Ravioli with Curry Pecan Cream Sauce

Serves 2.

Time requirement: About 15 minutes.

What you will need:

12 ounces of fresh cheese ravioli.

2 tablespoons chopped pecans

½ cup of Cool Cucumber Curry Soup. (Recipe follows)

1 tablespoon crème fraiche or very good thick cream, baring these, sour cream.

1 lemon.

Salt and fresh pepper to grind.

Preparation:

In a 10-inch frypan, heat the pecans over a moderate heat to toast them. Add the cucumber soup and crème fraiche. Stir to mix all together. Turn off the heat. Set aside.

Bring three quarts of salted water to the boil. Pour the ravioli into the pan and cook them.

When the ravioli are nearly done, drain them, add them to the frypan. Turn up the heat under the pan and toss the ravioli in the sauce. Season with a dash of fresh lemon juice, salt, and ground pepper to taste.

Cool Cucumber Curry Soup

Serves 4.

Time requirement. About 15 minutes to prepare. However, make the soup a few hours in advance to allow the flavor to meld.

What you will need:

1 cucumber, weighing 1 pound.

2 cups of good quality yogurt, preferably organic and from a local dairy.

1 teaspoon powdered yellow curry.

2 tablespoons honey (a good local honey).

½ teaspoon salt.

Olive oil (as a garnish) to serve with the soup.

Preparation:

Peel the cucumber. Cut in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, scrap out the seeds. Cut the cucumber into 16 pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the cucumber is a liquid pulp. Add to the food processor all the remaining ingredients except the olive oil. Process for a minute or two until all the ingredients are liquefied.

Chill the soup for 2-4 hours. Taste and adjust for salt. Serve in chilled bowls with a small decanter of good olive oil to garnish each serving.

Serve in warm bowls.