Roasted Squash and Spinach Gnocchi

Autumn is my favorite season.  The leaves turn beautiful colors, the air is crisp and clear, my birthday...  And also because it is squash season.  I love the versatility of squash.  Spaghetti squash, true to it's name is a great low-carb alternative to pasta.  Acorn squash has a sweet nutty flavor and is the perfect shape to be little edible bowls.  Kabocha squash is so sweet, you can easily use it for a dessert recipe.  And of course, one of the most well-known, butternut squash has such a versatile flavor that it works in so many different recipes.  You can roast it with spicy cumin or sweet brown sugar.  Either way, you have a delicious dish on your hands. 

Last week, I was in the mood for real comfort food and opened my fridge and pantry to see what I could make.  I saw that I had gnocchi and butternut squash.  After just a little googling, I saw a Rachael Ray recipe that I had to try for a creamy spinach and squash gnocchi.  Perfect!  I have actually never cooked with real cream before.  Every time a recipe calls for it, I either omit it completely (to make the recipe kosher) or I use milk.  It always tastes fine, but it never really "wows" me.  This time, I decided to try real cream.  WOW.  There is a real difference in flavor and texture that comes with the cream that I had previously always underestimated.  Lesson learned. 

I made some changes to the recipe that I found online.  I added some more spinach and changed up some of the spices.   The result was delicious and warm and very comforting.  It was also a really easy recipe to throw together and would be great for company, served along side a large salad mixed with dried cranberries and toasted pumpkin seeds to keep the autumn theme. 

Roasted Squash and Spinach Gnocchi
Ingredients:
1 package of cubed squash (or about 1.5 - 2 lbs cut up squash)
2 boxes of chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 package of gnocchi
2 cups of cream
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of dried rosemary (could also use fresh, if on hand)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss squash with salt and pepper and some olive oil.  Spread out on baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, boil salted water for the gnocchi to cook.  Separately, in a large pan, saute the garlic in a little oil.  Add the cream.  Bring to a slight boil and reduce the heat to let the cream thicken, about 8-10 minutes.  Add the rosemary, then mix in the spinach.  When the squash and gnocchi have finished cooking, add them to the sauce and serve.  Top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Barley Risotto

This winter was short, very short.  And although it feels as if it is summer outside already, I haven't eaten enough warm comfort food.  Plus, with Passover quickly approaching, I have to get rid of a lot of open packages of hamatz that are in my pantry.  I have a half of a bag of barley staring at me everytime I open my cabinet.  And for those of you who work with barley, you know that a little goes a long way once cooked.  For those of you who do not eat a lot of barley, you should start.  It is a very healthy whole grain that is high in fiber and a great change from rice or pasta.

Here is my favorite recipe for a barley risotto.  It has a smiliar creamy, starchy, comfort texture that rice risotto has, but much easy - no constant stirring.  You can really play with the recipe and use whatever vegetable you have on hand.  This recipe is parve, but you can add cheese, or make it with chicken broth, depending on the meal you are serving it with.  It works great as a warm side dish, but I also stir in some extra veggies, top it with some hot sauce and call it a meal.

So as you are trying to eat from your pantry in preperation for Passover, try out this recipe!

Ingredients
3/4 cup pearl barley (uncooked)
1 onion
1 teaspoon oil
2 cloves of garlic (diced small)
4 cups of vegetable broth
1 1/2 lb of cubed butternut squash
salt/peper to taste

Directions
Turn oven on to 400 degrees.  While pre-heating, sautee onion in the oil and a dash of salt in an oven-proff large saucepan or dutch oven for about 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and butternut squash, cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the barley and stir, let cook another minute together.  Finally add the broth and bring to a boil.  Once at a boil, turn off the heat and cover the pot.  Transfer to the oven and let cook for about 30 minutes.  After about 30 minutes, most of the liquid should be absorbed.  Take out of the oven, keep covered and allow the remainder of the liquid to absorb and cool down a little before serving.  Salt and pepper to taste.

This amount will feed 6-8 as a side dish. 

One great option is to stir in spinach, kale, or other leafy greens at the end.  The heat will wilt the veggies and will add beautiful color to the dish.  If you like heat, this is great with hot sauce. 

Fun Salads

This past Shabbat was especially lovely.  Why?  Because I was invited out!   As much as I love hosting my friends and family for meals, I welcome the opportunity to take it easy and enjoy someone elses hospitality.  I always like to offer to make something to make it easier on my host, and this time I was asked to help with salad.  Perfect for me because I was just talking to a good friend from college about fun salads.   I made a Butternut Squash salad to bring over for Shabbat.  This salad can also be served for Tu b'Shevat this week.  Some of the 7 species are included (olive oil, pomegranate seeds) and you can also substitute the dried cherries for chopped dates, figs, or raisins.  If you are interested in making the salad for Tu b'Shevat, the 7 species traditionally eaten on this holiday are wheat, barley, grapes, pomegranate, dates, figs, and olives.  These are the 7 species that are native to Israel and named in the Torah. 

Butternut Squash Salad with home-made balsamic vinaigrette

Mixed Greens
Carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
Dried cherries
pomegranate seeds (optional)
slivered almonds
Butternut squash, cubed
Sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar
1 T olive oil
*if served with a dairy meal, goat cheese is a delicious combination with the squash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  On a lined cookie sheet, spread out the cubed butternut squash, sprinkle with olive oil, sugar and cinnamon.  Roast squash for about 15-20 minutes until tender.  Allow to cool.  Mix all salad ingredients together.  Serve with balsamic vinaigrette (below).

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
4 T balsamic vinegar
2 T honey
2 T oil
2 T water
1 T dijon mustard
freshly cracked pepper to taste

Mix together well.  The mustard serves as an emulsifier and the oil will not separate from the vinegar.  Recipe might need to be doubled if you are making it for a large crowd. 

I wanted to share one more fun salad recipe.  This is a really easy and very delicious salad that works great for a pot luck, side dish, or if you just want a salad with a twist. 

Carrot Slaw
1 package of shredded carrots
1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 large handful of dried cranberries (I used raisins this time because I ran out of cranberries.  Both taste good, but I like the dried cranberries better)
Homemade honey mustard dressing:
*1 T honey
*1 T olive oil
*1 T mustard
*about 1/2 t of onion powder
*salt and pepper to taste

In a large serving bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.  While whisking, disperse dressing around walls of the bowl to assist with tossing the salad.  After whisked, fold in the carrots, parsley and dried cranberries.  Carefully mix to coat.   This will produced a very lightly dressed salad.  If you prefer more dressing on your salad, make more dressing first, before tossing in the vegetables.