Posts tagged pasta
Penne Rosa made with greek yogurt. (Or, dinner last night.)
20 minutes & awesome. Just a friendly PSA. BUT…I left out the shrimp and subbed basil and arugula for spinach.
eProps to Melinda for linking.
HOORAY for all things pasta! This looks delicious!
Pasta puttanesca
Gnocchi with a wild boar ragu
Roasted plum tomatoes for vodka sauce for dinner.
Rigatoni alla vodka from Rosebud
Made a Rachael Ray recipe for roasted tomato vodka sauce that used mascarpone instead of heavy cream. I can’t wait to actually eat it!
Linguine alla carbonara from the only place I miss from back home, my favorite Italian restaurant of course!
I’m a pasta addict, there is no doubt about that. I love to experiment with such a blank canvas like pasta - especially since it comes in so many different shapes and forms. Egg, semolina, long, short, ribbed, tubed… just thinking about it makes my mouth water. The best part about pasta? The plethora of sauces to pair with it! I personally prefer tomato-based over cream - although I’ve been known to add a splash of cream to my tomato sauces. :)
In my opinion, silky pasta paired with a hearty meat sauce is heaven in a bowl. I’ve been wanting to perfect my own version of two different sauces: bolognese with a variety of ground meats like veal and pork AND a big hunk of pork shoulder simmering in a tomatoey ragu until the moist, tender meat falls apart in the sauce. My approach to attempting my own version of these meaty sauces is to replicate some recipes from chefs I respect and admire in order to decide what I can add or change to make it my own. If I get the basics of each sauce down, I can start to improvise with flavors and ingredients to create my own secret recipe.
For the bolognese, I started with this delicious recipe from Mario Batali that I found on Food Network’s website. Thankfully it makes a TON of sauce so I have a jar of it sitting in my freezer waiting for a rainy day! The only negative thing I could say about this rich, meaty, velvety sauce is that it’s a bit greasy in the end. I think that the total amount of olive oil and butter is too much since the meat renders quite a bit of fat. All you need that oil and butter for is to sautee the veg and lightly coat the meat so it doesn’t stick. Next time I would dial back to 3 T of olive oil and 2 T of butter. I believe that would be PLENTY.
All I have to say is - LOOK AT THAT MEAT!
RAGU BOLOGNESE
INGREDIENTS
5 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 T. butter
1 carrot, finely diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 rib celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound veal, ground
1 pound pork, ground (I had to use ground Italian sausage, no pork that day)
1/4 pound pancetta or slab bacon, ground
1/2 tube tomato paste (I used one small can)
1 cup milk
1 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano, for grating
DIRECTIONS
In a 6 to 8-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and garlic and sweat over medium heat until the vegetables are translucent and soft but not browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the veal, pork, and pancetta and stir into the vegetables.
Add the meat over high heat, stirring to keep the meat from sticking together until browned. Add the tomato paste, milk, and wine and simmer over medium-low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from the heat.
When ready to use, the cooked pasta should be added to a saucepan with the appropriate amount of sauce and tossed so that the pasta is evenly coated.
BUCATINI and MEATBALLS ALL’AMATRICIANA
(adapted from Bon Appetit Jan 2010 issue)
Ohhhh meatballs… the perfect culinary canvas. One in particular that I love to experiment with. This dish seemed like the perfect recipe to make when I had a dear friend over for dinner. The best part was that I had someone to take my photos for me (thanks Ian!).
According to the Bon Appetit article, classic amatriciana sauce is smoky and spicy. What a coincidence - those just happen to be two of my favorite flavor profiles… especially in Italian food. This sauce typically gets its smokiness from guanciale, which is salt-cured pig’s jowl. Mmmmm. Until I can find a butcher shop that has pig jowls readily available, the bacon is a perfect stand-in. I used bucatini pasta, which is essentially spaghetti with a hole in it:
That might not have been the best idea because it was very difficult to slurp the pasta through my lips like normal because of the hole! But I’m a big advocate of buying authentic Italian pasta because it’s made from durum semolina wheat, which is just as good for you (if not better) as whole wheat pasta. The difference is Italian pasta isn’t made with eggs and flour, there should only be one ingredient on the list that you see on the side of the package: “100% durum semolina wheat”.
INGREDIENTS
-meatballs:
6 oz. (about 6 slices) applewood-smoked bacon, diced
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 lbs. ground beef (15% fat content)
⅔ c. chopped drained roasted red peppers
⅔ c. panko breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
½ c. coarsely grated onion
½ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 T. minced fresh marjoram
2 t. crushed red pepper
½ t. kosher/sea salt
½ t. ground black pepper
-sauce:
2 28-oz. cans tomato puree
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
6 oz. (about 6 slices) applewood-smoked bacon, cut into lardons (strips)
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 c. finely chopped onion
1½ t. crushed red pepper
2 c. dry white wine
1 T. minced fresh marjoram
-pasta:
1½ lbs. bucatini
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1½ T. minced fresh marjoram
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
-meatballs:
Place bacon in food processor.
Pulse and grind to a coarse paste.
Transfer to a large bowl. Using garlic press, squeeze in crushed garlic. Gently mix in beef and all remaining ingredients.
Let stand 15 minutes. Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Using moistened hands and scant 2 tablespoonfuls for each, roll meat mixture into 1½-inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs on sheet.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill. (Can be made 1 day ahead)
-sauce:
Cook bacon in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to drippings in pot and heat over medium heat. Add half the meatballs. Cook until brown on all sides, turning carefully, about 9 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a baking sheet. Add more oil to the pot if needed and repeat with remaining meatballs. Increase heat to medium-high. Add onions and crushed red pepper to pot. Sauté until soft, about 6 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, stirring up the brown bits, about 8 minutes. Add tomato puree, garlic and marjoram. Boil until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix bacon into sauce.
Add meatballs and bring to a simmer.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until meatballs are heated through and tender, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
-pasta:
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
Drain and transfer to a large bowl.
Toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil
and marjoram.
Divide pasta among bowls, top with meatballs
and sauce.
Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.
Baked Whole Grain Penne with Spinach
A healthier take on baked pasta with tomato sauce, lots of cheese and add in some spinach for extra nutrients. I can say that I have officially switched over to whole grain/whole wheat pasta. I prefer the nuttier taste and the extra texture it brings to pasta dishes.
I used this recipe from Skinny Taste (because I love Gina’s approach to converting some of our favorite comfort foods to a good-for-you version) and adjusted it a little bit. I sauteed some shallot in with my garlic and squeezed some lemon juice over the spinach when that got mixed in. I also used fresh oregano along with the basil - I enjoy the brigther taste that fresh herbs bring to sauces.
Here’s Gina’s recipe with my few additions:
1 lb. whole grain pasta (penne, ziti, mostaccoli)
1 T. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small shallot, minced
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
juice of half a lemon
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 t. chopped fresh oregano
1 T. chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 c. fat-free ricotta
1/4 c. Parmesan
2 c. part-skim shredded mozzarella
Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with oil spray.
In a large pot, cook pasta according to instructions until al dente. **Make sure to salt your water after it comes to a boil!!** Drain and return to pot.
While the pasta cooks, in a medium saucepan, add olive oil and sautée garlic and shallot. Add chopped spinach, lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped tomatoes. Stir in basil and oregano once sauce is heated through.
Add sauce to the pasta and combine. Add Parmesan cheese, ricotta and half of the mozzarella. Mix well, then transfer to the baking pan.
Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Top with the remaining mozzarella.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned.
Gina’s tip is to make this up to a day in advance and store it in the fridge. Let it sit at room temperature before baking it off in the oven.
