Aushak

photo by Talley

Every April Tristan reminds me that Easter has always been his least favorite holiday, and through kids’ eyes, I can kind of see why: boring lamb dinner, mandatory dress clothes and no school holiday. I was determined to change at least two of those things.
 
Last Sunday was actually a big day for us. Not only were we hosting dinner, we were (finally!) planting our garden. First order of business was buying plant starts from the Sunseed Farm booth at the Ballard Farmers’ Market. They’re known to have an extraordinary variety of healthy, vigorous, organic starts – plus Beryl and Talley get all their stuff from them and have had wonderful luck. 

The plan was to convene in the late afternoon, get all of that beautiful kale, chard, kohlrabi, leeks, green onions, lettuce, strawberries and sorrel planted and then head inside for an Easter-like meal. I didn’t want to bore everyone (especially Tristan, god forbid) with the expected lamb roast but still wanted a lamb element present. So I decided to make something that has been on my to-do list for over 3 years: Aushak (Afghan leek ravioli with lamb ragout and yogurt sauce). 
 
My only experience with Aushak was years ago at Kabul, an Afghan restaurant in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. They served the delicate leek-filled dumplings in the traditional fashion with a coriander-spiced ground beef sauce but were more than accommodating to substitute it with their lamb ragout upon request. In my opinion, this made a memorable dish unforgettable.
 
One word of caution: give yourself plenty of time to make Aushak. Even better, make them a day in advance. About an hour before everyone arrived, I found myself in a tizzy -- Noni bread still rising, sauce ingredients impatiently waiting to be chopped and dumplings yet to be made, which led to a serious moment of panic (thank you Tristan for pulling me back to earth) -- all of which could have been avoided with a bit more planning. It’s really quite fun, but not if it turns into a race against the clock.

 

Was this a quick, easy meal? Definitely not. Was it worth the time and effort? Absolutely. As a matter of fact, before dinner was even finished, I received requests for a return appearance next Easter. 
 
In the end, Tristan didn’t get a day off from work, but he was able to come to the table in gardening jeans and said that this was possibly the best meal I ever made.
 
Two out of three ain’t bad.

photo by Talley

Aushak
This dish is most often served with a ground beef sauce (simply substitute 2 pounds ground beef for the lamb) but I really like the the mingling flavors of lamb, mint, coriander and yogurt.
 
Lamb Ragout:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced, fresh ginger
2 pounds ground lamb
2 tablespoons ground coriander
Freshly ground nutmeg, about 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup tomato sauce
2 cups lamb or beef stock 

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened and just starting to color, about 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and ginger; cook for 30 seconds more. Add the ground lamb and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink. *At this point I carefully drained most of the fat from the pan.* Sprinkle in the coriander, nutmeg, salt and pepper; mix well. Add the tomato sauce and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes. Sauce should be thick and flavorful – taste and adjust salt to taste.

Dumplings:
3 large leeks, whites and light green parts only, washed well and sliced
1 bunch green onions (5-6 onions), sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 package wonton wrappers
1 egg, lightly beaten with a teaspoon of water

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté leeks and green onions in oil until just softened (you don't want any color), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and add cilantro, salt and red pepper flakes. Toss well and set aside to cool. 

When you’re ready to assemble the dumplings, squeeze the excess liquid from the filling. Place a rounded teaspoon of filling in the center of each wonton wrapper, brush all edges lightly with egg mixture, then fold in half to form either a rectangle or triangle. Press edges firmly to seal, being sure to expel any air bubbles as you go. Place finished dumplings on a flour dusted baking sheet and repeat until all filling has been used.

Yogurt Sauce:
For a thicker sauce, feel free to either strain the yogurt through cheesecloth for an hour or two or simply use Greek yogurt. I like regular yogurt since it drizzles nicely.
 
2 cups natural, plain, whole milk yogurt
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried mint or 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste.

To assemble the dish:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add Aushak and simmer for 5-7 minutes (test one for doneness). Using a slotted spoon, transfer ravioli to plates. Top each serving with lamb ragout and a generous drizzle of yogurt sauce. Garnish with freshly chopped mint.

photo by Talley

Shrimp Ravioli and Red Vodka Sauce

I've been waiting for this moment - when my pasta-making adventures would bring me face to face with the queen bee herself, ravioli - for a very long time. As you may already know, I get weak in the knees around the stuff. It's what I order anytime I go back to New York. It's what I dream about when I'm not in New York. I've got it bad. I find store-bought ravioli incredibly uninteresting. And doughy. But homemade? Fugeddaboutit!

So with Martha's pasta maker in hand, I cranked out some paper-thin sheets of delicate dough (this time I made it with 2 cups of flour, 3 eggs, salt and a drizzle of olive oil). Deciding on the perfect filling involved a lot of hand wringing. I mean, this was historic, me making my first ravioli, and I simply HAD to get it right. After about an hour of online browsing, I felt even more pressure and indecisiveness. Since the weather has been scorching hot (for Seattle, anyway), I wanted to pick something on the lighter side. Mushrooms, rich cheeses and cream sauces wouldn't do. Then it hit me: shrimp! And what veggie a) tastes delicious pureed, and b) accompanies shrimp perfectly? Leeks!

So I crossed my fingers and started mixing. Sauteed leeks, cooked shrimp, garlic, eggs, ricotta, a little Parmesan and a handful of fresh herbs got whizzed in the food processor. Figuring out how to best assemble the ravioli was tricky, to say the least, but I eventually found a modus operandi that worked. After hearing other people's ravioli war stories, I too was anxious about them falling apart in boiling water....but they didn't.

I decided to serve these buggers with a simple, quick red vodka sauce and I've gotta say, it was a match made in heaven. Tristan and I ooooo'ed and ahhhh'ed throughout the entire meal, muttering how unbelievably delicate the pasta was, how light and fluffy the filling turned out and how insane that the whole process took me 3 whole hours!

But honestly, I'd spend 3 hours like that any day.



Shrimp Ravioli
Scallops, lobster or crab could easily be used in place of the shrimp. And I think a simple lemon butter sauce would be an excellent alternative to red vodka sauce.

Fresh pasta sheets
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 thin leeks, washed and thinly sliced (whites and light green parts only)
Salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and roughly chopped
8 ounces (about 1 cup) ricotta cheese
3 eggs
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or a mixture of parsley & chives)

Egg wash: 1 egg + a few splashes of cold water

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and a pinch of salt; sautee, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sautee a minute longer. Transfer to a food processor.

In the same skillet over medium heat, add remaining tablespoon butter. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, just until no longer transluscent. Remove from heat and transfer to food processor.

Add ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, herbs and a pinch of salt to the leeks and shrimp. Process in short pulses until mixture forms a chunky paste. Cover and place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Work with one pasta sheet at a time on a lightly floured surface. Place tablespoons of shrimp filling on upper half of pasta sheet at 1 1/2-inch intervals. Using a pastry brush or simply your finger, brush all edges with egg wash, including in between filling scoops. At this point, I find it easiest to cut segments of 4 ravioli (unless you have another set of hands helping you).

Starting at one end, carefully fold bottom half of pasta sheet over the upper filling, doing your best to match up edges. Work your way down the 4-ravioli segment, slowly removing air pockets as the pasta sheet is laid over the top. Using a pizza wheel or pastry scraper, cut into individual ravioli. I was scared to death about them falling apart when boiled, so to ensure success, pinch all edges of each ravioli together using fingers or the tines of a fork. If they become a little warped, simply trim with cutter to get clean edges. Place ravioli on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet to prevent sticking; place in refrigerator. Repeat process with rest. At this point, ravioli can be frozen for later use.

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add ravioli, one at a time, and cook for about 6 minutes (they should float). Drain and serve with sauce of choice.



Quick Red Vodka Sauce
This sauce only takes a few minutes to make and can be used in a multitude of pasta dishes.

2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2/3 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 large can (28 oz) pureed or crushed tomatoes

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes; saute until garlic is just fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add vodka and bring to a simmer; cook about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, fresh parsley and cream and continue simmering for about 8 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve hot.