Hedgehog Awareness Week 2017

The Hedgehog Awareness Week 2017 #hedgehogweek is being observed 30.04.-06.05. It's an annual theme week organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society trying to raise awareness about the problems that hedgehogs face, and what each one of us can do to help them. Have a look in the link above, if you want to help in any way, as there are some really good tips. Some things are really easy to do and help hedgehogs a great deal. This cause is of course close to my heart, and it would be great, if more people would think about these things and get involved. This year there is a special strimmer campaign reminding people to check all areas for hedgehogs before using strimmers and other equipment.

I usually make a hedgehoggy dish to celebrate this week, and I have made many different hedgehog ravioli in the past, so I thought I'd make something different this year. I ended up making hedgehog shaped polenta snuffling in a nice colourful realm. There were roasted bell peppers, honey and chilli glazed halloumi, pomegranate seeds, chicoree, lambs lettuce, semi-dried tomatoes and edible flowers, and of course the herby polenta hogs. It was quite a tasty plate of food.

Have a nice week!

Your VegHog

Hedgehog porcini ravioli & Hedgehog Awareness Week

Hedgehog Awareness Week has started once again, and it would be great if each and every one of us could do at least one small thing during the week to raise hedgehog awareness or directly help hedgehogs. If you have a garden, leave a shallow bowl of water out and make sure that there's a gap in your fence so that hedgehogs can access your garden. Read for more hints and tips how to help the spiny creatures on the webpage of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. 

I've had a tradition now for a few years to make hedgehog shaped ravioli for the hedgehog week, and this year was no different. This time I made brown pasta dyed with dried porcini mushrooms with earthy porcini filling. I thought I'd keep everything else simple and let the mushroom flavour be the star of the dish. This worked out very nicely and all hogs held together during the boiling!

Have a look at my recipe:

Ingredients

Pasta:

200 g pasta flour

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

15 g dried porcini mushrooms

Filling:

15 g dried porcini mushrooms

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

30 g grated vegetarian pasta cheese

3 tbsp breadcrumbs

Sprinkle of salt

Sprinkle of ground black pepper

Handful of fresh basil leaves

Served with:

Basil and garlic infused olive oil

Lambs lettuce

Method

Soak all dried porcini mushrooms (15 g + 15 g) in water for about 30 minutes. Drain them, but save the porcini water and purée the mushrooms into a smooth paste. Take the half to use in the pasta dough.

Knead the dough ingredients together and let the dough rest in the fridge for one hour. Add some of the porcini water to the dough, if needed. You can also add it to moisten and flavour the filling later.

Chop the onion and garlic for the filling finely and fry them in little olive oil until soft. Mix all ingredients for the filling together.

Then roll the pasta out. Make thin sheets with a pasta machine, cut the ravioli into shapes and fill them.

Cook in salt water for a few minutes and serve.

I would like to share this pasta recipe with Pasta Please vegetarian pasta cooking challenge, which is hosted this month by Chris from Thinly Spread and co-hosted by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes.

Have a wonderful Hedgehog Awareness Week!

Your VegHog

Hedgehog shaped ravioli with a potato, olive and rosemary filling

This week is Hedgehog Awareness Week and I can't keep saying it enough. Yesterday I already wrote an Old Prickly post, but now I am going to continue with the all important hedgehog theme. I made suitable hedgehog shaped ravioli with a potato, olive and rosemary filling. I have made hedgehog ravioli before, but the potato filling was a first for me. All the components tasted in the mix, so it worked really well and I liked this ravioli version a lot.

As the May theme for The Vegetable Palette challenge is “your favourite vegetable”, I thought I'd share this recipe there as well. The Vegetable Palette is a monthly vegetarian food blogging challenge hosted by Shaheen from A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table. I though long and hard what would be my favourite vegetable, as it constantly changes and there are many, but potatoes are pretty much always up there on the top of my list. They are so versatile, subtle yet tasty and also easy to cook in many shapes and forms. So there you have it, I love potatoes! In this recipe I of course combined them in a way I have never done before, which was also a great experience. 

 

I will also share this recipe with another food blogging challenge, Pasta Please, which is hosted this month by Jen from Jen's Food and created by Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes. The theme in May is free, as long as the recipe contains some pasta. 

Here is my recipe for these small prickly beasts and it does make quite an array of them:

Pasta:

400 g grade 00 pasta flour

4 eggs

1 tsp salt

Filling:

500 g potatoes

200 g green olives

Sprinkle of salt

Fresh rosemary leaves

25 g grated mature cheddar

Method

Make the pasta first by kneading the pasta flour, eggs and salt into a firm dough. Let it rest wrapped in a cling film in the fridge for at least one hour.

Boil the peeled potatoes until they are done and mash them. Let the mash cool. Grind the olives into a smooth paste with a mortar and pestle and add them to the mash. Also add the salt, rosemary and little grated cheddar.

Start working the pasta dough thinner and thinner by rolling it through a pasta machine. Once you are happy with the texture and thinness, cut some hedgehog shapes from the dough. Put a little teaspoonful of the potato filling onto a hedgehog shape, brush the edges with water and press it closed with another hedgehog.

Cook the hedgehog ravioli until they are al dente and serve. I served them simply on a bed of salad drizzled with olive oil. Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Old Prickly & Hedgehog Awareness Week

The Hedgehog Awareness Week (3.-9.5.2015) started yesterday, so now is the perfect time to remember our prickly friends. You don't necessarily need to be donating money or goods, but for example as a garden owner you can do a lot to improve the well being of your local hedgehogs. You can also raise hedgehog awareness in your neighbourhood through information sharing or events. 

I'm going to make a couple of hedgehog related posts this week and will start by sampling a wonderful hedgehog themed beer, Old Prickly by Hobsons Brewery. This beer supports the work of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, 5p of every pint or bottle sold will go to the hedgehog charity. 

At 4,2 % Old Prickly is delightful like a hoglet. There is a refreshing foretaste leading to a hint of citrus sharpness with aromas of spices and raisins and a long crisp malty aftertaste. This is a very tasty beer to enjoy and remember that you will be supporting the prickly beasts while drinking it.

Have a nice week thinking of hedgehogs!

Your VegHog