Roasted Pumpkin With Pistachios And Gorgonzola Recipes

ROAST PUMPKIN AND FETA RISOTTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Brush a baking dish with olive oil.
• Place pumpkin in a steamer over 1 inch of boiling water, and cover. Cook until tender but still firm. Transfer pumpkin to baking dish, and brush with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan. Cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in rice, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add vegetable broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and allowing all the liquid to be absorbed before adding more broth. Continue cooking until the rice is tender to the tooth, and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
• When the pumpkin is almost done, place feta on a baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven until the cheese is hot, and is beginning to melt along the edges.
• Mash 1/2 of the pumpkin, and stir into the risotto with the spinach. Ladle risotto into bowls, and top with remaining pumpkin cubes and heated feta.

PUMPKIN RAVIOLI WITH PEPPERED GORGONZOLA SAUCE

Steps:

• Spoon pumpkin onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels, and spread to 1/2-inch thickness. Cover with additional paper towels; let stand 5 minutes. You want the pumpkin as "dry" as possible. Scrape into a medium bowl using a rubber spatula. Stir in breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, minced shallot, rosemary, and pepper.
• Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep from drying), spoon 2 teaspoons pumpkin mixture into the center of wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with water, but not TOO much, and fold in half, pressing edges firmly with fingers to form a half-moon. (I was tempted to use two wrappers, one on top of each other, but it decreases the yield and doesn't work any better.) Place on a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornstarch. Repeat procedure with remaining wonton wrappers and pumpkin mixture.
• Fill a large pot (large enough to have free floating ravioli's -- NO bumping!) with water; bring to a simmer. Add half of ravioli to pan (cover remaining ravioli with a damp towel to keep from drying). Cook 4 minutes or until done (do not boil), stirring gently. They will usually float to the top. Remove ravioli with a slotted spoon; lightly coat with cooking spray (IMPORTANT step), and keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining ravioli. Careful, as they do become sticky with one another.
• Combine milk and flour in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly (it will "go" fast). Remove from heat. Add butter, stirring until butter melts. Gently stir in Gorgonzola. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (We're nuts about fresh ground pepper so I use it liberally in this step).
• Place 5 ravioli in each of 6 shallow bowls, and drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons Gorgonzola mixture. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons hazelnuts (or toasted pumpkin seeds which I like better). Serve immediately.