was to make something based on dan dan noodles that could be easily cooked on a weeknight and relied on ingredients that could be easily found in a north american supermarket. For the most part, I think they succeeded, and the result is very tasty indeed.

As written, the recipe calls for ground pork. We swapped that out for mushrooms and tofu, and I have no complaints, although I think it might have been even better with seitan or tempeh; the tempeh, in particular, would more closely match the texture of the ground pork.

A few other adjustments have been made: the original uses tapwater instead of reserved pasta water for the sauce, and sherry instead of shaoxing wine. They also recommend making (or buying) sichuan chili oil as an optional topping.

Spicy Sesame Noodles with Tofu & Mushrooms

Cook's Country

Ingredients

• 15mL butter
• 200g cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 200g extra firm smoked tofu, sliced and chopped into ~1cm squares
• 500g whole wheat spaghetti
• 30mL toasted sesame oil
• 45+15mL soy sauce (I used a 1:1 light:dark soy mix)
• 15+10mL hoisin sauce
• 15mL shaoxing wine or white wine
• 60mL tahini
• 30mL rice vinegar
• 15mL sambal oleck
• 10mL sugar
• 60mL oil
• 6 green onions, sliced thin, green and white parts separated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced, or 30mL garlic paste
• 5mL red pepper flakes
• 2mL ground Sichuan peppercorns

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Sautée mushrooms and tofu until mushrooms have released their liquid and softened and tofu has started to brown, ~10? minutes. Remove from skillet and buffer.
3. Meanwhile, boil water. Add pasta and 15mL salt and cook until just past al dente. Drain, reserving 250mL of the pasta water, and return noodles to the pot. Toss with sesame oil and cover to keep warm.
4. Whisk together tahini, vinegar, sambal oleck, sugar, salt, 45mL soy sauce, 10mL hoisin sauce, and the reserved pasta water in a medium bowl.
5. Add oil, the white parts of the green onions, garlic, pepper flakes, and Sichuan pepper to the skillet. Cook over medium heat until fragrant, ~2 minutes.
6. Pour contents of skillet into pasta pot. Add tahini sauce, green onions, mushrooms, and tofu. Toss to combine.