Spinach Walnut Pesto with Smoked Tofu & Whole Wheat Rotini

I love trying out different variations of pesto and since fresh basil is only available for a limited time every year (which makes me very sad), I try to find decent substitutions. This pesto surprised me with how well it turned out. The bit of freeze dried basil that I added gave the pesto enough basil taste for a person to not be able to tell that it wasn't made with basil. I was happy that it tasted like regular pesto even thought it's made with spinach instead of basil, walnuts instead of pine nuts, and no Parmesan cheese. I added some ground flax seeds (I was adding them to everything for a while) and smoked tofu (which was a bit overpowering when eating the leftovers). The raw garlic made the pesto a bit spicy, so next time I'd either use half as much or maybe roast it. Overall a great discovery and a recipe I will make again. And full of healthy spinach!

Oh and if you have yet to try smoked tofu, you must make every effort to find it! The taste and texture are similar to smoked gouda, at least to me. My mom who isn't a big fan of tofu really likes it, so it could be a good way to get non-tofu lovers to eat tofu and/or as a "gateway" tofu product.

Spinach Walnut Pesto with Smoked Tofu & Whole Wheat Rotini
modified from Quick-Fix Vegetarian

makes about 1 1/2 cups, serves 2-3 when with pasta

3 cups fresh spinach
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup firmly packed fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup walnut pieces
1 tbsp freeze dried basil
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil or walnut oil

1 block of smoked tofu (about 8 oz)

Cook your favourite whole wheat pasta (I'm sorry I can't remember how much I cooked, but if you have leftover you can make pasta salad?).

Meanwhile, steam the spinach over boiling water for 1 minute, or wilt it in a covered bowl in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Mince the garlic with the salt in a food processor. Squeeze any moisture from the spinach and add to the food processor along with the parsley, basil, flax seeds and walnuts. Puree until smooth. Add the olive oil gradually and process to a smooth paste.

Cut up smoked tofu into squares or small strips. In the pot that you cooked the pasta in, add the pesto and the tofu. Heat over low until tofu is hot.

Cheater's Ravioli

I love stuffed pasta, and I know how much better homemade stuffed pasta is than store bought (unless you're talking about the pasta from Duso's at Granville Island Public Market, but again that's freshly made.) I had to try Giada de Laurentiis's recipe that uses egg roll wrappers. A great time saving part of this recipe, but I realized after trying them that for me it's not worth it. It's really weird to be eating ravioli when the dough is an egg roll wrapper - it tastes like an Italian style dumpling or something like that. And I definitely don't like dumplings/pot stickers when they're boiled or steamed, pan fried all the way! I could've tried pan fried ravioli then but I didn't think of it then. Next time! In a way, I think using egg roll wrappers is good if you've never made stuffed pasta before. There's already so much to do making a billion ravioli, and this way you can build up your stuffed pasta making confidence before moving on to making your own dough.

The filling that Giada uses is spinach and mushroom. I'm not sure why I thought I would like this since I really don't like cooked/wilted spinach - love raw spinach though. I was probably thinking it would be good for me. Anyway, I wasn't a big fan of the taste of the spinach mushroom ravioli though others liked it. Luckily, all was not lost because I had mistakenly thought I needed 6 cups of mushrooms when I only needed 6 ounces. This left me with tons of mushrooms, so I ended up coming up with my own filling (gasp, I'm coming up with my own recipes now!) The filling I created was sauteed mushrooms, pine nuts, ricotta, Parmesan, and basil, and I thought it was quite tasty. I also used a lot less oil when sauteeing the mushrooms for this one.

I spent hours making ravioli. I've only made pot stickers before (in regards to stuffed things), and I felt the same way both times when making them. It just feels like your pile of filling is never going to end and is not getting any smaller. It's quite the triumphant feeling to see an empty bowl and be able to sit down finally. Though I could've done this all sitting down, I had set it up on the kitchen counter and didn't want to bother moving everything. Anyway, I was left with tons of little raviolis to put in the freezer for a quick meal another day.

For the sauce, I used the recommended mushroom marinara sauce (which was actually quite tasty and used up my leftover marinara sauce) on half and then just butter and Parmesan on the other half. When I'm eating really tasty stuffed pasta, I prefer just using butter and Parmesan instead of a heavier sauce that might take away from the flavour of the pasta. The mushroom marinara sauce went really well with the ravioli though, I must say. The mushroom marinara sauce is really easy to make - saute mushrooms until liquid evaporates, add marinara sauce (store bought or your favourite homemade one, or you could try this one) and let it simmer for a few minutes.

I'm submitting this to Ruth for Presto Pasta Night. I know it's early in the week, but last week I almost missed it and I want to make sure I have a post for it, especially since this is the 6 month-aversary of Presto Pasta Night!

Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli, Mushroom Pine Nut Ravioli
(adapted from Everyday Italian)

Spinach & Mushroom Ravioli
1/4 cup olive oil
6 ounces button mushrooms, sliced (about 6 big mushrooms)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
10-oz (300g) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
6 egg roll wrappers
1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water

In a large saute pan, heat 1/4 cup of oil over medium-high flame. Add the sliced button mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Saute until the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 6 minutes. Add the spinach and saute for 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until a coarse texture forms. Transfer the spinach mixture to a large bowl and stir in 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and the ricotta. Season the filling with more salt and pepper to taste.

Mushroom Pine Nut Ravioli
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
15 large button mushrooms (about 15 ounces)
salt & pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tbsp freeze dried basil
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup ricotta cheese

In a large saute pan, heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil over medium-high flame. Add the sliced button mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute until the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 6 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to the bowl of a food processor. Add pine nuts and basil. Pulse until a coarse texture forms. Transfer the mushroom mixture to a large bowl and stir in 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and the ricotta. Season the filling with more salt & pepper to taste.

Instructions for both:
Lightly flour a baking sheet. Arrange 3 egg roll wrappers on a cutting board. Brush with the egg and water mixture. Using a tablespoon, spoon 4 mounds of the ravioli mixture 1 inch apart on each wrapper, forming 2 mounds on the first row and 2 mounds on the second. Top each with another wrapper and press around the filling to seal the edges. Using a fluted ravioli cutter (or in my case, a pizza cutter), cut out the ravioli squares, forming 16-20 total. Place the ravioli on the prepared baking sheet and cover with a clean towel.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ravioli until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the ravioli (or scoop out using a slotted spoon). Spoon whatever sauce you're using over the ravioli and serve immediately.

Note: If freezing the ravioli, freeze them as they're laid out on the baking sheet (so they don't stick together). Once frozen you can put them into another container.

Most Delicious Salsa

I've eyed the recipe in the Rebar cookbook for Parmesan corn risotto cakes many times. Of course this was always at times of the year when there was no fresh corn to be had. Finally it happened where I looked at the recipe and I knew I could get fresh corn. I set out to make these one day for lunch for a friend and myself, but without a lot of foresight. The risotto needs time to completely cool before it can be made into cakes. I spread it out on a cookie sheet and put it in the fridge (then was scared that that was the reason our fridge broke but no it wasn't) hoping it would cool down fast enough but it just didn't really work. It was really difficult to shape the corn risotto into balls (oh and did I mention that I completely forgot to add the Parmesan, it still tasted good though!) The next day when I had leftovers, I just took them to work instead of trying to make them into cakes again.

You can really see here how the risotto didn't shape very well into patties.

The risotto is made with corn stock (made using fresh ears of corn that have had the kernels sliced off), shaped into balls, covered in cornmeal, then pan fried. And of course you add the freshly cut corn kernels to the risotto. I had no idea how delicious fresh raw corn is when cut off the cob (and hopefully this is something that's okay to eat and not going to screw up my digestive system or something). The taste of the risotto was good, and the crispy cornmeal bits on the outside were good too. I have definitely discovered that I do not enjoy shaping things into patties and pan frying them though - unless the things I'm pan frying are really going to stick together. One time I tried to make potato patties but I must have let the potatoes boil too long because the patties were too moist - or maybe I should've just added some flour or bread crumbs to them. I really love the idea of risotto balls or risotto cakes (one time I saw Emeril using leftover risotto to make risotto balls that he stuck a piece of cheese in the middle of, then deep fried), so I'd like to say that I'd try it again. But if nothing else, the corn risotto was good on its own (with or without the Parmesan!)

Anyway, it was the grape tomato basil salsa that really stole the show here. I've seen the recipe before and thought I'd like to try it, but salsa was one of the many things I feared making (along with pie crusts savoury and sweet), and it requires fresh basil so I'd prefer to make it in the summer when basil is cheap. (Though now that I know how delicious it is, I'd like to make it all year round.) It was very strange that I had all the ingredients in the house to make this salsa (which was the salsa suggested to go with the Parmesan corn risotto cakes), because I don't usually have grape tomatoes or basil in the house. I'm extremely happy that I did though because this salsa is amazing. Truly truly amazing and so delicious. I will be making it again and again. (Which reminds me that I should make a list somewhere of all my favourite food so I have this wonderful master list to refer to.) There's balsamic vinegar in the salsa which seemed different because I've never had vinegar in a salsa (to my knowledge), but it was oh so good.

I served the cakes and salsa with sauteed zucchini on the side - local yellow zucchini at that. I was very excited about this yellow zucchini, but for some reason it ended up tasting very odd to me, like seafood or something. Now I want to stay away from yellow zucchini, though I really should give it another chance.

I wasn't going to post the recipe for the Parmesan corn risotto cakes but then after I wrote all about it, I'm sure someone might be interested in it so I'll just post both recipes. Though if you're only going to make one of them, make the salsa! Make it soon while things are still in season. If you're looking for other risotto recipes, you can check out the baked sweet potato and beet risotto with peas I made.

Grape Tomato Salsa
(adapted from Rebar)

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
3 scallions, greens only, minced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
salt and cracked pepper to taste

Slice grape tomatoes into quarters. Toss with remaining ingredients, season to taste.

Parmesan Corn Risotto Cakes
(from Rebar)

Fresh corn stock
4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed and reserved
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 bay leaves
few springs fresh oregano, parsley or thyme
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp coarse salt
8 cups cold water

Risotto cakes
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups fresh corn
1 cup white wine
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup fine cornmeal

Note: Make the risotto the day before you want to make the cakes so the risotto has lots of time to cool completely. If you just want to eat the risotto and not make cakes, then obviously this doesn't apply.

1. Place stock into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes. Strain to a boil and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes. Strain and keep warm (you will need 4-5 cups in total).

2. Heat butter and olive oil in a large heavy saucepan and saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add the rice and cook, stirring until the rice is well coated. Add the corn, season with salt and saute for several minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until asborbed. Now start adding warm corn stock, one cup at a time. Keep stirring and add the next cup of stock only when most of the liquid is absorbed. Now start adding warm corn stock, one cup at a time. Keep stirring and add the next cup of stock only when most of the liquid is basorbed and the rice still looks creamy. When the rice is tender but the grains still slightly firm to the bite, remove risotto from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese. (Stop here if you are just making the risotto and not the cakes.) Season to taste and spraed the risotto into a baking pan to speed cooling. Cover and refrigerate.

3. To saute cakes, form the risotto into 2 1/2" round cakes and dredge in cornmeal. Fry in hot olive oil unitl golden and crispy on both sides.