Cauliflower Stuffed Ravioli

I've been part of a group called Soup Saturday Swappers for a couple of years now, and have fun pretty much every month posting about the 'Soup of the Month'.   We have a theme every month, and make and post a soup including that them.

This month we did a Noodle soup theme, and I made these stuffed Ravioli and used them in the Spinach Soup.  Ideally I should have included the recipe and how to's in the original post, but when I tried it, the post was so long, I decided I needed to divide it and make this a second, separate post.

I've been making home made noodles for years, I think there is nothing better than home made noodles in a home made chicken soup.
The flavor of both, heaven.

I also made a baked noodle dish a couple of years ago for a Baking Bloggers post.  And have since made it a couple of times.  It's sorta like Kugel, but oh so very good.  It's called Rakott Teszta and is a layered noodle dish.

The basic rules apply in this dish as well, but the proportions are a touch different.

And I didn't have a proper Ravioli press, so I used my Pierogi press instead.
It worked like a dream.
Mostly.

I made the filling out of riced Cauliflower, red onions and Gouda cheese.  The onions turned a little purple when they cooked.

I used a dumpling press I'd had hanging around, forever. Originally purchased to make Pierogi's with.  I'll get to them eventually.

The finished Ravioli, and this wasn't even the best looking of the bunch, they all turned out pretty darn nice looking. Those little specks on there, are from the semolina.  It kept them from sticking in the press. 

The Ravioli, cooking in some lovely chicken stock.  I did crowd the pot a little, but they turned out OK. 

Cauliflower and Cheese Stuffed Ravioli

Yield: 4 generous servings in soup

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - adapted from several online recipes

Prep time: 45 MCook time: 3 MTotal time: 48 M

These hearty, yet delicate Ravioli go so well in a soup.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups AP  flour + 2-3 tablespoons of flour as needed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1-3 tablespoons water (if needed for moisture)
• Semolina flour for sprinkling

Cauliflower Filling

• 2 cups riced cauliflower, cooked, with the liquid squeezed out.
• 1/2 small onion, finely diced
• 1/2-3/4 cup shredded Gouda cheese
• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:

How to cook Cauliflower and Cheese Stuffed Ravioli

1. Add the first four ingredients to the bowl of a food processor, and mix until it comes together as a ball.  If it looks a little too moist, add a tablespoon of flour until it comes together, too dry add water, a teaspoon at a time.  You're looking for a dough which resembles pie dough.
2. Dump out onto a floured surface and knead it together for a couple of minutes.  the dough should be fairly elastic. If it seems too dry, add water, a teaspoon at a time.  If it feels too sticky, add flour, a tablespoon at a time.   You're aiming for a smooth elastic dough. 
3. Wrap up tightly and let it set and rest up for at least 30 minutes, an hour is better. 
4. After 30 minutes, divide the dough into quarters and using either a rolling pin or a pasta machine, roll out the dough thinly.
5. If using a rolling pin, roll out as thin as possible, then fold the dough in thirds, like an envelope and roll out again. Repeat at least 3 times. This makes for silky soft noodles. Roll the dough out as thin as you can. Cut into noodles or leave as a large sheet. Leave to dry for at least an hour before cooking it. As this is fresh dough, it will only take a minute or two in boiling water.
6. If using a pasta machine, place each piece through the machine on the widest setting, then fold it in thirds, and put through the machine one to two times.
7. Then go to the next setting, and repeat.
8. Finish off with the lowest setting. When you get to this step, do not fold the dough over, just feed it through the setting one or two more times. This makes the dough very thin, but it should still be fairly elastic.
9. You should have several sheets of dough.  Place a piece of plastic wrap over all but one sheet.   Sprinkle a teensy bit of semolina on a dumpling press,Cut rounds out of the sheet and place on a dumpling press. Fill the center with some of the Cauliflower mixture, and close the press up, using firm pressure to seal the edges. Try to avoid any air pockets.  Place the filled Ravioli  onto a plate, sprinkling a little semolina over top to keep them from sticking to each other, and place some plastic wrap over top. Continue to fill the Ravioli's until all cauliflower mixture is used.  I got just over 15 stuffed Ravioli's from this recipe, and froze the excess dough to be used at a later date.  You can freeze the dough, it does freeze well.  Just let it thaw in the fridge overnight. 
10. Cook the stuffed Ravioli's in either chicken stock, vegetable stock or even salted water. They are done when they float to the top. You'll find that the soft dough firms up nicely when they are cooked. 

Cauliflower filling

1. Cook the cauliflower, and squeeze out the liquid.  I zap it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, place the cauliflower rice in a clean dishcloth and squeeze out the liquid.  Discard the liquid.
2. Melt the ghee in a pan, and add the diced onions. Let it saute just until they are translucent.  Add the cauliflower and cook an additional minute or two.  Turn off the heat and stir in the shredded Gouda Cheese.  Set aside to cool.

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Homemade Ravioli and Spinach Soup for #SoupSaturdaySwappers

I had this soup all ready to go, and the pictures of it as well, and then my SD card said it was corrupted. I couldn't upload any pictures, I don't what by, I haven't said anything even remotely racy to it lately. Or shown it anything other than food porn.  sigh
I persevered, and got the pictures.

I think I may need a new camera, soon.  I've been limping along with this one for awhile now and it's finally giving up the ghost. And maybe a new SD card as well?

I have to say that this soup came out of my pantry, fridge and freezer, no shopping trips were needed.  As most of us are doing, I'm going out for necessities only, and will continue to do just that. I'm doing a lot of #Shelterinplacecooking.  

It's time for Soup Saturday Swappers and the lovely Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories is our hostess this month.
She proposed we make Noodle Soups.    I've made my share of home made noodles and eaten probably more than my fair share as well, but I wanted to push the envelope, do something challenging, and I did. 
I made some Spinach Soup with Stuffed Ravioli's.

I guess all Ravioli is stuffed anyway. 

As I said, I made some stuffed Ravioli's for this soup and I'll tell you my adventures later on with them, but for now this soup is a kind mishmash of a couple of soups.

That's the best kind, isn't it?

I used some of my homemade chicken stock for this soup, and am so glad I take the time to make it.  Nothing beats the flavor, or the convenience of having some in the freezer all the time. 

To start with I sauteed some onion, and some tomato pieces (about 2-3 tomatoes worth) I had in the freezer, in a little ghee. Sauteed the cumin and fennel seed for a couple of minutes, and did my kitchen smell wonderful    Added in the frozen chopped Spinach which I'd already thawed out.  Warmed it up and let it sit on low heat for a couple of minutes. It's kinda like the sauce for Palak Paneer, ok so it's just like that sauce.    Set it aside for a few minutes while I poached the homemade ravioli which I'd stuffed with a mixture of Cauliflower, Onions and Gouda Cheese.   As soon as they were finished, I dipped them out, and added the spinach tomato mixture, used my immersion blender to whiz it together, brought it up to a boil and turned down the heat.  I then added the stuffed Ravioli and served it up.
I really loved the combo and I think it can be made into a really good vegetarian soup if you use a good vegetable stock instead of the chicken.  

This was a more than generous dinner sized serving for us along with enough for a couple or three lunches. 

Check out what my fellow bloggers came up with for Soup Saturday Swappers this month.
And check out the recipe at the end.

BTW this group is the brainchild of Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Chicken Cordon Bleu Noodle Soup from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Curry Udon with Prawns from Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Homemade Ravioli and Spinach Soup from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking 
• Leftover Beef Soup with Noodles from A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Minestrone with Clams from Palatable Pastime 
• Pasta e Fagioli Soup from Making Miracles
• Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup from Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Vegetarian Thukpa from Sneha's Recipe

Homemade Ravioli and Spinach Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 10 MCook time: 15 MTotal time: 25 M

This is a great soup, not too light, hearty enough for hungry person, but not too stodgy.

Ingredients:

•  2 teaspoons ghee
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seed
• 1 tsp. Fennel Seed
• 1/2 tsp. Turmeric
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2-3 chopped tomatoes
• 1 package frozen chopped Spinach, thawed (8-12 oz. size)
• 4 cups plain chicken stock
• Stuffed Ravioli - 2-3 per serving of soup

Instructions:

How to cook Spinach Soup with Stuffed Ravioli

1. Finely dice a small onion, then cut and dice up to 3 tomatoes.   Set aside. 
2. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and melt the ghee.  Add the Cumin, and Fennel Seeds, saute for about a minute or so, then add the turmeric.
3. Let cook for another minute or so, then add the onion.   Cook just until the onion is softened, then add the tomatoes and the thawed, chopped spinach.   Cover and let cook for about 3-5 minutes, or until the onion is cooked.  Add the chicken stock and let it come to a boil.  Turn off the heat and use the immersion blender to blend it up.  
4. While the soup is simmering, cook the Ravioli in some seasoned chicken stock or vegetable stock.  Set aside to keep warm. 
5. To serve.  Ladle out the soup into bowls and top with a few Ravioli and serve. 

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All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2020, with all rights reserved thereof.

Check out my cookbooks on Amazon.  All are available as paperbacks or as e-book. 
This month only, I'm doing a special price on all downloaded ebooks.
Hygge is only $4.99
Nibbles and Bites is $4.99
Simple Shrimp Recipes is $3.99

 Simple Shrimp Recipes - 25 + Appetizer, Entree and Dipping Sauces.
 Nibbles and Bites - A Compilation of Appetizers, Canapes and Finger Foods. 
  Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes 

Quiche Lorraine with Herbs for Baking Bloggers

Do you make Quiche?   Ever?

I have in the past, I used to make it from time to time, but suddenly realized it's been a long, long time since I've made it. 

I saw a picture of a Quiche Lorraine recently, Mary Berry's recipe to be exact, and then found a package of shredded Gouda Cheese I had in the fridge, I'd kinda forgotten about, and decided to go ahead and make up a quiche. 

It was also a good excuse to use up the rest of the package of sliced Ham I had, there wasn't enough for a regular meal, but enough to flavor a quiche. I also had some cooked bacon in the freezer that had been leftover from Sunday breakfast.

And... my Baking Bloggers group has Baking with Herbs as the theme this month.

So I headed out to the back yard and picked some Herbs.  My chives are going great guns right now, and the Oregano is struggling, thanks to my bright idea of 'feeding' it.  Sigh.  Maybe it will make it, maybe not, but if it doesn't I'll just reseed.  I also have a celery going, one of those 'regrow' things.  I do it all the time with green onions, but the onions are recovering at the moment, so they didn't get to play with the others.

I would have said can anyone say Trifecta, but it was more like a Quatrain.
Food can be poetry, really it can. 

As I said I had the cheese, a little ham, some bacon and since I could, I added some herbs to the Quiche and Voila!  I got not only a great tasting quiche, but was able to join in on the fun and baked with Herbs.
Sauteed onions and chopped cooked bacon sprinkled over the pre-baked crust.  (You pre-bake the crust so it doesn't get all soggy)

a little ham, sandwich ham, leftover from sandwiches on top of the bacon and onions.

A generous handful or three of pre-shredded Gouda Cheese, on top of the ham.

After whisking the eggs and cream together, I added the chopped herbs and poured it over the contents of pie crust.  You can see the cheese and the odd bit of ham that bobbed to the surface.

after baking

I also want to add that a Quiche, is a great way of making a substantial meal, using bits and pieces of leftover meats and veggies.   Basically, you can put almost anything into a quiche as a filling, just make sure you have enough eggs to help bind it together.

And in this particular time period, where many people are trying to come up with meals that are not only filling but healthy as well as using what they have on hand, a quiche is a great meal.
I did blind bake the pastry shell, and didn't have enough weights to keep it in place, so it did shrink from the sides a bit.  You do want to blind bake the base, it keeps the crust from getting soggy as it cooks.

Honestly, making a Quiche is so dead easy, really.   Basically, make a crust, your favorite pie crust will do just fine, put some veggies and meat onto the baked crust, add some cheese and whisk together some eggs and cream or milk, pour over and bake.   And you have dinner or lunch, if you like.
 Basically make it to your own taste.  And in this time of Covid and #Shelterinplacecooking, that's a good thing.  

Quiche Lorraine with Herbs

Yield: 2-4 Servings

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 15 MCook time: 46 MTotal time: 61 M

This is a great way of using up bits and pieces of leftover ham, bacon, different cheeses and adding herbs to it, brings it to a totally new dimension.

Ingredients:

• 1 uncooked pie shell, pre-baked
• 1/2-1 small onion, chopped and sauteed in a little butter, til just translucent and a little browned
• 1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon
• 1/2 cup chopped ham
• 1-2 cups shredded Gouda Cheese (4-6 ounces)
• 3-4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream or half and half - you can also do 1/2 cup milk and half cup cream.
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano'
• 1 tablespoon chopped celery leaf
• *You can use whichever herbs or combo you have on hand for this

Instructions:

How to cook Quiche Lorraine with Herbs

1. Blind bake the pie crust til lightly golden brown. About 10 minutes at 350 degrees. 
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Chop the onion and saute until translucent and lightly colored.   Place the sauteed onion into the baked pie shell.
4. Sprinkle the chopped cooked bacon and ham on top of the onion, finishing it off with the shredded cheese.
5. Chop the herbs, as finely as you like. 
6. Whisk together the eggs and cream. Add the chopped herbs to the egg mixture and then pour it over the contents of the pie shell. 
7. Bake for about 50 minutes or until the center of the quiche is set. 
8. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing. 
9. Slice and serve.

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Baking Bloggers

April 2020: Herbs

• • Baked Spaghetti with Sausage and Meatballs from Palatable Pastime
  • Ham and Herbed Potatoes Au Gratin from Making Miracles
  • Herb Roasted Chickpeas from Cook with Renu
  • Herbed Chicken with Charred Romaine Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • No Knead Herb Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
  • Oven-Braised Rabbit with Herbed Dumplings from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
  • Quiche Lorraine with Herbs from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
  • Sage and Caramelized Onion Sourdough Bread from Caroline's Cooking
  • Rosemary & Garlic Baked Potato With Sour Cream from Sneha's Recipe
  • Tomato Salad Topped Baked Spinach Frittata from Food Lust People Love

Dalgona Coffee aka Mocha Iced Coffee made with Phenti Hui coffee foam

I've jumped onto the Dalgona Coffee bandwagon and didn't miss a step or, fall flat on my face.

I just had to say that. Dalgona Coffee has been trending on Instagram and other places lately, and while I thought it was intriguing, I was kinda "MEH" on the whole thing.
I mean, I wasn't just MEH on the idea, I really had very low expectations about it. 
Just cause it's trendy, doesn't mean I have to do it.    You can read all about it here.

But then I was looking at some of the pictures, and got this AHA!!!! moment.  I kept seeing this stuff on top of milk, and then I realized!!!! this would be a great iced coffee thing.

A good friend of mine did the evil thing and introduced me to Iced Coffee a few years ago.
Thanks Karen, sigh.
 I was kinda cool on the idea, it just didn't sound that appealing.  I mean, cold coffee? However, you could add chocolate syrup to it, so I said yes, cause I do love Mocha flavoring.

I drank that coffee in seconds, it was so good.  And after that, I would treat myself to an Iced Coffee every so often from that ubiquitous nationwide coffee shop, and cringe at the price.

Fast forward to now.  I kept seeing Dalgona coffee on a lot of posts and on Instagram.  They all touted how easy it was and how tasty and you could make it with just three ingredients, one of which was instant coffee.  Since I needed a fresh jar of instant coffee anyway, (I use it in Chocolate Cake and frosting), I ordered some.  Had a brain cramp and bought the 8 oz. size instead of my usual 4 oz. size, not that you care.
So...
Since we're all hunkered down at the moment and I'm not baking cakes, I decided to try this stuff out.
It was so good, I immediately made myself a second iced coffee, and I can feel the buzz now from all that caffeine cascading through my system.

This is more correctly called Phenti Hui coffee or beaten coffee and is made by beating equal amounts of instant coffee, sugar and hot water together to make a lovely creamy foam which then tops an ice cold glass of milk.  Although you can also top hot milk with it.

I got out my handy little Cuisinart immersion blender with the whisk attachment, and whipped up the coffee mixture and it went well.  It took no time at all to foam up.

I then poured myself a glass of milk, added some chocolate syrup to it and topped it with the coffee foam.

Tasted it, and the kinda bitter taste of the foam put me off for a second until I realized I could stick a straw in it, and OMG!!!! I drank it so fast, I almost got brain freeze.
TMI?

Then I poured myself seconds...

The coffee foam is actually pretty dense and when I draped some chocolate syrup over top, it held up beautifully.    I mixed it all together and well, that's why I'm typing so fast, I think I've got caffeine overload.

Just kidding.  I was so excited I wanted to share this right away.

Phenti Hui coffee aka Dalgona Coffee

Yield: 2

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 2 MCook time: Total time: 2 M

The heavily bittersweet coffee foam goes so well on top of a glass of cold milk to make a lovely iced coffee

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons Instant Coffee
• 2 tablespoons Sugar
• 2 tablespoons Hot water

Instructions:

How to cook Phenti Hui coffee aka Dalgona Coffee

1. Using a blender, whisk all the ingredients together until it makes a thick foam.  Top a glass of cold or hot milk.  Drink.

You also add chocolate syrup to the milk to make a Mocha drink. 

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Bread Pudding (and Beer Bread recipe)

I don't know about you all out there, but I'm betting you've got bits and pieces, or the end bits and pieces of bread hanging around your house.

If you've been baking your own bread, I'm going to make an assumption, that you probably have some dried out, or semi dried out pieces of bread hanging around.  And you're tired of turning them into croutons, and bread crumbs. I mean how many croutons does anyone need?  And the bread crumbs, unless you're making lots of meatloaf or breaded fried food, how much do you really need?  hmmm?

Well, if you've still got some eggs and milk, how about taking that dried bread, ends and pieces and making a bread pudding.

I've told you how to make Bread Pudding from Leftover Soda Bread in the past, and it was good. 

It was easy and tasty and not much different from this method either.  Except for one little detail.

Well, actually two.  I used leftover Soda Bread for that one and baked it in a large pan, and with this recipe, I baked it in individual ramekins and used Beer Bread. (Beer Bread recipe is at the end).

I used  ramekins to make individual servings of Bread Pudding.  Mainly because I'm the only one in this house who eats bread pudding, and well, gee I don't need a great big dish of it staring me in the face, taunting me to eat just a little, c'mon, you know you want some, every time I walk past the fridge, or open it.

So, I got smart.  I made just enough for me for the week, for breakfast.  I figure it's got eggs, dairy, fruit and bread so it's a balanced meal.   

First off, I buttered the ramekins.

then I mixed up the batter and added 4 slices of cubed Beer Bread.

let them soak for about 20 minutes,
then added a spoonful to the bottom of each ramekin and dumped about a tablespoon of dried cranberries on top.

Filled them up with the rest of the soaked bread.

baked them in a pan that could hold water, and called it a bain marie.  Basically, pour water into a pan that holds the ramekins, about half way up the outside of the ramekins.
I then put a sheet of foil over the top, baked them for 30 minutes, then removed the foil, and baked an additional 15 minutes or until the internal temp went to 165 degrees.  They didn't brown real well, so I added a bit of butter to the top, turned on the broil and walked away for a couple of minutes, which was about 30 seconds too long as the tops 'browned' a little too much.  You can see the water they were sitting in, and yes it looks a little scummy, but I had dribbled some of the 'batter' in the pan when I was filling the cups up. 

This one was the least 'browned'.   So I ate it first.

So I ate that one first.  Took it out of the ramekin first though.

But it was a touch dry, and I love a sauce on my bread pudding anyway.  So I took a couple tablespoons of whipping cream, added a teaspoon of sugar, and shook it up in a little jar, just so that it thickened a bit, poured it over the pudding and ate it.

You can also make a custard sauce to serve over them, or even sweetened sour cream.  Just stir in a little brown sugar into the sour cream and pour over top.   I like taking a teaspoon of brown sugar and stirring it into two tablespoons of sour cream.
And if you were one of those who made Creme Fraiche, you could even sweeten that a little and use it on top.

There are so many possibilities and just a few of these to experiment on.  "WINK". 
 It's all good. 

Bread Pudding in Ramekins

Yield: 4 Servings

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - 

Prep time: 20 MCook time: 40 MTotal time: 60 M

Not just for dessert, these can also be made for breakfast as well. At least in my house they're breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices Beer Bread or any good hearty bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons Dried Cranberries or fruit of your choice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1- 2 teaspoons butter for topping. 

Instructions:

How to cook Bread Pudding in Ramekins

1. Whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar together. 
2. Cut the bread into cubes and submerge them in the egg batter.
3. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes. 
4. Butter and grease 4 ramekins, and set into a pan which can hold at least a 1/2 inch of water, along with the ramekins.
5. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then add a spoonful of the bread/batter mixture to the bottom of each ramekin.  Sprinkle a tablespoon of dried cranberries on top, then fill the ramekins with the remaining bread/batter mixture, evenly. 
6. Fill the bottom of the pan with the ramekins, up to half the height of the ramekins, cover with foil, and place in oven.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove the foil, dot with the butter and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the contents of the ramekins are set. 
8. If they're not brown enough, you can broil them for a minute or so, watching very carefully so that the tops don't burn.
9. Serve warm.

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Here's the Beer Bread recipe I used. I didn't use as much sugar as many recipes called for, and I added some salt.  I also used an amber lager for this, which was almost too dark. 

Beer Bread

Yield: 4-6 Servings

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - adapted from multiple sources

Prep time: 5 MCook time: 50 MTotal time: 55 M

A great quick bread which goes great with a hearty soup or stew for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Self Rising Flour
• 1- 12 oz. Can of beer- almost any kind but dark beer
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

How to cook Beer Bread

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, grease a loaf pan and set aside.
2. Mix all ingredients together and pour into pan.  This is a very sticky dough.  Don't panic.
3. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. 
4. Let cool before slicing.  (I found out it crumbles very easily when it's cut while warm).
5. Serve with lots of butter and a bowl of stew or soup. 

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