This recipe was written as a quick dinner solution utilizing left-over sweet potatoes. If you want to make the entire recipe from start to finish, bake, steam or roast two medium sweet potatoes. Mash the cooked sweet potato and add cinnamon, brown sugar and toasted chopped pecans to taste. The chopped pecans are not essential, but do add a nice crunch for textural contrast. You could also use toasted pecans as a garnish.

For the ravioli:

• 2 cups sweet potato casserole or souffle
• 1 package won ton skins
• 1 1/2 tablespoon butter, oil or margarine
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups broth, either vegetable or chicken
• salt, to taste

Open package of won ton wrappers and keep covered with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. Drop about 1 1/2 teaspoons of sweet potato on the middle of each wrapper. Using your finger, brush water around the outside edge of one-half of the wrapper then fold over to make a pouch. Set aside and continue until the sweet potato mixture is gone.

Put on a large pot of water to boil for cooking the ravioli.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the sliced onion. Cook until the onion begins to be translucent (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic and continue cooking just until the onion and garlic begin to get a little brown (about 10 more minutes). Add the garam masala and salt, to taste. Sprinkle in the arrowroot powder and stir thoroughly. Add the broth and allow to simmer. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Keep sauce warm over low heat.

Salt your boiling water and drop in ravioli. Cook approximately 2-3 minutes or until wrappers are fully cooked and filling is hot. Drain and add cooked ravioli to the sauce. Stir gently to coat the ravioli and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Optional add-ins:

To make this a more hearty dish add some sliced mushrooms and cook along with the onions. You can also add some chopped cooked poultry (roast duck is a wonderful pairing) along with the garlic.

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With the holiday season fast approaching many people have recently asked me if there are some healthier food options for holiday entertaining. My answers is always an enthusiastic, “Yes!”

The best news is that healthy options can still be very quick and easy to prepare. For a fun, attractive way to serve hummus or other dips, hollow out a small red or green cabbage to use as a bowl. Place it on a serving tray surrounded with pita chips or a variety of veggie sticks.

I recently served a hummus trio at an open house and had many requests for the recipes. Here is a recipe for roasted red pepper hummus. You can find recipes for my traditional hummus and black bean hummus by clicking on the links or going to the recipes category.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

• 1 medium garlic clove
• 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 large roasted red pepper*
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Mince the garlic in a clean, dry bowl of a food processor. Add the roasted red pepper, lemon juice, tahini, cumin, cayenne and salt. Process until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add water and /or olive oil to adjust to desired consistency. Garnish with finely chopped parsley.

*Instructions on how to roast a red pepper here.

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• 1 medium garlic clove
• 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 2 lemons, juiced*
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• fresh parsley, minced, for garnish

Mince garlic in clean, dry bowl of a food processor. Add remaining ingredients except parsley and process until smooth. Add water to reach desired consistency and adjust seasoning to taste. Spoon into serving bowl and garnish with minced parsley.

*Adjust amount of lemon juice to suit your personal taste.

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Beans with Epazote

• 1 pound dry beans
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh epazote or ½ tablespoon dried
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• salt to taste

Sort beans and soak overnight. After soaking, drain and rinse beans. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir. Immediately add soaked and rinsed beans and enough water to cover beans by about 1”. Stir in epazote and cumin. Do not salt at this time. Bring beans and water to a boil then lower to a simmer and cook covered until beans are tender, about 2 ½ hours. Salt to taste and serve hot.

Notes:

Check beans to make sure enough liquid remains during cooking. If too much liquid remains after beans are tender, remove lid and raise heat to medium-high. Stir frequently to prevent burning while any extra liquid evaporates.

For additional flavor, smoked ham hocks and or smoked chiles can be added during cooking. Homemade stocks can also be used in lieu of water, but I avoid store bought stocks and broths as the salt they contain can make the beans tough.

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