Fall Recipes

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Coconut Milk

July 9, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

It probably seems crazy to most Americans to down a hot bowl of soup right now. This soup makes more sense to me because temperatures on the central coast just haven’t risen much at all. Next time it hits lower temperatures this soup would be perfect to enjoy on a cooler day. Better yet, you could wait until late summer or Fall when the squash actually comes into season. If you are craving roasted butternut squash like me, there’s no time like the present for a good soup.

I chose to make this soup with a few of the great flavors from Thai cooking–coconut milk, red chili paste, and a mixture of fragrant spices. I roasted the butternut squash first in the oven and threw all the ingredients into a big soup pot to simmer. The soup had a lot of wonderful flavors. I loved the flavor of the roasted squash with the creamy coconut milk, spicy chilies, and thai spices. It was pretty simple to throw together and I couldn’t be more happy with how it turned out! I served it with a side of jasmine rice and ended up mixing a few tablespoons of the rice into the soup. It turned out to be a great combination!
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Achiote Roasted Butternut Squash Tacos

May 22, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Who knew butternut squash could be so versatile? As a kid, I remember only having it around Thanksgiving and the holidays. It turns out butternut squash is great on both pizza and tacos. The squash is rubbed with ground annatto/achiote seeds, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Then it’s roasted in the oven until soft. For the toppings, I caramelized an onion with brown sugar and smoked paprika. The tacos were sweet and spicy and so good! I added a tablespoon of the black bean salsa along with some queso fresco for garnish.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Pizza with Pancetta and Balsamic Caramelized Onions

May 18, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Butternut squash is a food that can be surprisingly versatile. So far I have enjoyed it in a variety of recipes but this pizza is by far one of the best. The squash is coated in olive oil, sage and rosemary and baked until soft. The onions sauteed in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar provide a nice balance of sweet and tart. Those flavors work really well with the squash and smoky pancetta. As for the cheese, I used Mozzarella but I would guess that Fontina cheese would be fine too. I also scooped some of the seeds out of the squash to roast in the oven which I used as a final topping. They taste just like pumpkin seeds and it was a really nice last minute addition on the pizza. I wouldn’t use a lot of salt on this recipe as the pancetta is naturally on the salty side and roasting the seeds with salt provides enough flavor for the rest of the pizza. The result was a great pizza with flavors that complimented each other really well.

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White Bean, Kale and Pancetta Soup

April 9, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

I have been trying to eat more “super foods” lately and one vegetable I never think to buy is kale. Kale reminds me a lot of spinach when it’s cooked so I thought a hearty Italian soup with kale would fit together nicely. This recipe is a peasant style soup with white beans, potatoes, veggies, and Italian bacon. I added a little red pepper flakes, fresh herbs, and lemon zest to brighten up the broth and the result was a really tasty, hearty stew! I decided to use chickpeas and cannellini beans but you can use any variety of white bean you like. The soup is garnished with Italian parsley and a few slices of parmigiano reggiano. I served the soup with a couple thick slices of Parmesan Potato Bread and the two together were delicious.

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Pumpkin Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Crispy Fried Sage

March 15, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

A classic way to eat gnocchi is with a brown butter and sage sauce. The sauce is really easy to make as it only involves melting some butter in a pan, letting it brown for a few minutes, and then frying fresh sage leaves in the butter. It is a perfect sauce for both pumpkin and sweet potato gnocchi. The next step is to toss the gnocchi in the sauce for a few minutes and the result is a delicious pasta with flavors of pumpkin and sage. I added a little lemon juice at the end to give the pasta a little more flavor.

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Maple Oat Bread

March 3, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I had a jar of maple butter I decided to make a great bread to go along with it. This bread has a really nice maple flavor that makes the kitchen smell great while it’s cooking. Maple syrup is used in the dough and the loaf is topped with rolled oats and brown sugar. This is a yeast bread so it takes a little more time to prepare. It’s also important to incorporate the flour gradually so the dough can rise properly. The bread was really tasty fresh out of the oven and even better with the maple butter.

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Mushroom Ravioli with a Balsamic Butter Sauce and Toasted Walnuts

February 25, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

This mushroom ravioli is really easy to make if you don’t have time to make your own ravioli from scratch. Unfortunately I don’t have the tools (yet) to make my own pasta so hopefully I will be able to enjoy this recipe from scratch eventually. This is actually my boyfriend John’s recipe (he ate a lot of this during his bachelor pad days). He definitely did better than most bachelors with this delicious and easy to make recipe. The balsamic to butter sauce ratio is important as there needs to be enough butter to tame the bitterness of the balsamic vinegar. The sauce should be a medium brown color and not have a lot of bite to it. I let the sauce simmer on very low heat to let the balsamic vinegar caramalize a little while the pasta was cooking. The walnuts and sauce are perfect with the woodsy flavors of the mushrooms. The only thing I wish I did was get a good rind of parmigiano reggiano for this recipe.

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Tomato Curry Stew with Chickpeas and Potatoes

February 3, 2012 by The Partial Ingredients

This stew is a staple recipe for me as it is easy to put together and is healthy and flavorful. When I want something light and healthy this is one of my favorite go to recipes. I use the slow cooker and all it requires is chopping the veggies and throwing everything in the crock pot to cook for about 8 hours. All the veggies get nice and soft and the flavors of the curry marinate until the stew is bursting with good curry flavor. I served it with warm curried rolls and topped with yogurt.
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Pumpkin and Banana Bread

December 6, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I have really been enjoying the results of adding pumpkin to different recipes. This bread is just like a banana bread with a hint of pumpkin flavor. The bread is seasoned with ginger, allspice and cinnamon and this recipe works great for the holidays. With the addition of the pumpkin to the mashed banana the result was a very soft, moist bread. I can’t wait to make this again!

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Pasta e Fagioli (Italian Pasta and Bean Soup)

December 2, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Pasta e Fagioli is a traditional Italian peasant soup that translates to “pasta and beans.” It’s a soup that can be made with several types of pasta, usually tubettini, ditalini, or conchigliette. Prosciutto or pancetta is used for the base to give it a nice smoky flavor. I wanted to make a big batch so I used a slow cooker to cook the beans and broth. It turned out great, though I forgot to cut up the rosemary and it should really be finely chopped. Just before serving I mixed in the cooked pasta. I strained the rest of the noodles out before putting it away to prevent them from absorbing all the broth over night. The soup was great with a warm, crusty baguette and grated parmigiano reggiano.

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