Food & Drink by Shari McIntyre (formerly Darling) For more information on wine and food, go to www.sharidarling.com Pumpkin We usually think of pumpkin as an ingredient for fall or holiday desserts such as pumpkin pie, cookies, muffins or even cheesecake. But this fruit is delicious in many savoury dishes, not just soup! Pumpkin is rich in fibre, which helps to slow digestion. Its brilliant orange colouring derives from its ample supply of beta-carotene, converted to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is essential for eye health and helps our retina absorb and process light. Research also shows that a beta-carotene-rich diet may have a lower risk of some types of cancer, including prostate and lung cancers. Pumpkin is packed with almost 20 per cent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C, helping your body recover from colds faster. Pumpkin helps to reduce blood glucose levels, improve glucose tolerance and increase the amount of insulin which the body produces. The predominant taste sensations of this Italian-inspired autumn dish are fattiness from the cream cheese and provolone cheese. There is some saltiness from the bacon and Parmigiano. The filling is rich and creamy, with lots of delicious pumpkin flavour. The cream cheese allows the filling to be a little bit tangy. This ravioli is super simple to prepare, with many flavours that work well together. You can substitutemany of the ingredients with ones that you prefer. For example, you can substitute the pumpkin with butternut squash and change the cream cheese to ricotta. You can use whatever seasonings you like. Even pumpkin pie spice might be nice. Replace the walnuts with pecans, almonds or pistachios. Use fried pancetta or prosciutto instead of bacon. There are so many wonderful variations to this dish. You might even like to use sliced mozzarella rather than provolone for forming the shells. If Parmigiano is not your choice, consider asiago or pecorino. Using cheese for the shells allows you to keep the recipe wheat-free, gluten-free and low in carbohydrates. Best of all, cheese slices make this ravioli recipe super easy and fast to prepare. 54 | www.snowbirds.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx