Ravioli in Walnut Cream Sauce

Ravioli in Walnut Cream Sauce

I love to make homemade pasta, not for the actual making, which can be tedious and painstaking at times, but because the result is so worth the while. When I can't make my own pasta refrigerated fresh is second-best to me, especially when it comes to ravioli, but a really good homemade sauce can make just about any pasta sing.

Something I've seen used often in pasta sauces used with stuffed pasta especially, is walnuts. Most often they're paired with sage and top a squash stuffed pasta, but I've taken them and paired them with lemony Italian parsley, heavy cream and shallots for a delicious and surprisingly light pasta sauce.

The California walnuts were given to be by California Walnuts and I can tell you now, I'd purchase them anyway; they're lovely, large and perfectly yummy with no trace of bitterness that I've found in other brands of walnut.

Here's what I did with my latest bag of beauties;

Ravioli in Walnut Cream Sauce
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

1 pound fresh cheese ravioli
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup California Walnuts, roughly chopped
Pinch of Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend, crushed
2 Tablespoons minced shallot
1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream (light cream or half and half is fine here, as well)
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

1. Cook ravioli according to directions and keep warm.
2. Heat oil and butter over medium-high heat in a medium non-stick frying pan just until melted. Add Italian seasoning and salt and stir briefly.
3. Add walnuts and stir several times. They will brown quickly, so don't leave them unattended. As soon as they begin to brown, remove from heat and take them from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper toweling.
4. Add shallot to pan and stir until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add wine and bring to a simmer.
5. Stir in cream, reserved walnuts and Parmesan cheese until smooth. Toss in parsley, adjust seasoning with salt and serve on top of warm ravioli.

Walnut Shrimp

Walnut Shrimp

Just about a year ago I had Walnut Chicken for the very first time. I found it on the menu at a Chinese restaurant in Stroudsburg, Pa. It was one of the best dishes I've ever had in the Americanized Chinese realm. That day happened to be the beginning of a very big life-change and so I've had good feelings about life in general each time I have Walnut-Anything.

At a local Chinese buffet/hibachi hot-spot, there is a dish almost consistently served called coconut chicken. I never tasted coconut myself nor were there any shreds or pieces of coconut visible, but the sauce was white and creamy and studded with bite-sized morsels of battered and deep fried chicken. It's very good stuff.

Tried as I might, I couldn't find a dish similar in any of the Chinese take-out menus I had and each time I stepped foot in a Chinese restaurant, I looked for it. So, when I was in Stroudsburg at that particular restaurant, they had a photo of what looked like coconut chicken on the menu; it was Walnut Chicken.

It was the same sauce, but instead filled with chicken and candied walnuts. Too much was too much, but in moderation ... well, you wanted to eat until you reached the too much stage. I couldn't, however, figure out the sauce. Sweet, but not too sweet, creamy, but not a sauce thickened with any starch ... I was completely flummoxed.

I searched the internet and finally, finally found a recipe. I had to make it, and so I did, but the chicken wasn't the same and I didn't have candied walnuts. In stepped Guy Fieri. Well, not for real, but I did watch and episode of Triple D that had a recipe for Walnut Shrimp. It was all so simple. I ran to the store, ran back home (I run everywhere) and made it for the first time. I was hooked and so was my Chinese-food-addicted oldest daughter.

Enter California Walnuts. When we hooked up on Twitter, I knew my Walnut Shrimp and they would be a perfect match. And they are. Before I pass on the recipe, though, you need to know, these walnuts are oh-so-good.

Walnut Shrimp

They are larger than other walnuts I've used and unlike many others, there is no bitterness to them ... just sweet, tender nuts that are really difficult to keep from snacking on when you need them for a recipe. Once I had them measured out and tried one ... I had to re-measure a couple times. Oops.

They are the perfect addiction, er ... addition, to this recipe and I already know they'll be tops when I add them to maple syrup to drizzle over my souffle-like pumpkin pancakes. Heaven.

You can find California Walnuts online at:

Walnuts.org: www.walnuts.org
Twitter: @CaWalnuts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cawalnuts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/cawalnuts

Now for the recipe! Usually I skin the walnuts by boiling them in water for several minutes and rinsing well, but I found the California Walnuts don't need to lose their skins as they are not bitter. You can skip skinning them all together if you are using these walnuts. Most walnut shrimp recipes contain honey, this one does not, hence the simple name of Walnut Shrimp.

Walnut Shrimp

Walnut Shrimp
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 cups walnut halves
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 pound large shrimp peeled and deveined
1 egg white
1/2 cup cornstarch
4 tablespoons peanut or other vegetable oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Japanese Kewpie is best for this, though regular mayo is yummy, too)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2-3 Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (I use the lesser amount, it's your choice)
1/2 pound sno peas - steamed, for serving

1. Boil walnuts in 3 cups of water for 5 minutes, drain well and rinse thoroughly to remove skins. Let cool and dry for several hours before moving on.
2. Combine water and sugar in a heavy pan and heat until sugar is melted. Add walnuts and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from sugar with a slotted spoon and place on a well-greased baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees, turning often, for 15-20 minutes or until golden in color. Cool completely.
3. Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Set aside.
4. Beat egg white until slightly frothy and add shrimp and cornstarch. Stir well to coat all shrimp.
5. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet and add shrimp. Cook, turning once or twice, until shrimp is pink and coating is crispy but not overly browned - about 5 minutes.
6. Remove from oil, drain and keep warm.
7. Combine mayo, condensed milk and lemon juice until smooth.
8. Add walnuts to shrimp in a large bowl and pour sauce over all. Toss to coat and serve over sno peas.

Ready, Set, Cook! #25

It's Tuesday! Time for Ready, Set, Cook! If you haven't played yet, click the button above to see the Rules of Play then come back and take a look at the ingredients for this week's game:


green beans
veal cutlets
walnuts

Get your apron on, and get to it!

Breakfast this Morning

Only in this household would you be lucky enough to get something better if we ran out of the normal foods we have on hand for breakfast. Such was the case today-bread mysteriously gone-milk level a little iffy for 8 bowls of cereal-no Pop Tarts (gasp!). I did have bananas, eggs and enough milk to whip up these. Not enough for the same tomorrow though *sigh*.


Banana Walnut Pancakes with Maple Cream
Printable Recipe

4 medium bananas, mashed well or blended
1 t vanilla
2 large eggs
1 T oil
1 c milk + extra
2 c flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 c chopped walnuts

Combine bananas, vanilla, eggs and oil in a blender and
blend on low until well combined-a few seconds should do.
Add 1 c milk to banana mixture and blend again
just until combined. In a large bowl stir together flour,
sugar and baking powder.
Add banana mixture to flour mixture
and stir well. Add more milk if necessary-try
to get this as close to a regular pancake batter in
consistency as possible-but not too thin.
Add walnuts and fold in.

Cook over medium heat as you would regular
pancakes-look for bubbles and dry edges before turning.

Maple Cream:

1 c heavy cream
1 t maple flavoring
2 T powdered sugar

Combine all 3 ingredients and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy.
Serve with pancakes.