The annual pumpkin harvest in Austria is starting to get under way... And not for jack o' lanterns, either!!!
The Austrians can and do make almost anything out of pumpkins. But the crown jewel is Kürbiskernöl, the blindingly electric green pumpkinseed oil from Styria. I know I've mentioned this to you before, but last night, I may have reached a new height.
I know Charlie gets homesick for Vienna every year in the fall. He was there only once... for three months in 2006... but hey, who am I to question?
This year is no exception. Yesterday, he sent me a menu from Mayer am Pfarrplatz (http://www.pfarrplatz.at/en/startseite.html), his favorite Heurige, which is essentially a restaurant in a vineyard or farm where people flock to drink new wine and gorge on pumpkin... well... pumpkin everything!
So I decided a surprise was in order.
I made pasta dough... (http://www.thisoldchef.com/blog.html/fresh_pasta_without_eggs/)...
I made ricotta... (http://www.thisoldchef.com/blog.html/homemade_ricotta_with_fresh_herbs/)...
I found a can of pumpkin... OK, fine, no self-respecting Austrian would use canned... And our pumpkins are not the same as those grown in Styria...
I mixed about 1/2 C ricotta with about 1/2 C pumpkin... added some salt and pepper... and a bit of grated Parmigiano. I rolled the dough out thin and stuffed and cut the ravioli: (http://www.thisoldchef.com/blog.html/spinach_ravioli/).
After gently cooking and draining the ravioli, I "anointed" them with some pumpkinseed oil from Graz, and showered the dish with more Parmigiano. The tart cherry tomatoes from our garden cut the richness beautifully.
We may not have eaten this in a Heurige in Heiligenstadt, but I think his homesickness was assuaged for at least one more year!