Tag Archives: lemon

Lemony Goat Cheese & Mushroom Ravioli

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I have a secret to share with you! Two words…. wonton wrappers. Not everyone has time to make pasta from scratch, but still wants something a little more homemade then the stuff you pick up at the grocery store. I love using wonton wrappers as my ravioli pasta, it is so easy and tastes delicious! This time I stuffed them with pan roasted mushrooms and scallions, goat cheese, ricotta, and lots of lemon. This ended up being one of my favorite pasta dishes I have made in a while! I promise they taste better than they photographed…

Seeing the ravioli was so flavorful, I just warmed up some olive oil, lemon, and red pepper flakes to drizzle something simple over the top.

Ingredients (makes about 20 ravioli)

Filling:
Wonton wrappers
7oz goat cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
8-10 baby bella mushrooms, stems removed, chopped
1/3 cup freshly chopped scallions
Juice and zest of (1) small Meyer lemon
Fresh black pepper
Olive oil
Small bowl of water

Sauce:
Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Squeeze of fresh Meyer lemon juice

Cook the mushrooms and scallions over medium heat with some olive oil for about 5 minutes. Once finished, place in a food processor with the goat cheese, ricotta, lemon juice/zest, and a good crack of fresh black pepper. Mix until fully incorporated.

Place the wonton wrappers on a flat surface and top half of them with about a teaspoon of the mushroom filling. You don’t want to over fill them otherwise the filling will leak out. Next, one by one wet the edges of each ravioli with the water, then wet the edges of a (non) filled wonton sheet and place on top. Seal the edges by pressing/pinching firmly. I like to use a pastry cutter to make the edges pretty! Place all the ravioli on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel to help them not dry out until you’re ready to boil them. In a large pot of boiling salted water, drop in half of the ravioli and let cook until pasta is soft, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

For the topping, just cook the olive oil, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes for 1-2 minutes on the stove, and pour over top the pasta when serving. I also added some fresh shaved Parmesan cheese and a little more black pepper.

Lemony Chicken Piccata With Mashed Cauliflower

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Capers!! I could eat them all day. I currently have 3 jars of capers in my fridge, which totally seems a little over the top now that I think about it, but they’re just so good! Chicken piccata is one of my favorite go to (and fail proof) meals that I like to make. You can have it over pasta, or grains, or just by itself. Tonight I tried it over some mashed cauliflower and it went really well together! Cauliflower is so delicious and a great alternative to the usual mashed potatoes. It’s much healthier and not as heavy. A vegetarian option for this could be using the cauliflower as the “chicken” and just roast it in the oven until a little crisp then pour the piccata sauce over the top!

Chicken Piccata:
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut in half (to make 4 pieces)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons olive oil
All-purpose flour
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup capers, roughly chopped
1/3 fresh parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mashed Cauliflower:
1 cauliflower, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Start with the cauliflower. In a large pot, sauté the shallot and garlic for a minute or two. Add the chopped cauliflower and about 1/2 cup water. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the cauliflower is fork tender. Place the cauliflower mixture in a blender with a good drizzle of olive oil (or use a hand blender) and blend until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now cook the chicken! Butterfly the chicken by slicing it in half through the center, making 4 thinner piece of chicken. Salt and pepper both side of the chicken well, then dredge with flour and shake off any excess. Place in a hot pan with 2 tablespoons butter and a good splash of olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes, then once a little browned flip and cook for another 3 minutes on the other side. Plate the chicken. In the same pan add the chicken stock, lemon juice, and chopped capers, scraping the bottom of the pan to pick up any brown bits (that’s where all the flavor is!) Return the chicken to the pan and cook in the sauce for about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken to a platter and add another splash of chicken stock to the pan, mixing well. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken.

To plate, scoop a bit of mashed cauliflower, then top with the chicken and sauce. Garnish with some freshly chopped parsley and enjoy!

Zucchini Fritters with Basil Lemon Sour Cream

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I’ve always wanted to try making zucchini fritters and for some reason thought it would be a little more difficult than it was. I had a huge zucchini from my veggies this week and decided to give it a try- it couldn’t have been easier! I also had some leftover basil from last week and decided to incorporate that into my sour cream with some lemon, which was really delicious.

Ingredients: (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon course salt
Fresh ground pepper
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Olive oil
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater, add to a bowl with the 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes. Next, add the zucchini to a colander and squeeze out all the liquid with the back of a big wooden spoon. Really make sure to take the time to get it all out! Place the zucchini back in a large bowl and add the onion, egg, and pepper. Mix together. In another small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder then add it to the zucchini mixture.

Heat your skillet over medium high heat (I used my cast iron pan) and add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Scoop a few spoon fulls of the zucchini separately in the pan (I found doing 3-4 at a time worked best) then get sit for about 4 minutes until the bottom is golden brown. Flip with a spatula and cook the other side for another 4 minutes until that side is golden as well. Transfer to a plate with a paper towel to absorb some of the oil. Finally, place all the fritters on a baking sheet and throw in the oven for about 10 minutes to make sure they are crispy and delicious.

In the meantime, chop the basil and zest the lemon. Add this plus the lemon juice to the sour cream and mix well. Once the fritters are done, top with the sour cream and enjoy!

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Blueberry Lemon Hand Pies

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Who doesn’t love a perfectly sized pie that fits right in your hand? I got some beautiful blueberries in my CSA last week and decided to make some mini hand pies to bring into the office, and to my lovely sister who just had her first baby! She deserves a million pies. It’s been in the 90s here all week so I was lazy and used frozen pie dough that I thawed to cut my kitchen time down a little. They are very easy to make and absolutely delicious! I found that they keep for about 2 days, but not much longer as the crust gets soft from the moisture. Best to store in an airtight container, but make sure they are completely cool before putting them away.

Ingredients: From Bon Appetit magazine (makes 12)
2 boxes 9 inch pie crusts, defrosted
4 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar (I thought this was a bit much and would use a little less next time)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water
Raw sugar for dusting
All-purpose flour, for dusting

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the blueberries, sugar, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Flour your surface as well as the rolling pin. Take your thawed dough and shape it into a ball, sprinkle well with flour. Roll dough into (2) 15×12 inch rectangles (I could only get mine into a square!) and cut 6 inch smaller rectangles either with a knife or pastry cutter. Brush edges of each rectangle with water and scoop about a tablespoon of the blueberry mixture into the center. Fold in a diagonal and seal edges with a fork. Brush with the egg wash, sprinkle with raw sugar, and slit a hole in the top. Transfer the pies to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in oven for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. The blueberry juice will leak as it cooks. Once finished, transfer to a wire rack.