Lisa found the basis for this recipe in a magazine several years ago. We've made a few changes and really like the fresh taste. Hope you enjoy it.
1 lb. of orecchiette or similar pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 leeks (I just use the white and light green parts) sliced thin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 10 oz package frozen peas or about 2 cups fresh peas
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup pecorino romano
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped fine
Cook the pasta according to the directions. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the leaks, salt & pepper and cooking, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes, or until the leeks get fairly soft. Add the garlic and the peas and cook for about two more minutes. Then stir in the cream and 3/4 cup of the pecorino romano. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes until it thickens. When the pasta is done, drain the pasta and combine with the sauce. Add the lemon zest and mint and toss. Serve the pasta and sprinkle with the remaining pecorino romano and pepper. Buon Appetito.
Showing posts with label Pasta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pasta. Show all posts
13.5.09
Orecchiette with sausage and rappi
This dish came about kind of as a mixture of several different dishes. I love the combination of the sausage, rappi, cheese and pasta. It's great. I've never tried making less than one pound of pasta for this dish, so if that is too much for you to stomach, this makes great leftovers.
1 lb. Orecchiette (any tubular pasta would work just fine)
10-12 oz sausage (I like hot Gianelli sausage for this, but you can experiment and find what works for you)
1 lb. rappi (broccoli rabe)
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Parmesan cheese (I prefer parmigiano reggiano)
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
In a large skillet, over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic, a dash of red pepper flakes and the sausage and cook until the sausage is browned and broken up into little pieces. Remove from heat. Put at pot of about 4-6 quarts of water on the stove to boil. While the water is cooking, wash the rappi and cut about two inches off of the stems and discard. Chop up the rest of the rappi and set aside. Prepare a large bowl (big enough for the rappi) with ice water and set aside. When the water on the stove is boiling, add the rappi and blanch for no longer than two minutes. After two minutes, strain the water from the rappi (saving the water) and immediately put the rappi into the prepared ice water to stop the cooking process. Once the rappi is cooled, remove from the ice water, pat dry and set to the side. Take the water used to cook the rappi and put it back into the pot and use to cook the pasta. Cook the pasta until not quite al dente and remove from the stove, strain - saving one cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta, rappi, and cup of pasta/rappi cooking water to the pan with the sausage and cook for several minutes on medium high, stirring frequently until the water has mostly cooked off. Top with salt, pepper and cheese and enjoy. Buon Appetito!
1 lb. Orecchiette (any tubular pasta would work just fine)
10-12 oz sausage (I like hot Gianelli sausage for this, but you can experiment and find what works for you)
1 lb. rappi (broccoli rabe)
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Parmesan cheese (I prefer parmigiano reggiano)
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
In a large skillet, over medium heat, add the olive oil, garlic, a dash of red pepper flakes and the sausage and cook until the sausage is browned and broken up into little pieces. Remove from heat. Put at pot of about 4-6 quarts of water on the stove to boil. While the water is cooking, wash the rappi and cut about two inches off of the stems and discard. Chop up the rest of the rappi and set aside. Prepare a large bowl (big enough for the rappi) with ice water and set aside. When the water on the stove is boiling, add the rappi and blanch for no longer than two minutes. After two minutes, strain the water from the rappi (saving the water) and immediately put the rappi into the prepared ice water to stop the cooking process. Once the rappi is cooled, remove from the ice water, pat dry and set to the side. Take the water used to cook the rappi and put it back into the pot and use to cook the pasta. Cook the pasta until not quite al dente and remove from the stove, strain - saving one cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta, rappi, and cup of pasta/rappi cooking water to the pan with the sausage and cook for several minutes on medium high, stirring frequently until the water has mostly cooked off. Top with salt, pepper and cheese and enjoy. Buon Appetito!
22.4.09
Pasta Belligerence*
This dish that owes it's name to the excessive amounts of pasta eaten by missionaries in the Italy Milan Mission, and was named by Kimball Hobby. It also goes by Pasta Primavera, but is markedly different than another dish with the same name. This is a pasta salad, eaten cold and is comprised mainly of fresh vegetables. It is a perfect dish for either a light lunch or dinner, especially in the spring or summer.
2-3 tomatoes
1-2 bell peppers
1 cup olives - kalamata or large green
8 oz of fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lb penne pasta
salt
pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
The above are the basic ingredients, but for those willing to go the extra mile, your taste buds will be rewarded. The extra mile also includes:
8 0z pancetta (if you can't find any pancetta, cubed bacon will do)
8 0z Italian sausage (I prefer hot)
1 can artichoke hearts
This dish is extremely simple. Boil enough water (I couldn't tell you how much water to boil, I always eyeball it, better too much that too little) for the pasta, adding about a tablespoon of salt and olive oil to the water. Dump in the pasta and cook until al dente. When the pasta is done, empty it into a colander and briefly (2-3 minutes) run it under cold water and then place in the fridge. Chop up all of the veggies and cheese and then combine them in a salad bowl. If you are going the extra mile, cook the pancetta and the sausage (I prefer them slightly overcooked and somewhat crunchy, adding a different texture to the salad) strain off the grease, and add the meat to the salad bowl as well. Once the pasta is cold, add the pasta to the rest of the ingredients.
When we serve the pasta, I prefer to let each individual dress it according to taste, with the chopped basil leaves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. The pasta keeps well in the fridge for a few days, except for the cheese. So if you are planning on keeping it around as left-overs like we often do, plan on keeping the cheese separate from the rest of the dish, so that it doesn't become too mushy. Buon Appetito.
*At it's most belligerent, I made this with roughly 6.5 lbs of pasta, 15 tomatoes, 15 bell peppers, 7.5 lbs of fresh mozzarella, and four pounds each of pancetta and sausage. All for four elders. It was all eaten. Forza Grifoni!
2-3 tomatoes
1-2 bell peppers
1 cup olives - kalamata or large green
8 oz of fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1 lb penne pasta
salt
pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
The above are the basic ingredients, but for those willing to go the extra mile, your taste buds will be rewarded. The extra mile also includes:
8 0z pancetta (if you can't find any pancetta, cubed bacon will do)
8 0z Italian sausage (I prefer hot)
1 can artichoke hearts
This dish is extremely simple. Boil enough water (I couldn't tell you how much water to boil, I always eyeball it, better too much that too little) for the pasta, adding about a tablespoon of salt and olive oil to the water. Dump in the pasta and cook until al dente. When the pasta is done, empty it into a colander and briefly (2-3 minutes) run it under cold water and then place in the fridge. Chop up all of the veggies and cheese and then combine them in a salad bowl. If you are going the extra mile, cook the pancetta and the sausage (I prefer them slightly overcooked and somewhat crunchy, adding a different texture to the salad) strain off the grease, and add the meat to the salad bowl as well. Once the pasta is cold, add the pasta to the rest of the ingredients.
When we serve the pasta, I prefer to let each individual dress it according to taste, with the chopped basil leaves, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper. The pasta keeps well in the fridge for a few days, except for the cheese. So if you are planning on keeping it around as left-overs like we often do, plan on keeping the cheese separate from the rest of the dish, so that it doesn't become too mushy. Buon Appetito.
*At it's most belligerent, I made this with roughly 6.5 lbs of pasta, 15 tomatoes, 15 bell peppers, 7.5 lbs of fresh mozzarella, and four pounds each of pancetta and sausage. All for four elders. It was all eaten. Forza Grifoni!
21.4.09
Lasagne al Pesto
Early in our married life, Lisa made a lasagna and hasn't been allowed to make one since (I'm going to take a lot of flak for that comment). This is not to say that Lisa isn't a good cook, she makes many a mouth watering dish, it's just that I'm somewhat of a past-snob. A bottled Ragu sauce with grated mozzarella, cottage cheese and the wavy lasagna noodles does not a lasagna make. I was just spoiled by my time in Italy. All of that being said, this recipe is nothing like a typical lasagna either. There is no tomato sauce. No cottage cheese (please don't ever put cottage cheese in your lasagna, that borders on the sacrilegious). No wavy noodles. I hope that you enjoy it.
2 boxes or 2 lbs. of lasagna noodles (I prefer the flat Barilla lasagne)
at least 8 0z. fresh mozzarella - you can always put in more if you like more.
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
at least 1/4 lb. ham (I find it easiest to get the ham at the deli, and I like smoked ham, again more is always optional)
Pesto - double or triple this recipe (I triple the recipe, but you could probably get away with just doubling it)
Four Cheese Sauce - double or triple this recipe (I'm sure that if you don't use all of the sauce, you'll be able to find some use for it later on)
Tinfoil
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the sliced ham into little pieces (you can do it however you want, I go for about 1in by 1in) and set aside. Shred the mozzarella and set aside. In a 9in by 13in baking dish, spread a layer of the cheese sauce on the bottom of the pan and stir in a few small spoonfuls of pesto. Put down a layer of lasagna noodles (you do not need to boil them before hand) covering the entire dish bottom. You'll probably have to break the noodles to get complete coverage of the dish, that's OK. Next put a layer of cheese sauce over the noodles, and again stir in a couple of spoonfuls of pesto so that the pesto gets a good distribution. Put down a layer of mozzarella cheese and ham, and then cover with another layer of lasagna noodles. Then it is just a simple matter of repeating the process until you either run out of room, pasta, sauce or pesto. The final layer should be done just like all of the others. Put down a layer of lasagna noodles and then cover the lasagne with cheese sauce, stir in the pesto, and finish it all off by sprinkling the top with the 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano. The most difficult thing for me is to judge how much sauce, pesto, mozzarella, ham to use in each layer, yet still have enough left at the top to adequately cover the last layer. I've yet to come up with an answer. I use guess work. Good luck. Cover the lasagna with tinfoil and cook for 25 minutes. After 25 minuets, uncover the lasagna and cook it an additional 5-10 minutes uncovered (I like the top just slightly crunchy, so don't leave it in too long after you take off the foil if your desired end is not crunchy). Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it sit about 5-10 minutes before you cut into it. If you cut into it too soon, it tends to be a little runny. The taste is fine, it just looks messy.
To add a little more flavor or variety to the lasagna, you can add sliced mushrooms, zucchini or other veggies to the layers of mozzarella and ham. Use your imagination. Go wild. Buon Appetito.
2 boxes or 2 lbs. of lasagna noodles (I prefer the flat Barilla lasagne)
at least 8 0z. fresh mozzarella - you can always put in more if you like more.
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano
at least 1/4 lb. ham (I find it easiest to get the ham at the deli, and I like smoked ham, again more is always optional)
Pesto - double or triple this recipe (I triple the recipe, but you could probably get away with just doubling it)
Four Cheese Sauce - double or triple this recipe (I'm sure that if you don't use all of the sauce, you'll be able to find some use for it later on)
Tinfoil
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the sliced ham into little pieces (you can do it however you want, I go for about 1in by 1in) and set aside. Shred the mozzarella and set aside. In a 9in by 13in baking dish, spread a layer of the cheese sauce on the bottom of the pan and stir in a few small spoonfuls of pesto. Put down a layer of lasagna noodles (you do not need to boil them before hand) covering the entire dish bottom. You'll probably have to break the noodles to get complete coverage of the dish, that's OK. Next put a layer of cheese sauce over the noodles, and again stir in a couple of spoonfuls of pesto so that the pesto gets a good distribution. Put down a layer of mozzarella cheese and ham, and then cover with another layer of lasagna noodles. Then it is just a simple matter of repeating the process until you either run out of room, pasta, sauce or pesto. The final layer should be done just like all of the others. Put down a layer of lasagna noodles and then cover the lasagne with cheese sauce, stir in the pesto, and finish it all off by sprinkling the top with the 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano. The most difficult thing for me is to judge how much sauce, pesto, mozzarella, ham to use in each layer, yet still have enough left at the top to adequately cover the last layer. I've yet to come up with an answer. I use guess work. Good luck. Cover the lasagna with tinfoil and cook for 25 minutes. After 25 minuets, uncover the lasagna and cook it an additional 5-10 minutes uncovered (I like the top just slightly crunchy, so don't leave it in too long after you take off the foil if your desired end is not crunchy). Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it sit about 5-10 minutes before you cut into it. If you cut into it too soon, it tends to be a little runny. The taste is fine, it just looks messy.
To add a little more flavor or variety to the lasagna, you can add sliced mushrooms, zucchini or other veggies to the layers of mozzarella and ham. Use your imagination. Go wild. Buon Appetito.
Lasagne Al Pesto
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