On the Plate, On the Table

Our Winter Squash Tortellini, Local Chanterelle Mushrooms, Pancetta & Crispy Sage Leaves

  Orchard Kitchen is driven by what is happening on our farm right outside the doors of our kitchen, and in the greenhouse, and in the curing cellar and by what is waiting in our pantry. That is what drives our menu planning by shaping how we think about specific, lovingly grown ingredients and how best to showcase them.  What is fresh from our fields at the beginning of each week is where it starts.  What we have served our guests in the few weeks prior – since so many of them come back week after week -  shapes our thought process as well. 

From Chef Vincent: 

When I worked in Napa I became a fan of Butternut squash. But upon returning to Whidbey, found it virtually impossible to find truly ripe Butternut. Farmed in California with abundant summer heat, they yielded deep orange, sweet flesh. Grown in our maritime climate the green veins on the outside never fully disappeared and the meat is yellow at best, usually verging on green.  What to do? Fortuanately we have other options that do amazingly well on our farm, specifically Delicate, Sweet Meat pumpkin and Red Kuri squash.  These give us sweet, flavorful flesh that we further augment by roasting it a second time after it is initially baked, scraped and pureed.  This second baking dehydrates it and starts the Maillard process, yielding an amazing starting place for pasta fillings, purées, or soups.  

Here is my recipe for squash ravioli filling and I've shared the process I stated above.

This is not a difficult recipe, but it does require that you pay very close attention to how you cook the squash and cream, and that you season the filling well.  The twice baked squash has intense flavor and sweetness while the double cream provides richness and a nutty flavor.  It is only seasoned with salt and nutmeg, but you need to be courageous with your seasoning.  Remember, it is going to be wrapped in neutral pasta, so the filling must be bold.

Ingredients:

1 Squash (about 4#)

1 tsp. Salt

1 Cup heavy cream

¼ of a whole nutmeg, grated

To taste Salt

Technique:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove the stem from the squash with the back of a chef’s knife.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and season the cut side with salt.  Save the seeds: they make a nice garnish when toasted.

Lay the squash cut side down on the baking sheet.  Bake at 350° until tender to the touch, about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven, being careful to save any liquid on the baking sheet.  Hold the hot squash in a towel and use a spoon to remove the flesh.

Pass the flesh through a tamis or sieve.  Put the passed flesh and any juice back on the baking sheet and smooth the surface. You want a sheet pan that is the right size for you to be able to spread the puréed squash in an even layer, about ½” to ¾” thick.  Too thin and it will just burn.  Bake again to dry it and concentrate the flavor.  After about 45 minutes to 1 hour, the surface will look cracked like a dried lake bed.

Make the double cream by reducing the cream to half its initial volume.  In a bowl, combine the squash and double cream.  Grate one quarter of a nutmeg into the squash and season with salt.  Taste the mixture for seasoning.  

To fill raviolis, place the mixture in a pastry bag.

If you would like to stay up-to-date with what we are offering and what's happening on the farm and restaurant sign up for our newsletter HERE.