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Valentine ravioli with lemon, thyme, and oregano

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Happy Valentine’s Day! Chocolate, roses, and heart-shaped ravioli! If you make these for your Valentine, these are definitely a labor of love. The red pasta is made from beets, and you get a lovely pink dough if you mix regular and beet-colored pasta. (Mom pro-tip: I used three beets in this recipe. My kids ate every last morsel and didn’t even notice!)

Pasta is an especially appropriate meal for Valentine’s Day, since there are multiple St. Valentines recognized by the Catholic Church – but they were all Roman. Two were martyred: a priest in 3rd century Rome who continued marrying couples in defiance of Emperor Claudius II’s order forbidding marriage. Another was Valentine of Terni, a bishop who was also beheaded by Claudius. According to another legend, Valentine was killed for helping Christians escape Roman prisons. According to this story, he went the first “valentine” greeting himself to his jailor’s daughter.

What is significant about February 14th? While some believe that the date marks the date of Valentine’s death or burial, others claim that the Church set the date in February in order to make the pagan celebration of Lupercalia (a fertility festival) more Christian. Lupercalia was formally outlawed at the end of the 5th century.

It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that St. Valentine’s Day became formally associated with love. Apparently, many in France and England believed that it was the beginning of birds’ mating season, as noted by poet Geoffrey Chaucer in his poem “Parliament of Foules,“ written in the late 1300s. This poem, believed to be the first St. Valentine’s Day poem written, describes a narrator who falls asleep and dreams of a group of birds that gather together on ‘seynt valentynes day’ to choose their mates.

While these birds of a feather may have flocked together, the holiday grew with technology. In the middle 1700s, it was common for friends and lovers to exchange small gifts or notes. By the turn of the 20th century, pre-printed cards made it even easier, and lower postage costs encouraged even far-flung friends and couples to get into the spirit. Today, the holiday is the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.

Valentine Ravioli with Lemon, Thyme, and Oregano

Print Recipe
Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian

Ingredients
  

Plain pasta

  • 300 g all-purpose flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks

Beet pasta

  • 3 medium beets roasted, peeled and pureed (100-120 g)
  • 300 g all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed

Filling

  • 1 c whole milk ricotta cheese
  • ½ c grated parmigano-reggiano cheese
  • 3 t chopped freshly parsley
  • ½ t kosher salt
  • 2 grinds black pepper
  • dash ground nutmeg

Lemon-thyme sauce

  • 2 T butter
  • 3 T cream
  • 1 t chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 t chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 T chopped fresh parsley
  • ½ t lemon zest
  • ½ t kosher salt
  • ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 c grated parmigiano-reggiano, for serving

Instructions
 

Regular pasta

  • Combine flour, eggs, and yolks in bowl of food processor. Pulse until mixture just comes together (it will resemble course meal). Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead by hand until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic and let rest at least 30 minutes. Note: the ambient humidity makes a big difference in how much flour you need. If the mixture isn't coming together or seems dry, add another egg yolk in the food processor. If it seems too wet, add flour in as you knead. It should be smooth but not sticky, as it will hydrate more while resting. I don't put salt in my dough – but I do salt the water I cook the pasta in.

Beet pasta

  • Wash and trim the beets, then wrap in foil and roast in the oven at 350° until soft. Let cool, then peel and puree in food processor. For this recipe, you only need about 100-120g of pureed beets. But, if you only have a big food processor, it might be hard to get the beets pureed as finely as you want. In this case, roast more beets to fill the bowl, and freeze the extra for later use.
    Once beets are pureed, combine them with flour and eggs in bowl of food processor. Pulse until mixture just comes together. If it seems too wet, add flour until it resembles course meal. Turn onto floured surface and knead, adding more flour as necessary. I found beet pasta to be much more tender and stickier than plain. Don't be shy about adding flour until it is no longer sticky.

Ravioli filling

  • Combine ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined.

Ravioli

  • Using a rolling pin or pasta machine, roll strips of pasta dough to 1-2 mm thick. To make the stripes, I followed the instructions from MangiaBenePasta (see notes). I did roll both separate sheets to the desired setting I wanted (5 on my Atlas 150), and then started at a wider setting when I re-rolled the striped pieces (3).
    Using a Valentine cookie cutter, cut heart shapes. Moisten a finger on the outside edge of each bottom piece to help the ravioli seal. Drop the filling mixture in the middle, and cover with a top sheet. Press the outside edges together with the tines of a fork.
    I made striped and beet-colored hearts. The pink hearts were the result of using the leftover scraps of pasta after cutting. Serendipity!
    Place ravioli on lightly floured surface, and cover with plastic wrap.

Sauce

  • Heat water to boil pasta.
    In separate saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, and add thyme and oregano. Turn heat to low and stir in cream. Stir in lemon zest, salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Stir in parsley.
    Boil ravioli for 2 minutes, and drain, reserving 1/2 c. pasta water.
    Add the pasta water 1 T at a time to sauce over low heat, until sauce has desired consistency. Add ravioli to coat.
    Sprinkle additional grated parmigiano-reggiano on ravioli for serving.

Notes

https://www.mangiabenepasta.com/pasta_striped.html
Keyword ravioli, lemon, thyme

Blood Orange Tart with Cardamom Cream

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Citrus season is one of my favorite times of the year. Who can resist a box of Cuties? Meyer lemons, key limes, fresh grapefruit? For show, though, you can’t beat a blood orange. With red flesh and their reddish-orange peels, they almost belong more with Halloween than January. These beauties, which are slightly more tart than their navel cousins, look amazing in salads or desserts.

The red color comes from anthocyanins, the same compounds that make blueberries an antioxidant superfood. Like other citrus, they are also high in vitamin C, a lack of which causes scurvy. Today, most people eat enough fruits and vegetables to avoid scurvy, but historically this was not always the case. In particular, sailors and others who took long sea voyages often got scurvy, which was characterized by weakness, fatigue, bleeding gums, and anemia. Scottish physician James Lind discovered that citrus could effectively treat and prevent scurvy in 1747, but it wasn’t until 1795 that the British started requiring lemon juice to be distributed to sailors. Later, they switched to (less effective) West Indian limes since they were farmed on British plantations, earning British sailors the nickname “Limeys.”

A darker side of Lind’s discovery is its connection with the rise of the Sicilian mafia. Sicily’s location in the central Mediterranean makes it excellent for growing citrus. This same location meant that over time, Sicily had been controlled by many different countries, including the Greeks, Romans, Arabs (who introduced bitter oranges to the island), Normans, Spanish, and the French. Political instability and a decentralization of power to feudal lords resulted in popular revolts, political insecurity and a weak rule of law under which bandits thrived. These conditions facilitated the development of private security guards called campieri. Ironically, people seeking protection often hired a campiere from among the ranks of bandits. People who could not afford private security found themselves victimized by the robbers and forced to pay money to reclaim their own stolen goods.

This corrupt system legitimized the mafioso, which initially referred to a courageous person who stood up against the brigands and campieri. But, as shown by three economists, international demand for citrus made citrus theft far more profitable, so that at some point, mafiosi services switched from protection to extortion. The mafia also acted as intermediaries between growers and exporters, and manipulated market prices. Blood orange kind of takes on a whole new meaning in that context.

Regardless of citrus history, it is hard to ignore the lure of blood oranges in January. I started this tart by cutting super-thin slices of orange on a mandoline, candying them, and letting them dry on a wire rack.

My Instagram feed has been filled with references to cardamom, which pairs delightfully with citrus. Since I missed making cardamom sugar cookies over the holidays, I made a basic tart crust and added 1/2 t. of ground cardamom. I used the juice from the blood oranges to make a blood orange curd to spread on the crust, and then decorated the tart with candied oranges. Adding more cardamom powder to the whipped cream really complemented the flavor of the tart, and helped to cut the sweetness. My local recipe testers approved – and I know that this dessert will help many of us prevent scurvy at least once a year.

Blood Orange Tart with Cardamom Cream

Print Recipe
Prep Time 3 hours
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 12

Equipment

  • tart pan, 12" saute pan

Ingredients
  

Candied blood oranges

  • 2 blood oranges, sliced into approximately 12, ⅛-¼ slices
  • 2 c water
  • 2 c granulated white sugar

Blood orange curd

  • ¾ c blood orange juice (takes about 3-4 blood oranges)
  • 1 T blood orange zest
  • 8 egg yolks
  • ½ c butter
  • 1½ c granulated white sugar

Tart Crust

  • 1½ c all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ c sugar
  • ¼ t kosher salt
  • ½ t ground cardamom
  • ½ c butter, cut into ½" cubes
  • 1 egg
  • 2 t heavy cream
  • 1-2 t ice water

Cardamom Cream

  • 1 c heavy cream
  • 1 t ground cardamom
  • 2 T powdered sugar
  • 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme cut into small pieces, for serving

Instructions
 

Candied blood orange slices

  • Bring sugar and water to a boil in a medium saute pan. Add orange slices, and lower heat to simmer. Cook for 75 minutes, gently turning slices about every 20 minutes. Slices will begin to curl slightly at edges. Let dry on wire rack for at least 2 hours. The slices won't be "dry", but will be dry enough to use. Slices completely dry after about a day. If you prefer, do this step a few days ahead.

Make tart crust

  • While oranges are simmering, make the crust (adapted from baking a moment).
  • Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of food processor.
  • Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal.
  • While food processor is running, add egg, cream and vanilla, and pulse until dough just begins to pull away from sides.
  • I found this to be a little dry; when I tried to get dough to stick together, it was still too crumbly. If this is the case, add ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until dough has the desired consistency.
  • Combine dough into disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and let chill 30 minutes.
  • When dough has chilled, roll on lightly floured surface until about ¼" thick. Press into tart pan. I like to use a nonstick pan. If yours isn't nonstick, grease pan with butter before using.
  • Place pie weights in crust, and place tart pan on wire rack in sheet pan. Blind bake crust with in 375° oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool while making blood orange curd.

Blood Orange Curd (adapted from It's not Complicated)

  • Whisk egg yolks and sugar in medium, nonreactive saucepan until just combined.
  • Over medium heat, add blood orange juice, zest, and butter. Whisk constantly until curd nears boiling point, but isn't boiling. You really need to whisk – otherwise it will burn. Or, use a double boiler.
  • As mixture nears boiling, remove from heat, and whisk for another 2-3 minutes. Let cool, whisking occasionally.

Cardamom Cream

  • Combine cream, sugar, and cardamom. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Assemble tart

  • Spread blood orange curd on tart crust. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden brown and curd is bubbly.
  • Remove from heat, and let cool. When nearly cool, decorate with candied orange slices. Serve with cardamom cream and fresh thyme sprigs (if desired) for garnish.
Keyword blood oranges, cardamom, cream, tart

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio (pasta with garlic and oil)

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While Italian-Americans tend to use lots of garlic in their cooking, it is much less common in Italy, where the use of garlic is subject to some debate. Garlic, a native of Central Asia, can overwhelm the true flavors of a dish. It is easy to grow, inexpensive, and plentiful, and one theory is that it became popular when Italians were poor and used the herb to replace other, better ingredients. According to this theory, many poor Italian emigrants left Italy for better lives, and brought their garlic with them. Who really knows? I know that growing up, my Sicilian grandmother only used onion to make her Sunday tomato sauce, but I figured she just didn’t like garlic. The fact that she also made and enjoyed this recipe, though, makes me think that the garlic was never actually an ingredient she used in tomato sauce.

That said, this is a recipe from Naples that does use garlic. The key is to subtly infuse olive oil with garlic so as not to overpower the dish. This recipe uses whole cloves of garlic that are cooked in olive oil over very low heat just until they turn golden. The garlic becomes sweeter and more caramelized, and the cloves themselves are delicious. Be careful not to burn the garlic, or else the dish will become bitter and inedible. Most classic recipes use red pepper flakes, but my grandmother always used black pepper. Perhaps she couldn’t get red pepper in America during the Great Depression? Feel free to use red pepper, but I like the flavor of black pepper here. It is a little reminiscent of cacio e pepe, but with garlic and much less cheese. Plus, as kids, we could never pronounce the name of this dish, so we called it black and whites. Somehow “red and whites” just doesn’t feel the same.

Feel free to use spaghetti or linguini. Serve with grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and sprinkle with parsley.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

An easy weeknight dish featuring garlic infused olive oil, pepper, and parmesan cheese.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 4-5 peeled garlic cloves
  • 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 t high-quality black pepper
  • 1 t salt
  • grated parmigiano-reggiano for serving
  • chopped parsley for serving

Instructions
 

  • Combine olive oil and garlic in small sauce pan. Over low heat, slowly cook garlic until it is golden and soft (30-45 min). Be careful not to burn. Turn off heat and set aside.
  • Bring water to boil in large pot, and add salt. Cook 1 lb of spaghetti or linguini according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 c. of pasta cooking water.
  • Return pasta to cooking pot. Pour olive oil/garlic sauce over pasta, and add 1/2 c of the reserved pasta cooking water. If sauce is too thick, continue adding cooking water until it has the desired consistency.
  • Serve on platter and sprinkle fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese and parsley on top.

Red Lentil Soup with Spinach and Chicken Sausage

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Italians believe that lentils eaten on New Year’s Eve bring good luck and prosperity in the new year. It’s thought that this belief stems from the fact that brown lentils resemble coins from ancient Rome. The Romans invented many modern things – including roads, sewers, arches, aqueducts, and newspapers. Coins, however, predate the Roman Empire. Have you ever heard the phrase “Rich as Croesus?” This refers to King Croesus of Lydia (located in what is modern day western Turkey). While people have used precious metals, shells, and other objects as currency throughout history, the first minted coins are thought to have been minted by Lydians (and their neighboring Ioanians) as early as 630 BC out of an alloy called electrum.

These first coins were minted by private initiative (perhaps more similar to cryptocurrency in that respect than the dollar), and probably cost more to produce than they were worth (similar to the nickel or penny today). Nevertheless, scholars believe that the kings of Lydia (including Croesus) were willing to subsidize coinage because they realized that its spread would help minimize the transactions costs associated with government budgetary affairs (like tax collecting). From Lydia, coinage spread to Greece, but Romans did not mint coins until the 3rd century BC – nearly 300 years later.

Even though it’s not New Year’s Eve, I’m hoping that eating lentils still counts for good luck. I mean, it’s still January, right? Instead of brown lentils, this soup uses red lentils. They don’t maintain their texture quite as well, but the fact that they don’t helps to makes the soup thick. I used chicken sausage with spinach, but any variety would work. Or, leave the sausage out since this soup is quite tasty even as a vegetarian dish. Kale can also be used in place of spinach. In this batch, I used fire-roasted canned tomatoes, but plain works just as well.

Red Lentil Soup with Spinach and Chicken Sausage

A quick and easy red lentil soup with spinach and chicken sausage
Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course

Equipment

  • Large stock pot or dutch oven

Ingredients
  

  • 2 T olive oil
  • 4 links pre-cooked chicken sausage, sliced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1/2 large onion, diced
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 c leafy spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 c red lentils, rinsed
  • 4 c low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
  • chopped parsley, for serving
  • grated parmegiano-reggiano cheese, for serving

Instructions
 

  • Heat olive oil in large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Brown chicken sausage, then add onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook until onions are soft and translucent (about 4-5 minutes).
  • Add the lentils, broth, bay leaf, salt, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer until lentils are cooked and begin to fall apart, about 20 minutes).
  • Remove cover, adjust salt, and simmer an additional 10 minutes.
  • Serve, sprinkling bowls with parsley and cheese if desired.

Yule Log~A Decadent Way to Usher in a New Year!

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Another tradition that pre-dates Christmas is that of the Yule log. Families would celebrate the winter solstice with feasts and treats, and burn decorated logs (often anointed with wine or salt) to cleanse the air and usher in a new year. I’m thinking that this might be the first year that I burn a giant yule log in addition to making the cake. !

No one knows who made the first Yule cake (called a Bûche de Noël in France), but they appear to date to the 1600s. They are typically a sponge cake filled with cream or mascarpone cheese, and frosted. Decorations often include meringue mushrooms, marzipan pinecones, rosemary, and cranberries.

This version is a combination of several recipes that have inspired me over the years. It includes hazelnut liquer and instant coffee granules in the filling (although you could use espresso powder), which really bring out and balance the richness of the chocolate. Instead of a rich ganache, the outside features chocolate bark over a thin layer of whipped frosting.

Yule Log (Bûche de Noël)

Print Recipe
Prep Time 6 hours
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Servings 10 people

Equipment

  • 12" x 17" half sheet pan

Ingredients
  

Filling

  • 1 c heavy whipping cream
  • 1/2 c powdered sugar
  • 1/4 c cocoa powder (dutch processed or natural)
  • 2 t hazelnut liquer (such as Frangelico)
  • 1 t instant coffee granules

Sponge cake

  • 3/4 c all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 c white sugar
  • 2.5 oz premium semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t kosher salt
  • 1/4 c butter, melted and cooled
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 T buttermilk
  • 2 t vanilla extract

Whipped frosting base layer (to put under chocolate bark)

  • 1 c heavy cream
  • 2 T cocoa powder (dutch processed or natural)
  • 3/4 c powdered sugar
  • 1 t vanilla

Meringue mushrooms

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/2 c sugar
  • 1/8 t cream of tartar

Chocolate "bark"

  • 6 oz premium semi-sweet chocolate

Marizpan pinecones

  • 2 oz sliced almonds
  • 2 oz marzipan paste

Instructions
 

Prepare chocolate bark

  • Melt chocolate in double boiler. Spread thinly on parchment, and let dry. After it is dry, peel parchment from chocolate. Chocolate will break into irregular pieces that resemble bark. If you use semi-sweet chocolate chips, it will work, but you may want to score bark with a toothpick after assembly for more texture.

Prepare marzipan pinecones

  • Take 2 oz of marzipan paste and make a cone shape with a flat bottom. Insert sliced almonds into marzipan to form pinecone.

Prepare meringue mushrooms

  • Preheat oven to 200°. Line cookie sheet with parchment.
  • In very clean bowl, use electric mixer to beat egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Place meringue in piping bag with a round tip (or just cut the tip off a disposable plastic bag), and make mushroom caps of desired size. Flatten peaks with slightly wet fingers. To make stems, simply pull bag straight up so that the stems resemble candy kisses. Bake for 2 hours. Remove from oven and cool completely.
  • To assemble, melt chocolate in double boiler. Using a toothpick, make a small hole in the bottom of each cap. Apply melted chocolate to top of mushroom stem, and insert into hole. Allow to set. Before using, dust tops and stems with cocoa powder.

Cake

  • Prepare 12" x 17" pan by greasing lightly with butter or spraying with cooking spray. Cover with parchment, then spray parchment with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Melt chocolate with butter in double boiler. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, and add vanilla and buttermilk.
  • Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on high speed until pale and doubled in volume, about 5-10 minutes. Turn mixer on to speed. Slowly add chocolate mixture until just combined. Gradually add flour until just combined. Do not overbeat.
  • Pour batter into pan and spread evenly, tapping pan gently to remove air bubbles.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes. Cake is done when it springs slightly back when touched. Do not overbake, or cake will break when rolled.
  • While cake is baking, spread a kitchen towel on a flat surface and dust lightly with cocoa powder (2 T). This will be used to roll the cake.

Roll Cake

  • When the cake is done, immediately invert it onto prepared kitchen towel. Peel off parchment. Use kitchen towel to slowly roll cake beginning at short end. Let cake cool completely while wrapped in towel.
  • After cake is cool, gently unroll cake. Spread filling on surface of cake, leaving 1/2" borders. Re-roll cake. Cut one end of the cake on the bias and save for later use.

Assemble and decorate cake

  • Place cake on serving plate. Arrange the cut piece flush against the main log like a branch. Thinly frost entire cake with whipped base layer, affixing mushrooms where desired. Place pieces of chocolate bark on top. Dust with powdered sugar (and cocoa powder if desired) from a fine sieve. Garnish with rosemary and cranberries, or evergreen sprigs.