Tortellini with Pecan Pesto

1 pounds cheese and spinach-filled pasta (tortellini, ravioli or agnolotti)
4 ounces Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces; toasted
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
¼ cup Romano or parmesan cheese
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes; sliced thin

1. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Grind pecans, garlic and cheese in food processor until mixture is well blended.
3. Heat cream in saucepan. Add to pecan mixture, combine, and cook for 1½ minutes.
4. Add pasta and toss with sauce.
5. Serve. Garnish pasta with tomatoes.

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Acorn Squash with Wehani Rice and Pecan Stuffing

3 acorn squash
2 cup wehani rice or rice blend
4 cup water
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon soy margarine or unsalted butter
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
2 tablespoons Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
1 tablespoon orange zest, minced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Glaze
1 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1. Halve squash lengthwise. Seed, then steam for 20 minutes. Squash will not be fully cooked. Set aside. May be prepared one day ahead. Refrigerate.
2. Bring water and tamari to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Rice may be cooked up to 2 days ahead; refrigerate until used.
3. For stuffing: in a large skillet, sauté carrots, celery, onion, thyme and ginger in margarine or butter until onions are golden. Thoroughly toss in pecans, orange zest and rice. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside. Stuffing may be prepared 1 day ahead and refrigerated.
4. Put orange juice, honey and cinnamon into a small jar and shake vigorously to combine. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. Glaze may be prepared a day ahead.
5. One hour before serving, Preheat oven to 375ºF.
6. Mound stuffing mixture into each squash half to about 2 inches over top of squash. Place stuffed squash halves in a baking pan filled with ½ cup of water. Drizzle some glaze over stuffing and brush onto squash. Cover with foil
7. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes. Drizzle remaining glaze over squash, and continue baking, uncovered, for another 20 minutes until glazed and lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Chicken, Wild Rice and Pecan Salad in Romaine Spears

6 cups chicken broth
8 ounces wild rice
2½ pounds chicken; roasted, skinned and boned, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper; chopped
2 bunches arugula; chopped
¼ cup green onions; chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cups Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces; toasted
3 heads romaine lettuce

1. Bring chicken broth to a boil in medium saucepan. Add rice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until just tender, about 50 minutes. Drain well. Transfer the rice to a large bowl.
2. Mix in chicken, bell pepper, arugula and green onions. Set aside.
3. In another bowl mix soy sauce, vinegar and oil. Pour over salad and mix to coat. Season with sea salt and pepper. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and chill.)
4. Mix nuts into salad. Place salad in center of platter.
5. Reserve outer romaine leaves for another use. Arrange inner leaves on platter around salad.

Homemade Lemon Pasta with Butter and Pecans

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup unsalted butter
⅓ cup Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces

1. In pasta machine, combine flour, lemon peel, and sea salt. Turn machine on to mix. Add combined lemon juice, eggs, and oil. Continue processing until mixture form s balls the size of small peas. Turn machine to extrude. Cut into desired lengths.
2. Drop the noodles into boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until the pasta is al dente (tender but firm to the bite). Drain the pasta.
3. Toss with butter and pecans. Serve immediately.

Orange Pecan Couscous

1 tablespoon oil
1 cup Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces
1 onion; chopped
2 cups orange juice
3 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves, whole
1 pinch turmeric
1 pinch ground red pepper
¼ teaspoon sea salt
2 cups couscous
½ cup raisins (more if desired)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook pecans until lightly toasted. Add onions and cook until soft.
2. Add orange juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves, turmeric, red pepper and sea salt and bring to a boil. Quickly stir in couscous and raisins, then cover and turn off heat.
3. Let stand 5 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed completely. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Pecan Rice Mélange

¾ cups wild rice
4½ cups chicken broth; divided
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup long grain rice
¾ cups Pecan Valley Pecan Pieces; toasted

½ cup chopped parsley

1. Rinse wild rice. Combine wild rice with 2½ cups chicken broth, heat to boiling. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
2. Drain excess broth, set aside.
3. Heat remaining 2 cups broth and butter to boiling. Add long grain rice, reduce heat, and simmer covered 15 minutes.
4. In a large mixing bowl combine brown rice with the white rice. Toss with parsley and pecans

Pecan Rice Pilaf

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, minced
⅓ cup wild rice
1¼ cups water
½ cup long-grain white rice
¾ cups beef stock
¼ cup dry white wine
1 small bay leaf
1 dash hot pepper sauce
½ cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons parsley; chopped
¼ cup Pecan Valley Pecan Halves; toasted*
1 teaspoon mint; chopped

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the wild rice and the water, and heat to boiling. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes
2. Add the white rice, beef stock, wine, bay leaf, and hot pepper sauce to the wild rice. Heat to boiling, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, until both rices are tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, about 25 minutes.
3. Discard the bay leaf. Stir the peas into the rice mixture; cook, covered, for 5 minutes more. Remove the cover and raise the heat slightly if the mixture is too wet.
4. Add the parsley and pecan, and sprinkle with mint, if desired.

Note: To toast the pecan, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans and toast until golden, stirring frequently, for 6 to 8 minutes.

Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf

4 cups chicken broth
1 cup wild rice, rinsed well
1¾ cups wheat pilaf
1 cup Pecan Valley Pecan Halves
1 cup currants, dried
1 bunch scallions; thinly sliced
½ cup Italian parsley; chopped
½ cup fresh mint leaves; chopped
Zest of 2 oranges; grated
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon orange juice
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Add wild rice to boiling broth. Bring back to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 50 minutes or until rice is tender. Do not overcook. Remove to a large bowl.
2. While the rice is cooking, in another saucepan bring about 2¼ cups water to a boil. Stir in the pilaf, cover and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, or until pilaf is tender.
3. Remove from heat, let rest 15 minutes, and add to the (cooked) wild rice. Add remaining ingredients and toss well. Serve at room temperature.

Red Beans with Pecans and Saffron over Whole-Wheat Spaghetti

1 small can red beans or pinto beans
Pecan Valley Pecan Halves
Dry red wine
Saffron
Oregano
Thyme
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil
Garlic

1. Drain a small can of red beans. Save the juice in a small bowl and add a small amount of crumbled saffron to it so it marinates. Not too much, you want the taste to be subtle, not dominant.
2. Sauté garlic in olive oil for a little bit, along with pecan halves and some crushed red chilies. Add the drained beans and cook so the flavors mingle. Add quite a bit of oregano, less thyme, and a pinch of black pepper. Add some dry red wine, don’t be too shy. Add in the saffron-flavored bean liquid and cook a few more minutes. The consistency should be thin but not like soup.
3. Serve over whole wheat spaghetti.