Pumpkin soup is a popular dish in Jamaica, often prepared rustically, with chunks of pumpkin, chayote and okra, spicy with scotch bonnet peppers, and perhaps even a chicken foot or two! But the pumpkin soup we fell in love with was smooth, creamy and scented with thyme. It was such a favorite of my husband’s that I experimented at home so we could have it at any time.

The last few Thanksgivings have been a bit different for us, as they have been for many others. Since we aren’t accommodating the schedules of children or out of state guests, the meal has evolved into a day long eat-a-thon! We always start with “snacks”, as the charcuterie board has come to be known, accompanied by kir royale cocktails. Without anyone in a rush to get somewhere else, we have added a pumpkin course before the main event. This is usually either pumpkin ricotta gnocchi or pumpkin soup.

It makes a perfect Fall meal with the addition of good, crusty bread and some cheese, or an excellent first course for Thanksgiving dinner!

Pumpkin Soup Photo Tutorial

The ingredients for pumpkin soup are simple and natural. This recipe is gluten free and vegetarian. Not shown is the optional hot pepper. (Or the bay leaves. Oops!)

The pumpkins are cut in half and all of the seeds and stringy innards scooped out.

Once the pumpkins are cleaned, it is time to roast them. Roasting intensified the flavors–and saves the cook from the unpleasant task of peeling the pumpkins! The skins will simply peel away from the flesh after the pumpkins are fully cooked. The roasted pumpkins are darker in color, soft throughout and the skin begins to shrivel.

While the pumpkins are roasting, chop onions and celery and grate fresh ginger.

After sautéing the vegetables, peel the skin away from the roasted pumpkin and add the pumpkin to the pot, along with the ginger, bay leaves, fresh thyme, optional jalapeno or scotch bonnet pepper and water.

Then everything simmers until the vegetables are soft and you are ready to puree the soup.

The soup is returned to the pan, adjusted to taste with salt and pepper and gently warmed.

Ladle into bowls, garnish and enjoy!

Garnish each bowl with crumbled goat cheese and a sprinkle of fresh thyme and Aleppo pepper:

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Pumpkin Soup

A smooth, Jamaican inspired pumpkin soup

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Soup

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 4

Equipment

• Blender: regular or immersion
• Stock pot

Ingredients

• 5 lb sugar pumpkins
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 tsp ginger grated
• 1 jalapeno or scotch bonnet pepper seeds removed and chopped. *Optional*
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 sprigs thyme plus more for garnish
• 4 C water
• salt
• pepper
• 2 ounces goat cheese
• Aleppo pepper

Instructions

For the roasted pumpkin:

• Cut the pumpkins in half and scoop out all of the seeds and fibers in the center. Place face down on a foil lined, rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes, until a fork easily pierces the flesh. Remove from the oven and cool.

For the soup:

• Heat the olive oil in a stock pot until shimmering. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the ginger and hot pepper (if using) and stir briefly. Add bay leaves, thyme and water.
• Peel the skin from the cooked pumpkin and add the pumpkin to the pot with the rest of the ingredients.
• Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until everything is softened.
• Remove from the heat and puree with an immersion blender, or carefully transfer to a blender container and process in batches.

  Return the soup to the pan and gently reheat. Add more water if your soup seems too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serving

• Ladle the soup into bowls and top with crumbled goat cheese, more fresh thyme and a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper.

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Summer is over. It is the middle of October and just like that! it feels as if someone flipped a switch.

But there is a silver lining. And these days, we all need to grab hold of the bright side. So…

A few cool, rainy days in a row and I am ready to fire up the oven and savor the amazing smell and taste of a perfectly roasted chicken.

For me, there are few dishes that are as purely nostalgic as roasted chicken. As children, we were allowed to choose our birthday meals and for me, it was always roasted chicken. Fast forward to (birthday!) trips to Paris–where they take chicken very seriously–and I have never been able to walk by a market or shop selling rotisserie chicken without slowing down to admire the glossy golden skin and inhale that amazing smell.

Or how about dinner at the NoMad in NYC, where I don’t think I would even consider ordering anything but the roasted chicken, which is elevated with a mixture of foie gras, truffles and brioche piped under the skin, melting and basting the meat as it cooks? It is nothing short of transcendent.

There are so many ways to roast a chicken, from stuffed to spatchcocked. Brined? Dry brined? Rubbed? Herbs, vegetables, lemon? Butter? Compound butter? On top or inserted between the skin and the meat? I have made them all and loved them all. But sometimes I just want easy. I want to get a delicious meal on the table with a minimum of effort, so this is my go to recipe.

Photo Tutorial for Simplest Roasted Chicken

This meal is made from simple ingredients so buy the best whole chicken you can find. Roasters are about 4 lb and typically more flavorful than broilers. The vegetables here are russet potatoes, onions and carrots, but feel free to add other root vegetables or fennel. You can also increase or decrease the amounts according to your tastes. We love roasted carrots, so I usually throw in a few extra.

The vegetables are peeled, cut into chunks, and placed into a roasting pan. Then they drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.

After the chicken is rinsed and dried, the cavity is stuffed with fresh thyme and sage. It joins the vegetables in my ancient vintage Farberware roasting pan and is then rubbed with more olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together and into the oven it goes!

Cook the roasted chicken for about 20 minutes per pound. It is done when the meat in the thickest part of the thigh registers 165F. The leg should move easily and juices should run clear (not pink). The vegetables are tender, except for all of the yummy crispy edges of the potatoes!

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Simplest Roast Chicken

A recipe for a hands-off, one pan complete meal of perfectly roasted chicken and vegetables.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• whole chicken abt 4 pounds, at room temperature
• 2-3 russet potatoes
• 1 onion
• 4 carrots
• 1 handful fresh thyme
• 1 handful fresh sage
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450F

For the vegetables:

• Cut the onion in to eighths. Peel the carrots and cut in to 3 inch segments. If any are very thick, cut them in half lengthwise. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 1/2" pieces.
• Place all of the vegetables into the bottom of a roasting pan and drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper.

For the chicken:

• Starting with a whole chicken at room temperature, remove the giblets, rinse and pat dry, Place the thyme and sage inside the cavity and set the chicken on top of the vegetables. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.
• Rub the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil all over the outside and season the skin with salt and pepper.

Cooking the chicken:

• Place the roasting pan in the preheated oven. After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 350F. Cook for 20 minutes per pound of chicken, or until the internal temperature at the thickest part of the thigh is 165F.
• Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

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Meatloaf. That’s it…no fancy adjectives or list of specialized ingredients. Because in my house, there is only one meatloaf–and heaven help the cook who wants to change anything about the recipe!

Growing up I never understood why meatloaf was the butt of late night or school lunch jokes (until I got to junior high and tasted the ersatz “meatloaf” that they served in the cafeteria!). I loved it enough to request it for my birthday dinner. In fact, even today I generally double the recipe so that there will be plenty of leftovers….and chances are there will be a container in the refrigerator with a post-it note, staking someone’s claim for tomorrow’s lunch.

Eat the last piece of meatloaf at your own peril!

It does make a killer sandwich. Soft white bread, mayo, maybe some lettuce if you’re feeling fancy. Ok, so this wasn’t a planned photo. It falls more into the category of “mocking the husband for the absurd size of his manly sandwich”. But you get the idea!

What makes this meatloaf so beloved? I think it’s partly the texture (everything but the meat is mixed together in the blender and the combination of ground meats plus buttermilk make it very tender), but the main attraction is the glaze on top. There has to be plenty of sauce!

And the last bit of serendipity: the oven temperature and timing just happen to align with the correct settings for baked potatoes. Just saying.

Meatloaf photo tutorial

Nothing exotic here, but a couple of small tweaks make an improved meatloaf: buttermilk (you can substitute regular milk if buttermilk is not available) and meatloaf mix (a blend of ground beef, pork and veal). You can use 85% ground beef, if that is what is available. Just don’t use anything too lean, to avoid a dry meatloaf.

The secret to the perfect texture is mixing everything but the ground meat in the blender.

It may seem like a lot of liquid, but mix gently until it is thoroughly combined with the meat. Transfer the mixture to a 8×5″ loaf pan.

For the sauce, just whisk all of the ingredients together and spread on top of the prepared meatloaf

Have you tried this recipe? Have a question or a request? Leave a note in the comments!

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Meatloaf

A tender, smooth textured meatloaf with a sweet and tangy tomato glaze

Ingredients

• 1 C buttermilk
• 2/3 C dry breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 C onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dry sage
• 1 1/2 lb meatloaf mix
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1/2 C ketchup
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp dry mustard

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350.

  Combine buttermilk, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, salt and sage in blender. Blend until completely smooth.

  Stir buttermilk mixture into ground meat until thoroughly combined. Transfer to 8×5″ loaf pan.
• For glaze: whisk together brown sugar, ketchup, nutmeg and dry mustard. Spread on top of meatloaf mixture.
• Bake meatloaf at 350 for 50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Meatloaf mix is a combination of ground beef, pork and veal. If it is unavailable, substitute 85% lean ground beef, or a mixture of beef and pork.

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Can we talk gnocchi?  What could be more amazing than creating the most ephemeral pasta  in  your own kitchen from only a few ingredients and without any special equipment? This is a project that is perfect for weekend days. Even small children can help roll out the dough and cut it with a butter knife, and having ricotta gnocchi in your freezer means you can have a quick and delicious meal any night of the week.

Years ago, I read an interview with the legendary chef, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry where  he contended that repetition, is essential to becoming an intuitive cook. In essence, he instructs the cook to make a recipe exactly as written. A few days later, write a simpler version of the recipe down on paper and make it again. Repeat over several weeks, using fewer instructions and making small adjustments such as switching a vegetable or spice. Over this time, you will come to “own” the recipe, as well as gain an understanding of the techniques that are involved. Really, isn’t this how our grandmothers cooked?

Hopefully I caught your interest with the seasonal Pumpkin Gnocchi. Ready to branch out? Here is some repetition with a little variation from the gnocchi you may have tried making. The first recipe is for the basic gnocchi; the second is an idea for turning it into a main dish. But you can never go wrong with a side of fresh gnocchi with some tomato sauce or even just butter and cheese!

Skip the pancetta for a vegetarian meal and do try with your favorite GF flour if you eat gluten free. Leave a note in the comments to let me know how it turned out!

Ingredient and Recipe Notes for Ricotta Gnocchi

Gather all of your ingredients together. Use quality ingredients for the best results: unsalted butter, whole milk ricotta, good grated cheese. Ricotta makes the gnocchi light; potato makes them easier to handle.

For more instructions on mixing and shaping gnocchi, please refer to my Pumpkin Gnocchi post.

Once all of the ingredients are mixed together (perfectly fine to do it by hand), add just enough flour so that you can work the dough without it sticking. The moisture in the ricotta and the potatoes, as well as the size of the eggs and the humidity in the air will all affect exactly how much flour you need.

The dough rolled out into ropes then cut into bite sized pieces. Then you can use  your thumb to make an indentation or a fork to make traditional grooves. Either way, it means that the gnocchi will hold more sauce!

Holding the gnocchi in your left hand, and a fork in the right, roll the tines over the dough

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Ricotta Gnocchi

A recipe for homemade ricotta and potato gnocchi.

Ingredients

• 1 large baking potato (about 1 C mashed)
• 2 eggs
• 1 C ricotta cheese, whole milk
• 2 T butter, melted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 C Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• 3 C flour

Instructions

• Boil the potato and mash until smooth. Cool.
• Mix the potato with the eggs and salt and whip until fluffy. Stir in the ricotta cheese, butter, Romano cheese and about 2 1/2 C of the flour.
• Knead until smooth, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the counter. 
• Roll the dough out into 1/2″ ropes and cut it into 3/4″ pieces. Arrange the gnocchi on a parchment paper covered baking sheet and cover until you are ready to cook them. Alternatively, place the baking sheet in the freezer. When the gnocchi are frozen solid, remove them to a zip top bag and store in the freezer. 
• To cook the gnocchi: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the gnocchi in (it is fine to take them directly from the freezer). When they rise to the surface, they are done. This will only take a couple of minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a colander. 

Ricotta Gnocchi with Spinach, Pancetta and Mozzarella

All of the ingredients. Defrost the spinach in the microwave if you haven’t planned ahead.

You will make a quick, fresh tomato sauce while the water is boiling for the gnocchi.

The gnocchi, pancetta and spinach are arranged in an ovenproof baking dish.

Here the tomato sauce and mozzarella have been added. It just needs a final sprinkle of basil and into the oven it goes!

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Ricotta Gnocchi with Pancetta, Spinach and Mozzarella

Ricotta Gnocchi baked with tomato sauce,  spinach, pancetta and mozzarella

Ingredients

• 3/4 recipe Ricotta Gnocchi
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 oz pancetta
• 28 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 sprig basil
• 4 oz fresh mozzarella
• 2 T basil, chopped
• 1 `10 oz box frozen chopped spinach.

Instructions

• Start heating a large pot of salted water for the gnocchi.  Defrost the spinach. 
• While it heats, place the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the pancetta.  Cook until it starts to turn golden, then remove with a slotted spoon. Add the garlic to the pan and cook briefly; it should not brown. Add the tomato sauce and sprig of basil. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the flavors blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cook the gnocchi in the boiling water and drain well. Place them in an oven proof dish. Add the pancetta, spinach and  tomato sauce. Mix lightly. Next tear pieces of mozzarella and arrange them on top of the gnocchi. Sprinkle the chopped basil over everything.
• Place the dish in a 350 F oven for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.

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It’s Pumpkin Season!  Ok, honestly, I could take or leave a lot of the crazy pumpkin flavored products that flood the market this time of year…but I have always loved Fall. I love the cooler days and the gorgeous foliage here in New England; I especially love feeling inspired to spend Sundays in the kitchen with the range running and delicious smells filling the house.  And one thing that says “It’s Fall!” to me is pumpkin ricotta gnocchi (with a healthy dose of sage brown butter, of course!).

Gnocchi are small Italian dumplings and they may be flavored with cheese, potato, herbs or even chocolate or prunes. I typically find that gnocchi dough made from potatoes is easier to handle, but may produce a heavy finished product. Conversely, dough made from ricotta is more difficult to work with, but the gnocchi are light and tender. The answer? A combination of both, with pumpkin standing in for potato in this Autumn version.

This is a dish that can be made in advance (see notes for freezing at the end) and is both festive enough to serve as a first course for Thanksgiving and elegant enough for a dinner party. 

Edit: Thanks to a wonderful reader, I have been made aware that this recipe works well with gluten free flour! She used Cup for Cup. I also like Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend.

Recipe and Ingredient notes for Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi

Pumpkin: Either canned or fresh pumpkin work well here, but the secret is to remove excess water. Cooking the pumpkin puree briefly on the stovetop drives off excess water and intensifies the pumpkin flavor.

Flour: Either all-purpose or the Italian type 00 flour work well.

Technique: The flour is given as a range, because how much you will need to use will depend on the moisture content of your pumpkin and ricotta. The key to tender gnocchi is a) add only the minimum amount of flour needed to prevent sticking and b) do not overwork the dough, as this will develop gluten.

Add just enough flour to the dough so that you can shape it. Your work surface and your hands should be lightly floured.  

After the dough rests, divide it into eight pieces. Cover the ones that you aren’t using with a towel. Roll each piece out to about 15″ long and cut into 3/4″ pieces. Transfer the pieces to a parchment lined baking sheet. Optionally, you can use the tines of a fork to create ridges on the gnocchi.

Cover your gnocchi until they are ready to be cooked.

Or… freeze them on the baking sheet. When they are completely solid, transfer to a ziplock bag and store in the freezer until you are ready to use them. The gnocchi can go directly from the freezer to boiling water.

Cooking:

Everything comes together quickly at the end, so while the salted water is boiling, set up a colander inside a bowl and start browning the butter in a skillet.

The sage is cut very finely and added to the brown butter.

The gnocchi will sink to the bottom of the pan of water. When they float to the surface, they are done and can be removed to the colander with a slotted spoon.

Carefully transfer the drained gnocchi to the brown butter and sage mixture. The gnocchi can be cooked briefly in the brown butter, to just transfer the flavors or they can be cooked a little longer until the outside is golden and crispy. Your call! They are both delicious.

Serve with freshly ground pepper and grated Parmesan cheese.

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Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi

A recipe for pumpkin and ricotta gnocchi, served with a brown butter and sage sauce

Ingredients

• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 1 C ricotta cheese whole milk
• 1 Egg
• 1 Egg yolk
• 3/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 1/4-2 1/2 C flour
• 1 stick butter
• 4-5 leaves sage slivered

Instructions

• Cook pumpkin puree over very low heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. The pumpkin will darken in color and become dryer.
• Combine pumpkin, ricotta, egg, yolk, Parmesan, salt and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium low speed until smooth. Add about 2C of flour and mix until just combined.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Continue working additional flour into the dough until it is smooth and you can just work it without excessive sticking.  Cover with a towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.
• Divide the dough into eight pieces. Working with one piece at a time (keep the rest covered), roll it out into a 15″ rope. Cut the rope into 3/4″ pieces and transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Keep the gnocchi covered until you are ready to cook them, or freeze immediately.
• To cook: Bring a large pan of well salted water to a boil. Drop the gnocchi into the water. They will sink. When the gnocchi rise to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon.
• For brown butter and sage sauce: Place a stick of butter in a skillet. Heat over medium low until the butter foams and then the solids become golden brown. Watch it carefully to avoid burning. Add the slivered sage.
• Carefully transfer the drained gnocchi to the skillet with the brown butter sauce. Beware of spattering! Mix to combine and serve with grated Parmesan cheese. Alternatively, the gnocchi can be cooked for a few minutes in the butter until they are golden and crispy.

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Greek Burgers. Opa! I can’t say “Greek burgers” without hearing the words in my head, spoken in the voice of one of the uncles from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. Pass the Windex!

This dish was inspired by another trip to Santorini. One of our teenage sons was craving a burger. You know, just a plain old, normal, American style burger. When his meal arrived, it was not what he expected–but a family favorite was born.

The restaurant proudly described the dish as a blend of meats, seasoned, and stuffed with cheese and they did not disappoint. The football-shaped burgers fit perfectly into a wedge of pita bread. Add a dollop of tzatziki and maybe a cucumber salad on the side and you will say “Opa!”, too!

Ingredient Notes

Meat: I generally use lamb and beef, but feel free to substitute pork for part of the total. Because ground lamb tends to have a higher fat content, it’s ok to use leaner (90%) beef. If you think you don’t like lamb, or haven’t really tried it, this is a good recipe to test the waters. You might be surprised!

Cheese: I always use Laughing Cow Creamy Light Swiss Cheese. It is soft and easy to shape in the burgers, but holds together pretty well once cooked. Besides, each box has eight wedges which will yield 16 2oz burgers–exactly the same as the two pounds of meat. Perfect!

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Greek Burgers

A simple cheese stuffed lamb and beef burger.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 lb ground beef
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pkg creamy swiss cheese wedges Laughing Cow

Instructions

• Place ground lamb and beef in a medium size bowl. Add cumin and salt and mix well. 
• Open the foil packages of cheese and divide each wedge lengthwise into two pieces.
• Using 2 ounces of the meat mixture, flatten it into an oval and place a piece of cheese on top. Carefully shape the meat around the cheese, sealing the seams well. Form it into an elongated football shape with your hands.
• Cook on the grill, turning the burgers gently so that the cheese doesn’t escape!
• Serve with Syrian bread and tzatziki.

Greek Burgers Pictorial

Such a short and simple list of ingredients!

Start by slicing each wedge of cheese lengthwise. It’s good to do them all at the beginning before things get messy!

Flatten 2oz of the meat mixture into an oval and place a wedge of cheese on top.

Shape the meat around the cheese, being sure to seal it completely. The finished burger should look like an elongated football.

Grill the burgers and serve with Syrian bread and tzatziki.

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