Cold Sesame with Raw Zucchini, Carrot and Cucumber (Spiralized) Noodles

Cold Sesame with Raw Zucchini, Carrot & Cucumber Noodles

When I was a kid my parents would take us all to a Chinese restaurant in Flushing, Queens called The Happy Dumpling. I was just beginning to be adventurous beyond wonton soup and Cold Sesame Noodles were soon my jam! The waitress would mix all the ingredients at the table, a great way to keep restless kids entertained. The entire family loved that dish and it was the highlight of our meal there.

LOCAL WEDNESDAYS*: Duck Egg Pasta Carbonara

     So Local Wednesdays (like Sicilian Sunday Dinners) is another attempt to focus Morta Di Fame, give it some structure, a routine. If only I could do that for the rest of my life! Needless to say, if you have visited the Wednesday Farmer's Market at Union Square you know it is the best in the entire city. So, even if I have to get up at 5am to get there before work (who am I kidding?) I'll do my best, then make a meal with ONLY local ingredients that evening. Invite yourself over on a Wednesday (you will have to come to Queens) and enjoy a local meal with me! Or we can do it at your place.
     I am very proud to say that all components of this Carbonara Pasta dish are local, even the pasta was homemade from Knoll Crest Farms. So here is the deal: my dad hates chickens and my mom hates eggs. Hence, I have never eaten this type of pasta and until recently had no idea what it was. Did you say bacon? And eggs? And cheese? And garlic? And fresh ground pepper? On pasta? When? NOW! OKAY! 
    I used duck eggs, which is very exciting! Their eggy robustness took some getting used to. And they were gigantic; the yoke was the size of a ping pong. The shell was really resilient and I almost needed a hammer to break it. But they were beautiful and really delicious. I knew they would be perfect for Pasta Carbonara. 
     This dish is so easy, too. It takes only 20 minutes, I promise! Fry some chopped bacon until crisp, then drain on a paper towel. Meanwhile, boil your pasta. Remove some of the bacon fat from the frying pan and add chopped garlic, fresh black pepper, the fried bacon, the cooked pasta. Turn the heat off. Then crack a few eggs on top and mix into the pasta too cook them. Most recipes call for a swirl so as not to scramble your eggs, but mine were a tad scrambled. Mario Batali, as described in Bill Buford's Heat, separates his yokes and whites, mixes the whites in first, then just drops the raw yokes on top. Add some pecorino romano cheese. Serve warm and gooey with some nice local greens or broccoli rabe.

*All ingredients from the post are made exclusively from local seasonal meat and produce.

Pasta with Leeks, Pine Nuts and Toasted Bread Crumbs

    I don't come up with new ideas for dishes often, but when I do and its a hit I like to break down the brainstorming process. Hunger and craving are steps 1 and 2. I'd been dreaming about Nonna's specialty dish, pasta with sardines, which is topped with delicious browned bread crumbs. But, the CSA packs my fridge with veggies, not sardines and I had a bunch of leeks. I went on my google reader and came across a post titled, "Leek Pasta: who loves ya baby?" Pasta with Leeks. (On a side note: No wonder why Gourmet magazine went out of business. Food bloggers are in mourning but we are to blame. Who needs Gourmet when there is a wealth of glorious free food porn and recipes!?)

    Leek Pasta equals genius, but Judith's recipe calls for heavy cream and cheese and frankly dairy and myself are lover's at war and I am a sad loser. Picture me running longingly toward a bowl of fresh whipped cream. I am mouthing, "I love you! Let's be together again." Just as I am about to take that sweet cream into my loving and forgiving embrace it smacks me in the face then punches me in the gut, double time. Its so wrong, so I am trying to walk away quietly. 

    Then there it was leeks and bread crumbs, some toasted pine nuts and pasta and it was delicious and dairy-free! I don't need you after all, cream!

    I sauteed some shallots and garlic with peperoncino in lard (substitute butter or olive oil here). With lard, if you got it flaunt it, right? I cut the leeks into little rings (after soaking them in water; they are dirty!) and sauteed them. Salt and pepper. I got everything nice and caramelized then added some pine nuts and toasted them. In a separate pan, I browned some bread crumbs in olive oil or butter while the pasta was boiling. I only had angel hair but I would recommend spaghetti. After draining the pasta, I coated it in a little olive oil, added the leeks on top and the toasted bread crumbs on top of that. Some pecorino romano or parmesan cheese would be delicious to finish this off. There I go again, taking that dairy back. Some parsley would be nice, too. 

    So fresh and so vegan minus the lard! But, dairy-free is all that matters to me.

THE SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY OF FRYING EGGPLANTS

   I recently was stranded in the country and the parental units had to come and pick me up. Well if thats not an excuse to fry some eggplant then I don't know what is. Sergio, the CSA farmer, gave us some gigantic eggplants this week. And if I have one special talent to save from the apocalypse it would be my frying technique. Eggplants are good for one thing, sopping up olive oil. How many times have I heard the lame complaint, "I hate the way eggplants soak up so much oil." Well what kind of oil are you using? I can put good extra virgin olive oil on anything and when its embedded in a spongy fat eggplant slice, it is fried heaven.

   The key to frying eggplant is first soaking the slices in salted water for an hour or so. Some people think it removes the bitterness but its really just osmosis in action: the movement of water from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration through a semi-permeable membrane, in this case sweet eggplant flesh. So the eggplant has lots of non-salty water in it. So when you put it into salty water, all that water in the eggplant wants to hook up with the salt on the outside so the water gets drawn out, making the eggplant perfect for frying. You know when water mixes with hot oil it can be a dangerous situation, so after I remove the eggplant slices from the salt water I get rid of the excess water by placing them on paper towels.

    Now its time to fry! You really should not fry in extra virgin olive oil because it has a low burning temperature but you don't want your eggplant to sop up canola or worse corn oil. Gross. So I create a blend of extra virgin olive oil with canola oil in order to raise the burning temperature of the extra virgin olive oil. Smoking oil is not good for the body. I do not use a thermometer when I fry. I heat it up, then when I feel like its right, I put in a little piece of bread or whatever I am frying in the oil and if it gets all bubbly and happy then its the right temperature. 

   You want to use at least an inch of oil because like I mentioned the eggplants just soak in the oil. When they get nice and golden on each side, remove from the oil, place on more paper towels, then (do not forget this step) salt them with sea salt while they are hot.

   So now you have all this fried eggplant, what do you do with it? Well philosophically speaking, the eggplants is the end, and the means to enjoying these oily beauties is either a nice red sauce or some good Italian Bread. 

   As my parents were driving up here I said, "Listen, I have some eggplant frying, we are going to need to figure out a sauce situation." Rocco arrived and was on it. His sauce is inspired by a tomato sauce he had in Tuscany but he made it Sicilian by adding basil. He fried some garlic in olive oil and added some peperoncino. Then he added some canned plum tomatoes and cut them up in the pan while they were cooking. He added some salt and pepper and after about 15 minutes added some fresh basil. It was done that fast and so delicious. 

   Mommy was like, "that sauce was so good." 

   Me: "how did he make that?" 

   "I don't know. I can't make sauce like that." 

   Its so simple, yet Rocco can really hook up a mean sauce in a hurry, like a magician while no one is looking. (And for the record, Mommy, who Rocco calls the "American Woman" makes a fresh tomato sauce that rivals Nonna's. Good thing Nonna has no internet access because what I just said was a major mala figura.) 

   And now its the moment we have all been waiting for. The marriage between the sweet fried eggplant and the delicious tomato sauce. The grated pecorino romano cheese is like the wedding band that bring the two flavors together in such delicious harmony for our bellies to enjoy. Good thing, Rocco has been complaining that his panza (It: stomach) is not fat enough.

STUFFED JALAPENOS POPPERS FOR A SPICY DINNER WITH PATE

    A dinner with Pate is always a hilarious "do not repeat what I tell you" affair, so when he was guest of honor, along with Michael, Erik and Carrie, I had to keep things fresh and spicy. Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers and a bottle of champaign to start and we were laughing all night long. 

    If I ever buy a jalapeno pepper, I just buy one and I'm lucky if I ever use it. So I was at a loss when I got six from the CSA. Sadly, all I could think of were jalapeno poppers. I liked the idea of making spicy little appetizers, especially since Pate loves spice, but I wanted to stay away from the deep frying. So I figured I'd do what I do best, stuff 'em. Normally I would stuff a bell pepper with rice, meat, eggs, tomato sauce and peas. I didn't have any of those things, and I wouldn't have really been able to fit all that into a jalapeno. So I stuffed the jalapeno how I stuff a mushroom, bread crumbs, basil (I normally use parsley), grated cheese and garlic. (I actually forgot the garlic, a true sin.) The Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers were perfect appetizers, cheesy with a nice kick, and you could pop 'em in one bite. 

   To balance out the spice and just because its delicious I also served Spiced Candied Pecans. I got this recipe from Padma Lakshmi's Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet. Try these and they will become so go-to. They are so easy and addictive. Its just 1 C. whole pecans, 1/4 C. Maple Syrup, and 1/4 tsp. chili powder. She bakes them, but I cook them on the stovetop in a non-stick skillet on low heat and stir them constantly until the syrup dries up. There are a lot of other really amazing recipes in her book. 

    The last appetizer was Fresh Sliced Avocados, drizzled with olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper and sprinkled with paprika.

    For dinner I served Pasta with Fresh Basil Pesto. My stinking chopper died, so I had to make my pesto by hand with a mortar and pestle. I literally broke a sweat but it was worth it. It came out better than any pesto I ever made in the chopper or blender and the reason is that by grinding everything you better release the natural oils and flavors from the basil, garlic and pine nuts. I also liked how the pesto leaves were still somewhat in tact making a nice texture for the pasta. Pesto means paste in Italian and this paste, originating in Genoa, is traditionally accomplished this way rather than in a food processor, so I am happy the piece of junk broke. And if you are vegan, leave out the cheese and the pesto is just as delicious.

   As side dishes I served a Fennel Salad with Oranges and Pine Nuts, and a Bitter Purple Lettuce Salad with Cucumbers and Peppers. Both were dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper.

   For dessert I was tempted to make another peach cobbler but we opted to enjoy the Fresh Juicy Peaches in their natural form. They were so sweet and refreshing. I could make you laugh with a few Pate stories, but I promised not to tell...

Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

6 jalapenos

1/4 C. bread crumbs

1/4 C. grated cheese

1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 egg

1/4 C. milk

1 TBSP chopped basil or parsley

1 TBSP olive oil

salt and pepper

Cut the jalapenos in half and scoop out the flesh and seeds. Set the seeds aside. Boil the jalapenos in salted water for no more than 3-5 min. Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl along with the seeds, olive oil and salt and pepper. Adjust the dry and wet ingredients so you have a thick wet mixture thats not watery. Pour a little extra olive oil and salt and pepper in the bottom of each pepper half. Stuff each pepper with the mixture and sprinkle the top with grated cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.

Fresh Basil Pesto

Bunch of Basil

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/4 C. toasted pine nuts

1/4 C. pecorino romano or parmesan cheese (optional)

olive oil

sea salt and pepper 

These measurements are approximations. You must try the pesto as you go and adjust the ingredients accordingly. In a marble mortar, grind the basil leave with sea salt and garlic until creamy. Add the pine nuts and grind into a fine paste. Add the olive oil and cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot pasta.

Read more about pesto at Wikipedia.

ZUCCHINI AND MORE ZUCCHINI

     I have been eating a lot of zucchini, and its just the start of the season, so I need to start getting creative. My go to is either Zucchini Stew or Pasta with Zucchini. Yesterday, I had the most unbelievable Zucchini Puree from a little cafe in the West Village which I am going to try to recreate. It was outrageous. Here, I made a combination Rocco Nonna Zucchini Pasta. 

    Rocco will usually slice the zucchini really thin, then fry it and serve it over pasta in a spicy garlic and oil sauce. Its superb. 

    Nonna simply stews the zucchini with garlic for a lighter pasta dish. So I took the best of both worlds. 

     I made the stew as the base of the sauce, then combined it with a garlic sauteed in oil and peperoncino. The I topped it with some fried zucchini slices and ended up with a remarkably delicious zucchini pasta that is really nice topped with fresh grated romano cheese. It seems like more steps but in the end it was easier because frying 50 zucchini slices is time consuming. So while the stew is going you just fry up say 1/4 of the zucchini in slices and you still get that nice friedness with less frying toil.

CREAMY SAKE PASTA WITH SHRIMP (for the shrimp pasta obsessed)

  

    Jason, of Just Cook NYC, a friend in my head food blogger, is obsessed with shrimp pasta. Chances are at least once a week there is another variation on this versatile dish and each post is easy, delicious, photographed mouth wateringly and inspiring. A few days ago he posted Ellie's Spicy Shrimpy Pasta. That night like a loyal blog follower, I defrosted some shrimp and made my own shrimp pasta. 

    Once you start making shrimp pasta it really becomes a go-to dish because its so easily made with ingredients you most likely have on hand. Every time its a little different based on what I have in the kitchen. Lately you might have noticed that I have been using sake in my recipes. Its not because I have any particular affinity for sake, its probably the opposite. I am always rooting around in the fridge looking for some wine, but I really don't drink white, which would be the wine of choice for shrimp pasta, and red wine usually doesn't make it to the following day. Also, I would feel uncomfortable leaving an open bottle of wine in my fridge for as long as the open bottle of sake has been in there, over 6 month at least. Blame it on the ah-ah-uh-ah... okay I am annoying myself. The sake imparts a distinct not-to-sweet flavor, more present than white wine, and stands up well to the cream and garlic. This would be a great sauce for mussels. Maybe with a little curry and dill, too. So here's the easiest recipe for Creamy Sake Shrimpy Pasta. 

CREAMY SAKE PASTA WITH SHRIMP

2 TBSP butter

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

dash of peperoncino

1 TBSP tomato paste

2 TBSP water

1/4 C. sake

1/2 C. heavy cream

8-10 shrimp, cleaned, peel, deveined and seasoned with salt and pepper.

salt and pepper

1/2 lb. angel hair, spaghetti or fettucini

fresh parsley

     Start boiling your water for the pasta. Sautee the garlic and peperoncino in butter. Add the tomato paste and a little water to make a thick sauce. Add the sake and reduce a few minutes. Add the cream and reduce on low. Season with salt and pepper. When the cream bubbles, add the shrimp. Don't move the shrimp around. Let it rest and absorb all the of creamy goodness. (Check your pasta water, if its boiling start cooking the pasta.) When the shrimp turns pink on the bottom, flip each shrimp just once, or you will have rubbery shrimp. When you think the shrimp is almost done, turn off the flame and take the shrimp off the heat. DO NOT OVERCOOK THE SHRIMP! You can add a little more butter if you want to maximize your chance of a heart attack. By this point your pasta should be al dente. Drain and plate the pasta then add the creamy sauce, a few shrimp and garnish with parsley. 

PASTA CON CAVOLO (KOLHRABI) - LOCAL CUISINE

    I am so excited to be adding a "Local" category to the blog because this week we received our first vegetable share from the Woodside CSA. Our farm is in Andover, NJ and our farmer, who I am excited to meet is named Sergio. What a great name! I was ramping up for an overstock of rhubarb but I was surprised to receive: radishes, lettuce greens, kohlrabi, spinach, collard greens, swiss chard and turnips. I was happily overwhelmed by the variety and possibilities. Rocco came over and prepared our first local dish, a kohlrabi pasta in a light garlic and tomato sauce. It was delicious! 

    Kohlrabi is known in Sicily as Cavolo and it looks like a big light green bulb with leaves like collard greens. 

    Everyone at the CSA was wondering if the leaves were edible. Rocco used the soft leaves in the sauce and the rest was for the Bearded Dragon Irwin's salad so the answer is yes. The sauce was so simple and wonderful. Even Mike liked it even though it was green, so you know it was good. Rocco delivered.

PASTA CON CAVOLO

1 large kohlrabi root sliced plus the leaves chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2 C. tomatoes (fresh or canned) chopped

dash of peperoncino (hot red chili flakes)

2-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

1/2 lb. fettucini pasta

    In a big pot filled with salted water boil the kohlrabi leaves and slices of kholrabi root until they are soft. Meanwhile in a sauce pan, add a couple of TBSP of olive oil and sautee the garlic, peperoncino and tomatoes until it forms a nice thick consistency. Season with salt and pepper. When the kohlrabi are soft, after about 15-20 minutes, add the pasta directly in the boiling pot of kholrabi with a handful or salt. Cook the pasta until al dente then drain and add everything back to the pot. Pour the tomato sauce over the kholrabi and season with fresh pepper and more extra virgin olive oil.

PASTA WITH PEAS

This is maybe the simplest pasta dish. It is also a dish you can poach an egg on, like the Zucchini Stew I made a few posts ago. If you try this, it will be a real go to dish because it is fast and most people usually have some peas in the freezer and an onion lying around.

PASTA WITH PEAS

1 onion cut into thick slices

dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

olive oil

1/2 C. vegetable broth or 1 packet of liquid vegetable broth concentrate from Trader Joes or 1 vegetable bouillon cube (all optional, comes out great without it, too)

1 package of frozen peas (petite peas are good)

Enough water to cover peas

salt and pepper

1lb pasta

Sautee the peas and red pepper flakes in olive oil for a few minutes. Add the frozen peas and sautee a few minutes more. Add the water and whatever vegetable broth you have on hand if available. Season with salt and pepper. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve over pasta and garnish with lots of fresh ground black pepper and more fresh olive. This can serve 4 people with some leftovers. Halve the recipe for 2 people.

PASTA FRITTATA WITH LEMON

This Pasta Frittata can also be called considered a pasta omelet. It is a great nourishing way to use leftover pasta. My father doesn't eat chicken or eggs because he thinks that chickens are modern day dinosaurs and mom isn't a big egg eater either, so this wasn't a dish I ate at home as a kid. The vivid memory of eating Pasta Frittata was formed at a great family friend Cathy Ruocco's apartment on Sullivan Street when I was very young, and I can't somehow get it to come out as delicious as I remember it, but its still really good. Usually, I make it plain, but today I added lemon zest, chopped garlic and parsley for some extra flavor and I topped it with the leftover frittatini from the other night. 

PASTA FRITTATA

1 C. leftover cooked pasta

2 eggs

1/4 C. grated cheese

1/4 C. milk (i use soy)

salt

pepper

lemon zest

1 chopped garlic clove

parsley

olive oil

basil for garnish

In a bowl beat the eggs with milk, grated cheese, salt pepper, lemon zest, chopped garlic and parsley. Add the cooked pasta and mix it until the eggs coat the pasta. Add the mixture to a hot skillet coated with olive oil. When browned on the bottom flip it. (Flipping is not my expertise and the whole thing usually falls apart on me, but today I flipped it onto another hot skillet, which worked well but made for more dishes.) Cook until brown on bottom. Serve topped with fresh basil and extra grated cheese or some leftover sauce.

PASTA WITH FRITTATINI

     As most people know a frittata is an Italian style omelet. Frittatini, (free-tuh-tee-nee), translated as "little frittate," are a little different. Considered a peasant dish, it has all the qualities of a meat dish, but without the meat. They look like chicken nuggets and are basically balls of chicken cutlet batter, without the chicken. And, you stew them in tomato sauce like meatballs. 

     Frittatini are a speciality of my Nonna's and as I prepared them it smelled exactly like her kitchen. Its such an easy dish to make, especially when the only protein you have in the fridge are eggs. First you start with a basic tomato sauce. I make many versions of tomato sauce based on what I have on hand and how much much effort I want to put in so I will consider this "chunky, low effort, half-fresh sauce". While the sauce is cooking down, you start to make the frittatini batter, fry them, then add them to the sauce. They soaks up all the delicious flavor of the tomato sauce. 

     Traditionally, like with meatballs, you would eat your pasta with sauce first, then the frittatini would be the second course with a salad. But here in the great USA we take our meatballs and our frittatini with our pasta, and our second course is our second helping.

First, the sauce. An excellent tomato sauce takes time. It calls for fresh tomatoes, a food mill to take out the tomato seeds and skin, and it calls for fresh basil. Today, my basil was rotten, I only had 2 fresh tomatoes and I was too lazy to take out the food mill with its many parts to clean. This did not stop me from making a very good sauce. I used a can of sauce to supplement my tomatoes and a frozen basil cube from Trader Joe's (Nonna would be offended by this). Its not the same as fresh basil and it leaves bits throughout the sauce that bother me aesthetically because it looks like canned sauce with all the unnecessary seasoning, but it gets the flavor in there. And, if you don't have any basil at all, you can still make a good sauce.

TOMATO SAUCE (chunky, low-effort, half-fresh)

2 fresh tomatoes (if you have them)

1 - 8oz can of tomato sauce (or chopped tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes)

1/4 onion chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic chopped

olive oil

salt

pepper

pinch of sugar

1 basil cube or a few fresh basil leaves (optional)

Sautee the onions and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes. If you have fresh tomatoes, add them and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Once the tomatoes begin to release some of their juices, add the can of tomato sauce with a little bit of water. If you add whole peeled tomatoes, break them up with your wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 20-30 min., stirring occasionally. While the sauce is cooking down, prepare the frittatini.

FRITTATINI

3 eggs

2 heaping TBSP of grated cheese

4 heaping TBSP of unseasoned bread crumbs

2 TBSP milk (soy works fine, too)

1-2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 TBSP chopped parsley

Salt

Pepper

Beat your eggs with milk, then add the rest of 

the ingredients gradually. You want to focus on

the consistency of the batter more than the 

exact measurements here. You want the 

frittatini batter to be firm but moist. Once the 

oil is ready, scoop the batter with a large spoon 

to make chicken nugget size pillows in the oil. 

The shape does not have to be perfect. Fry until 

golden on each side then add to the tomato sauce. 

By this point the sauce should be done and you can 

turn it off and let the frittatini stew in there while 

you boil your pasta.

Serve the frittatini with pasta and tomato sauce and garnish with grated cheese.

PASTA CON LE FAVE

The first webisode of Morta Di Fame was filmed this morning. Rocco procured some fresh fava beans and made fava bean pasta. It was an adventure, a challenge and an all-around crazy fun time. The video will take a minute to edit,  so in the mean time, I am blogging the old fashioned way since fava bean season is short.

 

Cooking with fresh fava beans can be time consuming because you need to shell them twice. First out of their pod, then out of their shell. The shell is edible and delicious but can be bitter when cooked. But if you have some patience and a partner, its not so bad. Once you have the fava beans shells, they are really easy to make a delicious sauce out of.

PASTA CON LE FAVE

Ingredients

3lbs. Fresh Fava Beans, Shelled Twice

1 small onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Bay Leaf

Olive Oil

1/2 C. fresh or canned tomatoes

In a heavy saucepan sautee the onions, garlic and bay leaf in olive oil. After a few minutes add the tomatoes then the fava beans. Season with salt and red pepper flakes. Add enough water to 

cover the fava beans. Bring to a boil, them simmer covered for 1/2 and hour to 45 minutes, until the fava are soft and the sauce has cooked down. Season with salt and olive oil to taste.

For the pasta, use fettucini and break it up into small pieces. When boiling in salt water also add some olive oil since this type of pasta tends to stick together. Cook until al dente and strain, saving some of the pasta water. Add about 1/4 C. of the pasta water, along with the pasta to the fava bean sauce. Enjoy!

(all photos ©Jennifer Galatioto)

Is there any bread?

Mike and I finally moved! We have such a nice new apartment with an amazing kitchen and I cannot wait to get in there and start cooking. In the meantime we are living in a mess of boxes and have to order in. Tonight we ordered from Joe Abbracciamento's the go-to restaurant for all Middle Village family events. I had my Sweet 16 and my college graduation parties there where they serve amazing Italian American dishes "family style," meaning you roll out of there feeling like a blimp. Its on the more expensive side so we tried to keep it simple, a "bowl" of Penne Vodka, a "bowl" of Pasta Fagole soup and a "side" of broccoli. Oh and don't forget about the bread. So I go to pick it up, and first off its not in a bag, its in a box. When I open the box, there is a catering style tray of pasta, along with a vat of broccoli sauteed in about 5 heads of garlic, a tub of soup and 2 loaves of bread. So Mike and I drove to the Juniper park and had a romantic dinner out of the giant box. As Mike was shoveling pasta in his mouth, he turned to me and asked me, "Is there any bread?" and I almost spit the entire head of broccoli that I was eating out of my mouth. Anyone eating a tray of pasta really has no place asking for bread. He doesn't understand why he feels sick now.

Sorry for the crappy iphone photos.

Sorry Todd and Nicole...

Correction: For the Pasta with Garlic and Oil Recipe I mistakenly wrote 2 TBSP of red chili flakes when I meant 2 tsp. Big difference when you're bringing on the heat. Unless I am baking I don't measure exactly, but 2 TBSP of red pepper flakes was an obvious typo and poor Todd and Nicole learned the hard way. Sorry guys! I owe you a bowl of pasta...

LOVE YOUR PESTO BREATH

If you've overcome your phobia of garlic breath, then this garlic basil pesto is for you. Pesto with bow tie or farfalle pasta is a great dish to bring to a BBQ because its delicious at room temperature and you don't have to worry about it spoiling in the warm weather. But pesto should not stop with pasta; its great on sandwiches or as a spread on crackers or crusty bread. It really livens up veggies, like asparagus or zucchini. Top mozarella and tomatoes with it for a great appetizer or serve it as a condiment for grilled lamb or chicken. 

Here I topped some seared scallops with it. 

Basil Pesto

1 C Fresh Basil Leaves

2 TBSP olive oil

2 to 3 whole garlic cloves

1/4 C pine or pignola nuts

1/4 C fresh parsley

1/2 C grated parmesian or romano cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a food processor. Adjust everything to taste.

If its too dry and you are topping it with pasta use some of the starchy pasta water to moisten it a bit.

Seared Scallops with Pesto

1/2 C. fresh or frozen and defrosted small bay scallops

1 TBSP olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Butter or equivalent for grilling

Rinse the scallops then coat with oil and salt and pepper.

Heat a pan to medium to high heat and melt the butter. Sear the scallops on both sides until brown. Do not overcook or they will become rubbery.

Dollop a bit of pesto on each scallop and garnish with sweet reduced balsamic vinegar and toasted pine nuts.

FAST PASTA WITH GARLIC AND OIL

Pasta should be simple. I made this literally 10 minutes before I had to leave for my weekly Italian class and ate it standing up while putting on my rubber rain boots. This is a variation on classic Pasta with Aglio e Oglio (Garlic and Oil) 

FAST PASTA WITH GARLIC AND OIL

2-3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-2 tsp of peperoncino (red pepper flakes)

2-4 cloves of garlic

1 TBSP Tomato Paste or fresh chopped tomatoes (optional - I like it for color)

1/2 lb. spaghetti

Chopped parsley

Chopped Cilantro (optional and not a traditional Italian herb, but delicious!)

1/2 lemon juice (optional)

grated cheese (parmesian, locatelli or pecorino romano)

Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

 

While the pasta is boiling in generously salted water, sautee the olive oil, garlic, tomato paste and peperoncino, for less than 2 minutes. If you want a very strong garlic flavor, do not sautee the garlic at all. Leave it raw and add it with the parsley. When the pasta is al dente, strain it and toss it with the olive oil mix, the chopped parsley and cilantro, raw garlic if you prefer, the juice of 1/2 of a lemon, grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste. 

This is a nice summer recipe with fresh ripe tomatoes (which I had in the fridge but forgot to add! Salsa anyone?)