While I don’t think this has been a subject of my blogs yet, one important thing to know about me is I love cooking and creating fun recipes from scratch. During late spring through fall, I like to grow my own herbs and veggies to use in my cooking because nothing beats home-grown and home-prepared meals!

Although during the colder months my plants dry up for winter, I still like to prepare meals as fresh as possible. This past week I tasked myself with making homemade agnolotti (pretty much ravioli, which I will refer to as such from here on out) filled with a caramelized leek purée tossed in a creamy, brothy sauce. While I did take some creative liberties with this dish, I was inspired by one of my favorite TikTokers, Miles @millyrocklobster. He posts recipe-esque slideshows, more so in a comedic and loose tutorial style than a recipe with instructions.

Honestly, I started this recipe on the wrong foot. As I was browning the leeks, I was unfortunately mistaken as to what type of heat the Staub ceramic dish I received for Christmas could take, and it shattered. (Note to all readers: These are NOT stovetop-safe.) However, after transferring to the oven in a Pyrex dish, with broth and butter, the leeks began to caramelize. After they were completely soft and browned, with much of the stock evaporated, they were blended with butter, lemon juice and zest, and Parmesan cheese for the ravioli filling. I stored this in a Ziploc bag and proceeded to make the pasta dough.

My recipe for pasta dough is extremely simple. I put 2 cups of flour and four eggs in a food processor, adding water or more flour depending on texture, and then knead it well before tightly wrapping it in plastic wrap and storing in the fridge. You can make this the day before, but I prefer refrigerating for three tofour hours as it’s easiest to roll out this way.

After the dough and filling were made, I started on the leek broth. With this no-waste recipe, you use the whole leek, from the whites to the leafy green. I put the greens in with water, garlic, peppercorns and oregano at a slow boil for around 45 minutes. This broth was then combined with butter, cream and white wine to make a leek beurre blanc as the sauce for the ravs.

Once the dough was done resting, I began rolling it out in long thin sheets and piping the filling on the dough. I rolled the filling and pinched them into small bites to create the ravioli/agnolotti. After I ran out of filling, I boiled them in well-salted water until they floated and then finished them in the sauce. I topped them with crispy leeks (I fried what was left of them in oil; I told you, no waste!) and Parmesan cheese and served them with a glass of the remaining wine used in the broth. After dinner, my roommate and I decided this was one of the best dishes I’ve made in a long time, so I will add this one to the recipe book!

— Aly Evans, business development and events coordinator