Category Archives: Pasta

Cooking Light for Dinner Tonight

  May 5, 2013 - 9:34 pm | , , , , , , , , ,
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My dinners at night are not all my own creations. In a typical week I usually make at least one or two dinners from existing recipes. Most of these are from online sites like Cooking Light and various blogs. Some of these I make frequently and others are weeknight adventures. So, in addition to sharing my own original recipes with you, I thought I would also share what else I’m making for dinner in a new series called Cooking Light for Dinner Tonight.

The past month saw birthdays and the beginning of warmer weather, finally. Meals are quickly moving from heavy winter comfort food to lighter fare. Fresh produce is starting to look somewhat seasonal again with strawberries and asparagus readily available (even if not yet local).

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

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Once the Twin’s birthday party was finally over we went into recovery mode–it took days! The fridge was stuffed full of leftovers, but there was no protein to be had. That’s where these sandwiches from Cooking Light came in. They went perfectly with the leftover Herbed Potato Salad and I topped them off with leftover Firecracker Coleslaw (instead of the suggested pickles). I followed the recipe with only a few small changes. Instead of using just chicken thighs, I used a combination of white and dark meat chicken (boneless and skinless). I also added in a pound of crimini mushrooms which I grilled whole, then sliced and tossed in with the shredded chicken. They were tasty and made plenty for multiple meals. We ate them as sliders like in the picture above, and we also enjoyed the chicken days later piled on top of toasted bread rounds as a light tapas style meal with friends.

Straw and Hay Alfredo with Roasted Asparagus

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The Twin’s birthday party was the weekend before their actual birthday. On the actual day, we had a much lower key dinner. I wanted something easy for the little ones to chew and something that we would enjoy as well. I made the recipe as written except that I used only multi-grain spaghetti instead of half whole-wheat and half traditional spaghetti. It was a perfect weeknight meal with a big salad.

Butternut-Kale Lasagna

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I was immediately drawn to this recipe from the March 2013 Cooking Light because I love the combination of butternut squash and Gruyere cheese so much. This was easy for such a complicated looking recipe. I did not use pre-cut squash or kale. Instead, I roasted a small squash that I had peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. I then tossed that with half a bunch of kale that I had de-stemmed and chopped. I did that early in the day, so that before dinner, all I had to do was make the Bechamel and layer everything together. I did add a large pinch of rubbed sage to the sauce because when is sage and squash are together its a good thing. This was a great weeknight meal, but I will make this again when I’m entertaining because it’s a great recipe that has a big WOW factor. Yummy!

Orzotto with Asparagus

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I loved the lemon zest in this risotto-style pasta. My asparagus was thick; I’m pretty sure I would have enjoyed this more with thinner asparagus. It was a fantastic quick weeknight meal. The twins devoured it (Little Guy turned up his nose, but we ignore him as he does this to pretty much EVERYTHING these days).

Greek Chicken Bread Salad

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It doesn’t take much for me to want to start summer-style cooking. That’s what this salad is. The recipe calls for toasting the bread and pan roasting the chicken. I opted for the grill for both, and I was rewarded with a fantastic salad. I’ll be making this again next week!

 

 

 

Sausage and Kale Stuffed Shells with Homemade Italian Sausage

  May 2, 2013 - 8:19 am | , , , , , , , , , ,
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Sausage and Kale stuffed shells

Comfort food is the heart of my home cooked meals these days. Whether it’s Chicken and Dumplings or Turkey Meatloaf, comfort food makes up the majority of what my family eats on a nightly basis. Probably because by the end of a day of wrangling three kids, I want a little comfort anyway I can get it. But comfort food does not need to be unhealthy food.

When I moved to New England for college two decades ago, I was immediately immersed in a crash course of Italian American food. Stuffed shells, Manicotti, Ricotta in pretty much anything was what I took away from the local restaurants and even the dining halls. It wasn’t until I moved to Boston’s North End that I really started to learn the differences between Italian-American fast food and what it meant to truly identify yourself as an Italian and an American and what role food played in that identification. I learned this through friends who knew a lot about food who were also Italian Americans, by living in a predominately Italian neighborhood where I could walk around and still hear Italian spoken, and by trips to Italy where I learned the differences between Italian and American food.

Italian-American food is not a set-in-stone canon of recipes. Yes, Ricotta is in some of it, but not in all of it. (I also learned that not all Ricotta is grainy and tasteless.) The dishes are comfort food to many, but that does not mean that they cannot be lightened and improved.

This week’s recipe is an example of that. I have had stuffed shells a few times over the years. Sadly, most of the time the dish was very disappointing. The shells tend to be over stuffed with tasteless grainy Ricotta, and the pasta is usually overcooked and blown out, soggy and bloated with sauce. The sauce is usually the only vegetable matter on the plate.

This recipe is not that dish. These shells are filled with a homemade Italian sausage which you can make from any ground meat you wish; I’m a fan of lean ground turkey. You then mix the sausage with kale and cheese and fill the shells with a moderate amount of the filling. The shells are easily frozen and can be pulled out and topped with a fresh, easy to make sauce before baking. I don’t put any cheese on top of the sauce when baking, as it seems pointless since the shells are full of it. When serving I top each portion with a small amount of freshly grated Parmesan and that’s it.

I highly recommend making your own sausage. The idea that sausage is hard to make is a misconception. It couldn’t be easier and the flavor is superior; especially for the lower fat meats like ground chicken or turkey. The vinegar in the sausage recipe really helps bring the flavor to life, and you can make it as spicy as your family wants. Since Italian sausage is not smoked or cured, it’s easy to make, and it does not need to be stuffed into a casing if your using it as a filling or topping.

You certainly don’t need to be Italian-American or Italian or even American to enjoy this dish. It’s comfort food any way you dish it. It tastes good, it makes you feel good and it will make you smile. Enjoy!

Italian Sausage and Kale Stuffed Shells
Serves 8

Quality Ricotta is very important to the success of this recipe. I love Naragansett Creamery’s Ricotta; it’s insanely smooth and very flavorful. If you live outside the region find a local cheese producer that makes it. Good Ricotta is an entirely different product than most of the stuff in the grocery stores.

1 package large shells, about 40
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound Italian sausage (see recipe below)
1/2 bunch kale, rinsed and dried
1 cup whole milk ricotta (8 oz)
1 cup mozzarella, shredded (4 oz)
2 tablespoons Parmesan, finely grated (1 1/2 oz)
1 egg
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons basil, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce:
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes (Eden Organic does not contain BPA)
1 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon garlic, minced (about five cloves)
1 teaspoon salt
8 large basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the shells according to the directions until al dente, removing 1-2 minutes before the recommended cooking time.

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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it starts to shimmer, add the onion and saute until soft but not yet brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook until the garlic is very fragrant, about a minute. Add the sausage.

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Cook the sausage breaking it into smaller pieces until it is cooked completely through and the pieces are no bigger than a 1/2 inch. Add the chopped kale and cook until the kale is wilted and has released most of its liquid, about another 3 minutes.

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Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely down to room temperature.

While the sausage and kale mixture is cooling combine ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, parsley, basil, egg, salt and pepper in a large bowl.

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Once the sausage and kale have cooled add it to the mixture and thoroughly combine.

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Using a tablespoon or 1/2 ounce scoop, fill each shell with a rounded tablespoon of filling.

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Place seem down in an oiled baking dish or on a baking sheet for freezing.

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Cooking:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make the sauce by combining the tomatoes, chicken broth, olive oil, crushed red pepper, garlic, salt and basil in a large bowl.

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Line the shells up in a large baking dish and cover with the sauce. If you are baking off only a small portion of the shells, allow 1/2 cup of sauce for each five shells. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes, 30 if frozen. Remove the foil and check to make sure sauce is bubbling and all the shells are hot cooked thoroughly. Serve with a light grating of Parmesan.

 

Italian Sausage

1 pound ground turkey, chicken or pork
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Combine the red pepper flakes and the fennel in a small pan and toast, shaking constantly until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.

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Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Combine the ground meat, garlic, sugar, salt, black pepper, fennel and red pepper mixture and vinegar together.

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Use in any recipe that calls for Italian sausage with the casing removed.

 

Chicken and Dumplings

  March 20, 2013 - 6:00 am | , , , , , , , ,
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“You have your hands full!” It’s the one comment I hear more than any other when people see me with all three kids. I hear this most at the grocery store when I am wearing one twin, have the second in the front of the grocery cart, and my four year old in the main part of the cart. As the mom of 11-month old twins and a four year old, I suppose I do have my hands full. However, I am always amused and perplexed when I hear this. What does my commentator really mean? That I am busy from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed? Yes, that’s certainly true. But in today’s over-scheduled life, don’t all moms? I don’t know of a single one that sits on the couch eating bonbons all day. One kid or five, every mom I know has almost every minute of their day spoken for. We all watch the clock for the moment when that last little lock of hair settles on a pillow for the night (and not the first time, but that second or third time, after the drink of water, the monster search and the little speech on why they couldn’t possibly go to sleep).
Why does the number of children I have deem me more deserving of the hands-full title than the career mom with one or two kids? I’ve done it both ways, and as tiring and trying as my current life is, I would take it over the stress and guilt of the working mom. In truth, I lead a charmed life. I might not admit to it when I look down to see my clothes polka-dotted in unknown substances, or try to figure out the last time I got a decent shower, but at the end of the day I know I have it good.
Did moms hear this at the grocery store fifty years ago when the average woman had four children? I do wonder how they managed at the store. How did they maneuver around the store before the days of the carts with the cars at the front or fantastic hard-to-find carts with room for two kids at the front (room for a child was introduced in shopping carts in 1947). What inventions will my children enjoy that will make it even easier for them?
We may all have our hands full these days, but that doesn’t mean that we have to rely on heavily processed convenience foods. In fact, providing healthy foods free of preservatives, coloring and additives actually makes life easier. I’m not the only mom to notice the difference in my kid’s behavior when they eat over-processed foods and when they eat meals made from scratch. Making dinner is one of the best forms of entertainment in our home. Not only can I entertain them by having them help make the meal (the twins watch from their high-chairs), but Little Guy is more willing to try foods that he helped to make.
Chicken and Dumplings is probably the one meal I make more than any other during the cold months. It is my grandmother, Martha Kornegay’s, recipe. Now nobody will deny that Martha Kornegay was truly a woman with her hands full. The mother of six, and a working mom, she had her hands full for decades! When she was raising her children, she did not have all the convenience foods available today. Meals like chicken and dumplings were her convenience foods because they provided a wholesome meal all in one pot and because it is an inexpensive meal.

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Martha Kornegay’s Chicken and Dumpling Recipe in her handwriting

I have changed her original recipe a little to improve it nutritionally but make it taste just as good as her original. I tried just adding whole-grain flour, but that didn’t work. The dumplings were heavy and tough with the bitter flavors that whole-grains can sometimes have. I used buttermilk to balance the flavors and a pinch of baking soda to help lighten the heaviness of the whole wheat. Using the correct type of whole-grain flour helps too. Like with so many other recipes, I have the best results with spelt flour, but you could also use a white whole-wheat flour here too.
Whatever flour you use, the dough will be VERY wet. There will come a point, when you are making the dumplings, when you will think there has to be a typo in the recipe, and you will think that you really need to add more flour, that there is no way this will roll out and turn into dumplings. When you do, just ignore your thoughts and follow the recipe. As long as you roll this out on a pastry mat, waxed paper or parchment, you will be fine. In the finished product, the flour you use on which to roll this out is just as important as the flour in the dumplings. It creates a thick stewy broth. If you stir it well while you put in the dumplings, it will not clump. Trust me.
It pays to use your own chicken stock in this recipe. Your finished product will only be as good as the stock you use. I usually make a roast chicken one night, then take the left-over meat off the bones and use the bones to make my slow-cooker chicken stock over-night. Then the next night I already have my broth and chicken done and only have to chop some carrots, make the dumplings and cook some peas. A little planning provides dinner for two nights plus leftovers, and even better – EVERYONE will like it. Enjoy!

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Chicken and Dumplings
Serves 6-8
The dumpling dough is very wet when when it is mixed together. Adding extra flour to the dough makes the dumplings tough. You need a lot of flour when rolling out the dough, and that flour is then used to thicken the broth into a stew.
You can make this with any type of whole-grain flour or use only all-purpose flour. Traditionally this would be served very peppery. Adding the pepper several minutes before serving will allow the pepper flavor to strengthen.

8-10 cups Slow-cooker Poultry Broth (chicken) or any low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon butter or chicken fat
1 cup whole grain spelt flour whole-wheat flour
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 cups cooked, boned, skinned and shredded chicken – a mixture of white and dark meat (about 1/2 chicken)
1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced (about 4 medium)
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the broth and butter to a boil in a large soup pot or dutch oven. While the broth comes to a boil, make the dumplings.

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In a medium bowl combine the whole-grain flour, 1 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper; set aside.

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In another bowl mix the egg, buttermilk and baking soda.

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Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until well combined; the dough will be very wet.

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On a pastry mat or waxed paper, spread 1/2 cup of flour. Scrape the dough onto the floured surface and cover the top with another 1/4 cup of flour.

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Using your hands, spread the dough out to 1/3” inch thick. Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1”X3” pieces.

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When the broth has come to a rapid boil, slide the dumplings, one at a time, and the extra flour into the broth. It is okay if some of the dumplings break while moving them into the broth. Use a pastry scraper or knife to get off any dumplings that stick. Immediately stir the mixture until the dumplings are separated and the flour has mixed into the broth. A few small lumps of flour are fine and will cook themselves out in time. Add the chicken and carrots and return to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cook, stirring frequently but gently until the dumplings and carrots are tender and the broth has thickened, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for another ten minutes before serving. Serve with green peas.

Fun with Real Yams and Pancit Noodles

  February 21, 2013 - 3:43 pm | , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The easiest way to save money and control the sustainability of your food on vacation is to do your own cooking. Renting a condo with a kitchen can save a lot of money and usually give you prime locations that would cost substantially more in a resort. After doing a lot of searching, we booked a week at The Atlantic Beach Front Villas on Grace Bay in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. The villa was very comfortable and as close to the water’s edge as I can imagine ever being. The sands of Grace Bay Beach were quite literally our backyard. We had everything you needed to make a good vacation: a nice place to sleep, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world at our feet, and a kitchen so I could have fun exploring Caribbean ingredients. If you are ever looking to book a Turks and Caicos vacation, I highly recommend our villa.

Atlantic Beach Front Villas View
The view from our beautiful condo

For months before leaving for Turks and Caicos, I researched Caribbean food. A particular highlight of my research was reading An Embarrassment of Mangoes, by Anne Vanderhoof. If you have any interest in food and the Caribbean, then you will enjoy this book. She cooks her way through the Caribbean in a tiny galley kitchen with wonderful stories that make you feel like you are on vacation with her (and make you think twice about buying a boat and sailing the islands). Her book gave me the courage to try my hand at cooking local food from my sparse condo rental kitchen.

I decided to try cooking ground provisions, the Caribbean term for starches cooked in any variety of ways. Provisions include cassava, plantains, yams, sweet potatoes and many, many others. This article from the St. John, USVI restaurant, “Sweet Plantains,” talks in depth about provisions and is an interesting read (with several typos so I feel a real connection to it). So, when I found real yams (as opposed to sweet potatoes) at the store, I jumped at the chance to serve ground provisions with our jerk chicken at dinner. Never-mind that I didn’t know what type of yams they were or how best to serve them. I just wanted to make provisions for dinner; I can be stubborn that way.

Real yams are very different from sweet potatoes. Real yams are also a starchy root vegetables, but that is where the similarity ends. The yams I found were sold in big chunks and were hairy. They looked like a cross between an overgrown horseradish and a tree stump. My insufficient research had not informed me about this type of yam or how best to prepare it. I decided to roast it like a normal sweet potato. Well, I’m going to make a really long story short. It didn’t work out so well. After fighting with the slimy beast and finally roasting it, I tasted it only to find out it was so bitter we couldn’t eat it. In fact, a much-too-late internet search suggested that bitter yams can be toxic. The garbage can enjoyed my roasted yams that night, and that ended my adventure in yam cooking. I guess I lucked out too because the slimy juice is also supposed to itch terribly if you get it on your skin. Well, I was dripping with it but didn’t itch at all. Later in the week I had much more success with another provision, plantains. I’ll share my recipe for plantains with you soon.

With the bitter, possibly toxic, itchy yams in the garbage I was stuck with a grill full of jerk chicken and nothing to serve with it. For someone that likes for the meat to be the flavor and not the center of the meal, this was a problem in a rental kitchen with exactly one days worth of food and no convenience foods to fall-back on. At home I would pull out a bag of frozen fries, chop up a big salad and be done with it. I checked the cabinets and found two boxes of cereal, a tub of peanut butter, two bottles of rum (ummmm), a head of garlic, and a package of unusual Asian noodles called Pancit noodles. They caught my attention at the IGA because the recipe on the back of the package did not require boiling the noodles prior to stir-frying them. I’m a big fan of cutting out a few steps. Jamaican jerk chicken over Asian noodles: I could make that work! I LOVE Pancit noodles; you need to find these suckers! They are a gift to the busy vacationing mom-on-the-go (or anyone so lazy that they are bothered by having to cook pasta before tossing it with the sauce. Yeah, that’s me). Just throw these noodles in the pan with some stir-fry sauce and a little water, and ten minutes later you have saucy noodles full of flavor and only one pan to clean up. That’s especially helpful when you have exactly one pan in the kitchen.

Caribbean cuisine is highly identified with peas & rice, jerk seasoning and plantains, but other aspects of the cuisine hint at an Asian/Pan-Pacific influence as well. Both Indian and Chinese workers came to the islands to work on the sugar cane plantations and left their imprint on the local cuisine. Traditionally Filipino, Pancit noodles can be wheat or rice and are used in many different recipes. Pancit is just a form of lo mein or chow mein and if you can’t find the Pancit noodles then you can use the slightly thinner chow mein Chinese wheat noodles they sell in the store. The Cook’s Thesaurus website has a handy page that lists different type of asian noodles and what can be substituted. The noodles I bought in Turks & Caicos were wheat and included a recipe for “Pancit Canton.” I didn’t follow this recipe, but I did cook the noodles right in the pan with the sauce to form chewy noodles in a thick sauce that was very slurp-able and tasty. I had a little onion, a carrot, a red bell pepper and some stir-fry sauce (and lots of garlic) on hand and that is all it needed. You can make this with any veggies you wanted, and it would be wonderful stir-fried with a little tofu. We had this with Jerk chicken the first night I made it. We all liked it so much that we had it again the very next night with grilled snapper.

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These chow mein noodles were similar to the pancit noodles I used

On most Caribbean islands, almost everything is imported which drives up the price (as well as the carbon footprint). Stir-fry sauce that I usually make at home, I bought pre-made to keep costs down and convenience a priority. One jar of sesame stir-fry sauce eliminated the need for soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil and chili paste. You could use pretty much any sauce you want. I could see this working with hoisin sauce, oyster sauce or any stir-fry sauce you have on hand. I’ve included a recipe for an approximation of the sauce I used, and you can use either your own homemade or store-bought sauce to make these. Enjoy!

Pancit Noodle Stir-fry
Serves 4 as a side dish or two as an entree

Pancit noodles usually come in either flour or rice versions. This version uses wheat flour noodles, sometimes called flour stick. They can be difficult to find. If you cannot find Pancit you can substitute Chinese wheat noodles or chow mein noodles. Just don’t make the mistake and buy the cooked chip-like product intended to be eaten as-is and not cooked.

1 tablespoon oil (vegetable oil such as canola or coconut)
1/2 sweet onion, sliced (I used red onion in the Caribbean and Spanish onion at home)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ginger, minced
6 oz package Pancit Noodles or chow mein noodles
1/4 cup stir fry sauce (pre-made or recipe below)
1 3/4 cup water
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
1 cup carrot, julienned
2 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime, cut in wedges

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the onion and cook until the edges start to brown.

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Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about thirty seconds or until it is fragrant.

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Add the noodles, sauce and water. Cover and cook, stirring frequently until the noodles are almost tender and the liquid has turned into a thick sauce. You may need to add a little bit more water.

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Add the vegetables, stir everything together and continue to cook for about four minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender and the noodles are done.

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Remove from the heat and top with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

Basic Stir-fry Sauce
If you are using this in a stir-fry (as opposed to noodle sauce) add 1 teaspoon corn starch to the mixture to help thicken your sauce.

2 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons dry sherry or white wine
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (or to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Use in any stir-fry or noodle dish.

Butternut Squash Pastitsio

  October 4, 2012 - 9:27 am | , , , , , , ,
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Growing up in Texas, we always celebrated fall like everyone else. We talked about the season changing, decorated with colorful leaves and pumpkins and made apple treats. However, it was all a ruse. The season didn’t change (for another few months at least). The leaves didn’t change, and apples didn’t grow well anywhere within a thousand miles of us. Autumn in Texas was a whole heck of a lot like summer, just slightly cooler, with the same humidity, and with school.

Then I moved to Massachusetts: Autumn Central. I marveled at the huge wooden crates of gourds, squash and pumpkins that lined the roads of Western Massachusetts and wondered how it was possible for the whole country to eat all those squash. I learned to love the smell of wet fallen leaves, cold nights and crisp days. I went apple picking, and learned that layering clothes was more than fashion sense, and I was introduced to a whole new food group; winter squash. Texas had winter squash, but they were foreign foods, and why bother with them in a place that overflowed with the intoxicating mix of Southern, Mexican, Cowboy and Cajun cuisines.

My squash experience was not love at first bite; anything but. The first decade I lived up here I avoided the summer squash’s mushy long lasting winter cousins. New England cuisine is all about subtleties while Texan cuisine is anything but. Texas cuisine tends toward grandiose flavors. New England Puritans would have nothing of that. Gulf seafood is frequently heavily seasoned, but cod is often adorned with nothing but cracker crumbs, butter and lemon. Yankees enjoy butternut squash soup, Texans eat spicy chili and gumbo. Well, I could go on and on but you get the idea. Over time I decided that if I was going to live up here I needed to learn to eat like a local. I started to play with squashes and taught myself to make the basics; butternut squash soup and roasted acorn squash

Squash and I are good friends now. I love the natural sweetness and the versatility of autumn’s harvest, and that brings me to today’s meatless meal; Butternut Squash Pastitsio. Pastitsio is a traditional Greek pasta dish that layers pasta with a cinnamon seasoned ground lamb sauce and is topped with a Parmesan cheese laced Bechamel sauce. I’ve never been a huge fan of the meat version of this dish. The combination of cinnamon, pasta and lamb never really did much for me. However, when you substitute the meat with roasted butternut squash and you get something really special. This dish retains all the warm comfort of the original, but with a distinctly autumn flavor. It’s one of those dishes that’s enjoyed by the whole family. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Pastitsio – Click here for a printer-friendly version of this recipe
serves 4-6

1 butternut squash (about 1 small squash), peeled, seeded and cubed into one-inch chunks
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, finely diced
½ cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups crushed tomato
1 teaspoon salt, divided
8 oz tube shaped pasta such as penne, rigatoni, or macaroni

Bechamel Sauce:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss butternut squash with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Roast on a lined baking sheet until just tender, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the squash is roasting bring a large pot of water to a boil and boil pasta according to the directions on the box, removing from the water while the pasta is still very al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process and set aside.

Heat a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add remaining two teaspoons of olive oil and heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Sauté until onion is soft and translucent, about five minutes. Add minced garlic, cinnamon, bay leaf and thyme.

Continue to cook for about 1 minute or until very fragrant. Add wine and stir, scraping up any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for about fifteen minutes.

While the tomato sauce cooks make the Bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

When the butter bubbles, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for a minute or two so that the flour cooks. Whisk the milk into the flour and butter roux carefully being sure to mix the roux well into the milk so that clumps do not form. Heat until just simmering stirring frequently. Once the sauce simmers, stir in the Gruyère. Stir until the cheese melts and season to taste with salt and pepper.

If your clan is a picky bunch (like mine), then blend your sauce in a food processor or blender until smooth then return the sauce to your cooking pot.

(If you are one of the lucky few that has a family that does not mind chunks, then disregard the previous step and poo poo on you!) Fold butternut squash and pasta into sauce and pour into a greased casserole dish pushing the mixture down into the casserole so that the pasta mixture is evenly packed into the casserole dish.

Pour the Bechamel over the pasta mixture and carefully spread over the top of the dish.

Place in oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the edges are bubbly and the top is starting to color.

Pasta with Ricotta, Spinach and Herbs

  July 25, 2011 - 5:44 pm | , , , , , , , , ,
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There are days I’m able to trick myself into believing I am good gardener. Truth is I have a black thumb. We’ve had a pretty nice summer so far; until this past week it wasn’t too hot; and it hasn’t been too wet, too cold or too dry. Yet my garden looks like most others did at the beginning of June. My nasturtiums are still the size of smurfs (three apples tall). My tomatoes still look like they could be in pots at the garden store, and either a groundhog or a some sort of bug is eating my basil. So this post was supposed to be about the wonderful pasta I made with herbs from my garden. Instead it’s about the wonderful pasta I made with fresh herbs from my grocery store.

I wish I could take full credit for this recipe but it’s from Cooking Light. I haven’t changed much–its just too good a recipe to fool around with. The first time I made this pasta I didn’t change a thing, and it was wonderful, but my hubby and I topped it with a hefty amount of extra cheese and then scarfed down what was supposed to be a portion for four people (oops!). So, I’ve increased the portion size from the diet-size portions that Cooking Light is very bad at convincing me that I’m supposed to be happy with to normal human-sized portions. I’ve also increased the amount of Romano cheese in it. Pretty understandable changes I think.

One other thing bothered my hubby and I the first time we made it. The spinach did not fully wilt. It was as if someone had poured this absolutely delicious pasta over a spinach salad. If that’s something that sounds pretty fantastic to you, then don’t follow the step that tells you to microwave the spinach.

I’ve made this recipe so many times since I found it in Cooking Light a few months ago. It’s one of those pasta recipes that makes you forget you ever wanted meat in a dish. My hubby really likes it too, although he’d like it more without the spinach. Too bad buster, eat your spinach! It’s also a great way of using up extra herbs. Although I think it’s best with the parsley/chive/dill combo, I’ve also tried it with basil instead of dill and with a bit of fresh thyme thrown in. All of it’s pretty yummy. Enjoy!

Fettuccine with Ricotta, Spinach and Herbs – Click here for a printer friendly version
Serves 4
This recipe is based on a recipe from Cooking Light.

1 6-7 ounce bag baby spinach
1/2 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chives, finely chopped
1/4 cup dill, finely chopped or 1/2 cup basil, roughly torn
1 ounce Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 lb fettuccine
1 clove garlic
2/3 cup whole-milk ricotta

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Rinse spinach well even if it’s prewashed and run through salad spinner or dry with towels. If you like your spinach thoroughly wilted, place spinach in a large microwave-safe serving bowl and microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Chop herbs and add to spinach along with olive oil, cheese, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and set aside.

When water comes to a boil, add fettuccine and clove of garlic. Boil according to the directions on the pasta. Drain the pasta reserving two cups of the cooking liquid, then pour the pasta over the spinach mixture.

In a blender or small food processor add the ricotta, cooked clove of garlic and 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. With the lid of the blender or food processor vented and covered with a dish towel, pulse until smooth and combined.

Pour the ricotta sauce over the pasta. Toss everything together and let sit for a minute or two so the sauce can thicken. Add additional cooking liquid as needed to reach desired consistency. Serve with additional grated cheese for topping.

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