Pasta | Simple By Cindy

Pasta, Pesto and Peas

May. 25
2016

I have been making a lot of pasta dishes lately. I am not sure why, but who doesn’t love a good pasta dish?

When I came across this pasta dish courtesy of Ina Garten (who is one of my favorite go-to chefs), I knew I had to try it. Don’t let all the ingredients intimidate you. Once you prep each item, it will go very fast. The difficulty level of this recipe is “easy”. Trust me.

Setting up each ingredient first is called a “mise en place”. Garlic and onions are chopped and liquids and spices are measured before you start making the dish. Taking the time to do this will enable you to be more efficient and end up saving you time in the long run. You can concentrate on the cooking process and enjoy it more with much less worry.

You can always prepare the pesto several days before and store it in the refrigerator or freezer (the instructions to do this are included below). This will cut down on your prep time as well.

Now I’ll return to this wonderful recipe. The pasta, spinach and pea combination is delightful. The nuts add a pleasing texture. The creamy pesto sauce just perfects the recipe and is heavenly. I love the addition of the mayonnaise and lemon juice. Ina just gets it right every time.

Just a note: I mixed the pesto with the pasta a little at a time. There is a lot of pesto so be cautious when adding it in. You can always use the rest of this delicious sauce on another pasta dish.

This Pasta, Pesto and Peas serves 12 and each one of your family or guests will love it!

Ingredients for the Pasta

3/4 pound fusilli pasta ( 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 pound bowtie pasta (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups pesto (recipe below)
1 (10- ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, defrosted
1/3 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper

For the pesto:

1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
3 tbsp. chopped garlic ( about 9 cloves)
5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 cups good olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Cook the fusilli and bow tie pastas separately in a large pot of boiling salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta is al dente. Them mix together.

Drain and toss into a bowl with the olive oil. Cool to room temperature.

In a bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach and lemon juice.

Add the mayonnaise and puree.

Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta and then add the Parmesan, peas, pignoli, salt and pepper. Be sure to add the pesto a little at a time, until you get the desired amount. Do not overdress the pasta.

If you have any pesto left, follow the intructions below to store it.

Mix well, season, taste and serve at room temperature.

For the pesto:

Place the walnuts, pignoli and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Process for 15 seconds.

Add the basil leaves, salt and pepper.

With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed.

Add the Parmesan and puree for 1 minute.

Use right away or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of oil on the top.

Note: Air is the enemy of pesto. For freezing, pack in containers with a film of olive oil or plastic wrap directly on top with the air pressed out.

It’s that simple!

Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley and Breadcrumbs

May. 18
2016

I love to try new and innovative ways to make pasta. It may not always be diet-friendly, but it is worth it.

The cauliflower and red onion in this recipe are roasted to perfect tenderness in the oven. The cauliflower offers a nice crunchy texture. It is then tossed with the reserved pasta water that ensures a scrumptious, silky sauce.

All of the ingredients combine to make this a full-flavored, hearty, healthy dish while also managing to stay light and fresh. It is outrageously good!

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart. I made a few changes. For example, the recipe called for cavatappi pasta. Since I wasn’t sure where I was going to find that, I used fusilli pasta instead. Any wide, short pasta would be great with this. It also called for white-bread breadcrumbs, which had to be tossed in the food processor with oil. I used my own home-made breadcrumbs that I keep in the freezer. This made my prep time much shorter. You can use any kind of breadcrumbs and it will still be fantastic.

And, as always I used 1-2 more garlic cloves than the recipe called for. If you’re like me, you will too.

This recipe serves 4. It would be great to have for lunch the next day, but make sure you reserve extra pasta water so you can heat it up.

Today’s Hint: Buy some Italian bread, whole wheat bread and Semolina bread at your grocery store. Leave them on the counter for a day. Then place in the food processor and blend. Mix all the breadcrumbs together in a freezer bag and place them in the freezer. Now you will have fresh breadcrumbs when you need them. They last a long time. Take out as much as you need and put them back in your freezer.

Ingredients for the Pasta with Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower (about 2 1/2 pounds) cores and broken into small florets
1 medium red onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of breadcrumbs
12 ounces fusilli pasta
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 475.

Place racks in upper and lower thirds.

Set a large pot of salted water to boil.

On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together cauliflower, onion and garlic with 2 tbsp. olive oil; season with salt and pepper.

pasta cauliflower cauliflower onions garlic in pan

Roast on lower rack in oven, until lightly browned and tender, about 20-25 minutes, tossing once.

Spread breadcrumbs on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake on upper rack of oven until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes, tossing once.

Cook pasta in boiling water 3 minutes less than the cooking time indicated on the package.

RESERVE ONE CUP OF PASTA WATER!

Drain pasta and return to pot.

Add cauliflower mixture, Parmesan cheese, and half of the parsley.

Mix to combine.

While mixing the pasta, gradually add enough pasta water to form a thin sauce that coats the pasta.

Serve topped with breadcrumbs and parsley and, if desired, more Parmesan.

It’s that simple!

Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe Pesto

Mar. 28
2016

This recipe is courtesy of Anne Burrell.

I am one of her biggest fans! I love the way she writes her recipes. It feels as if she is really talking to you. She has a lively, creative and authentic personality and I always enjoy watching her on television. I would love to have lunch with her!

Ann was the chef that taught me that “brown bits are good” Yes they are Anne; I am a quick learner!

I have made so many recipes created by Anne. This one appealed to me because of the unique use of broccoli rabe as pesto. Together with the ricotta cheese and pistachio nuts I knew this would be a fabulous dish.

It was, as are most of Anne’s recipes, delightful and scrumptious. Addicting would be another way to describe it. You just continue to want one more bite and before you know it you have eaten way more than you originally intended!

I was not sorry. It was worth every mouthful. I am sure you will think so too!

Ingredients for the Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe Pesto

1 bunch broccoli rabe, tough lower stems removed
1/2 cup pistachios, toasted
3/4 cup grated parmigiana-reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish
Kosher salt
1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 pound orecchiette pasta
High-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing (optional)

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of well-salted ice water.

Cook the broccoli rabe in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes.

Immediately plunge in the salted ice water. This will prevent the broccoli rabe from being overcooked and will set the lovely green color.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water.

Drain the broccoli rabe.

Squeeze out any excess water and coarsely chop the broccoli rabe.

Place the broccoli rabe in the bowl of a food processor and puree until it is a coarse paste.

Add the pistachios and parmigino and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning; you will probably need more salt.

Add the ricotta cheese and pulse until combined.

Taste for seasoning once again-it should be full-flavored, slightly bitter and creamy at the same time.

Set aside.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. (If you are making the pasta right after the pesto, just use the water you boiled the broccoli rabe in or the blanching water).

Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the cooking time on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, place the pesto in a large skillet and add 1 1/12 cups of the pasta cooking water: place over medium-high heat.

When the pasta is ready, drain and add to the skillet with the pesto. Stir vigorously to combine and cook until the sauce is creamy and heated through, about 1-2 minutes.

Add salt to taste.

Remove from the heat, add 1-2 tablespoons good olive oil, if desired, and stir vigorously.

Garnish with more parmigiano.

Now it is time to eat and enjoy!

It’s that simple!

Rice Pilaf

Feb. 29
2016

Looking for a great side dish is always a challenge, especially for picky eaters like my son.

Recently, I came across this recipe in the Kosher Palette, written by Susan Fishbein.

I immediately knew that this was a recipe he would enjoy. It was simple, with fresh ingredients.

The original recipe included mushrooms, (which I knew he doesn’t like). It also had another version that included slivered almonds. I chose to toast the almonds and it was a “winner”.

This was an easy, delicious dish that I will definitely make again.

It is probably just as appetizing with the mushrooms. If you would like to include the mushrooms, add 8 ounces of mushrooms when you add the rice and chicken broth.

This is a “must try” for all and I hope that you do!

Ingredients for the Rice Pilaf

8 tbsp. (1 Stick) of margarine or butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 (or 2) garlic clove, minced
1 cup of fine egg noodles, uncooked
2 cups long-grained white rice, uncooked
4 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of slivered almonds, toasted
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup of fresh parsley for garnish

To toast the almond slivers

Preheat oven to 400.

Lay almond slivers out in baking pan.

Place in oven. SET YOUR TIMER for 7-8 minutes.

When timer sounds, immediately take the almonds out of the oven.

Set aside.

In a large skillet, melt the margarine (or butter) over medium-low heat.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the onions and the shallots.

Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until golden, but not brown.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Stir in the noodles and sauté until lightly brown.

Add in the rice and chicken broth.

Cover the pan tightly and turn the flame down to low.

Let it cook for 30-40 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.

Season with the salt and pepper.

Add the almonds.

Garnish with the parsley.

It’s that simple!

Linguine with Clams

Nov. 2
2015

This dish is always a crowd-pleaser.

The butter and the garlic make it smooth and enticing. It is great dish for anytime of the year.

But the best thing about it is that it is crazy easy and you can whip it up very fast!

Just make sure you get all the grit off the clams. This is the part that will take the most time. It is important, no one likes to take a bite with those little bits of hard dirt-like pieces (don’t you just hate that?).

Don’t forget the bread for dipping, you will want to savor every bit of this delicious broth!

Ingredients for the Clams

4 lbs. fresh clams
2 tbsp. olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup of good white wine
1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. of fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tbsp. pepper

Place clams in a large bowl of cold water. Let sit for about 10 minutes so the grit from the clams will fall to the bottom. Take clams out of water carefully without disturbing the sediment on the bottom of the bowl. Rinse and rub clams under water to further remove any dirt. Toss out any clams that are not opened.

In a large pot, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat.

Place chopped onions in and cook until translucent, about 7-8 minutes.

Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Add white wine and let it cook down for 3-4 minutes.

Pour chicken broth into pan and add the lemon juice, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and add clams. Cover with a tight lid and let cook for 7-9 minutes until you see the clams have opened up. Take clams out of broth and set aside.

Ingredients for the Linguine

1 lb. linguine
4 tbsp. kosher salt

Cook pasta according to the directions minus 3 minutes.

Add pasta to the clam broth. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, mixing often.

Place clams back into the pot just until they ae hot enough.

A friend gave this to me for my birthday.

How thoughtful was that? Thank you Julie!

It’s that simple!