Pantry Staple Pasta, with some Green

As some of you may know, my husband and I are renovating our 100+ year old house. It's rewarding, but it's also time consuming. On top of that, pretty much any extra dollars we have go to the house. Needless to say, now more than ever it is important for us to be able to make quick and inexpensive (and of course, healthy) meals. Pasta is a go to for dinner that fulfills these needs, and I cook it about once a week. But like any main ingredient, it's easy to get in a rut making the same old dishes. Today I decided to make a pasta dish with a sauce I've never tried. I have Epicurious to thank for the recipe inspiration; you can find it here. The great thing about this recipe is that I had every ingredient in my pantry except the spinach.

If you compare the inspiration recipe and my recipe below, you'll see I made just a few tweaks to the recipe since it already sounded really good. I swapped the type of pasta, skipped the onions, and left out the pine nuts (wish I didn't have to, but they are quite pricey). And get this. Somehow I managed to totally forget about the Parmesan cheese. I have a deliciously fragrant block sitting in my fridge, as always, and I just neglected to take it out tonight. I'm sure this dish would have been even better if I'd remembered it!

PENNE WITH ROASTED PEPPERS AND WILTED SPINACH
-1 tbsp flour
-1 tbsp butter
-2 tbsp olive oil
-5 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
-1 tsp crushed red pepper flake
-3/4 cup white wine
-1 1/4 cup vegetable stock
-salt and pepper
-1 bag fresh spinach
-1 jarred roasted red pepper, sliced
-1/2 pound penne, cooked
-freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste (I forgot it, but you should use it!

-Heat the olive oil and garlic in a saute pan up to medium heat and cook the garlic for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and just starting to brown.
-Add the thyme, crushed red pepper flake, wine, and vegetable stock. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until reduced by about half.
-In the meantime, mash the flour and butter into a paste. Once the liquid in the pan is reduced, whisk in the flour/butter paste. Continue to cook the sauce for another 1-2 minutes until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
-Toss the spinach and roasted peppers in the sauce, coating well and cooking until the spinach wilts.
-Toss the cooked pasta with the spinach mixture, coating well. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, toss again, and serve.

Wondering what to do with that extra white wine? Well of course, you could always drink it. I'm a beer girl myself, but I use wine to cook at least a few times a month so I always end up with a open bottle in the fridge. Wine won't last forever. Instead of letting it go to waste, fill an ice cube tray with the leftover wine and freeze it. My trays give me 1/4 cup of wine with 2 cubes; use a measuring cup to see what yours are. Once the cubes are frozen, put them in a plastic bag in the freezer and you'll never have to run out to the store again when you want to cook with wine.

Full Swing Farmer's Market

Yesterday proved to be a rainy day for a visit to the farmer’s market, but as it turns out, it was the best day for my pantry yet this year. My favorite farm stand, E.R. and Son from Monroe Township, had everything from watermelon to heirloom tomatoes to golden zucchini (all organic). What stood out to me was the generous bunches of fresh picked arugula. You could smell the peppery green from a few steps away, and I couldn’t leave without some. Figuring I would cook with it that night so as to enjoy it at its freshest, I decided to make a pasta dish with it. I scouted out some grape tomatoes from the Casola Farms stand to add to the dish as well. After picking up some peaches, potatoes, bell peppers, and onions for use later in the week, I was on my way.

FETTUCCINE WITH ARUGULA, CANNELLINI BEANS, AND BLISTERED TOMATOES
-1 pound fettuccine
-olive oil
-8 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tsp dried basil
-1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flake, to taste
-1 large bunch arugula, washed and chopped
-1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
-1 16 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed
-salt and pepper
-freshly grated Parmesan cheese

-Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
-Cook the fettuccine as per instructions. Before draining, reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta water for later. Once drained, put the pasta in a large serving bowl and toss with a couple tablespoons of olive oil to prevent any sticking.
-Arrange the halved grape tomatoes cut side down on an olive oiled baking sheet. Use a silicone brush to coat the tops of the tomatoes with olive oil from the tray, then season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle 1 tsp of the dried basil over the top, and then roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until blistered. Let cool.
-While the tomatoes and pasta cook, coat a nonstick pan with olive oil and add the garlic, crushed red pepper, and remaining tsp of dried basil. Bring up to medium heat slowly. Cook the garlic until fragrant, 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly.
-Add the reserved pasta water to the pan, stir, and then add the arugula and beans. Season well with salt and pepper. Stir constantly, letting the steam from the pasta water wilt the greens. Once the greens are just about wilted, the beans are warmed, and the pasta water has reduced a bit, add the blistered tomatoes. Give the pan one final toss to combine everything, and then pour the mixture over the pasta. Toss together with tongs and top with grated Parmesan (be sure to keep the cheese and a micro-plane at the table, too). Serve family style and enjoy!

Easiest Pasta Base Ever

We all know pasta makes for a tasty dinner. But what it doesn't always bring to mind is simplicity. It's easy to get hung up on simmering a sauce for an hour, or making a baked pasta dish that takes nearly as long. That's where a simple garlic and olive oil base comes in. This is the most versatile "sauce" for pasta that I have come across, and it takes next to no time to prepare. And the best part is, you can add anything to it and it's delicious.

GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL PASTA BASE
-enough olive oil to fully coat your pan (3-4 tbsp should do it)
-6-10 garlic cloves, minced, depending on how garlicky you want your dish (more is better, in my opinion)
-1 tsp red pepper flakes
-ground black pepper

All you need to do is heat the oil on medium, add the garlic, red pepper flake, and pepper, and saute for about 5 minutes. Then you can go ahead and start adding. Tonight I used fresh cherry tomatoes (halved) from the farmer's market this morning and canellini beans. I cooked these about 5 minutes. Then I added a bunch of fresh arugula, also from the farmer's market. I boiled some spaghetti while I was doing this, and after I drained it I tossed it in to help wilt the arugula. A sprinkle of fresh chopped herbs was all this needed to be complete.

Some other good additions to this base are artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, fresh mozzarella chunks, shrimp, and chard. I could go on, but I'll let you experiment and find your favorites for yourself!

Bistro Ole and Pasta

First of all, I want to plug Bistro Ole in Asbury Park, NJ.  Mark and I went here on Tuesday for our 1st wedding anniversary.  The food was great, the ambiance very nice, and the service excellent.  If you are in the mood for Spanish and Portuguese food (especially seafood!), you should give this place a try.  Check out their website for menus here.

Today when I was thinking about dinner I realized that it had been awhile since I made a straight up pasta with marinara sauce.  So that's exactly what I did.  I had a can of artichoke hearts, so I added these to the sauce.  It added a meaty texture to the sauce, and of course, great artichoke flavor.  Definitely one of my favorite veggies, and super convenient in a can.  i would have loved to make this sauce with fresh plum tomatoes, but unfortunately, my plants all have a bad case of anthracnose, a fungus.  Maybe next year.  Thank goodness canned tomatoes can be had for a reasonable price and be of excellent quality.

SPAGHETTI WITH MARINARA AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS

-1 box spaghetti, cooked

-1 32 oz. can crushed tomatoes (San Marzano are the only kind I use, and you will too once you try them)

-olive oil

-half an onion, diced

-6 garlic cloves, minced

-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

-1 tbsp tomato paste

-2-3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (I used my usual mix of basil, parsley, and oregano)

-1 can artichoke hearts, quartered

-salt and pepper

-Coat a pot (I used a Dutch oven) with olive oil and turn heat on medium.

-Add onion, cook 5 minutes.  

-Add garlic and red pepper flake, cook 2 minutes.

-Add tomato paste, and stir to combine with the garlic and onion.

-Add crushed tomatoes, and stir to combine all ingredients.  Add a bit of water if it's too thick.

-Cook sauce for 10-15 minutes.

-Add herbs and artichokes, and season with salt and pepper.  Cook another 5-7 minutes.

-Combine cooked pasta with the sauce, and serve.

I added thick slices of Italian bread with this, to make sure none of the sauce went to waste.  This is a real comfort dish that is pretty quick and easy.  The sauce is a great base for anything, really.  This would be good with white beans, arugula, or roasted red peppers.  A shave of pecorino romano is a good idea too, alas, I forgot I had it in the fridge until after dinner.  That's what leftovers are for!

Pasta and Veggies

That title could mean anything.  And over time it will, as this is a match made in heaven.  Tonight I figured I would do a pasta dish since I always have it on hand, and I didn't have a lot of time.  I decided to mix it up and do a baked pasta, probably because I am craving fall weather and warm comfort foods.  Anyway, I had some farmer's market and garden veggies that needed using, so I made a variation on a common theme in my house.

ROASTED VEGGIE BAKED PASTA

-1 box short pasta (I used rotini)

-1 large bell pepper, diced (I used yellow)

-1 zucchini, diced

-1 onion, diced

-2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-1/2 cup frozen peas

-1/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped (I had basil, parsley, and oregano)

-1 tbsp. dried herbs du provence

-1 tsp. dried red chili flake

-salt, pepper

-12 oz. shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella and pecorino romano)

-1/3 cup bread crumbs

-2 tbsp. shredded pecorino romano

-olive oil

-Preheat the oven to 425.  Arrange the peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic on a baking sheet.  Toss with olive oil, and add the dried herbs, salt, and pepper.  Roast for 12-15 minutes, until tender.

-In the meantime, cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain and set aside.

-Mix together the bread crumbs and 2 tbsp. shredded cheese.  Stir in a tbsp. or two of the olive oil.  Set aside.

-When the veggies and pasta are done, toss them together in a large bowl.  Add the shredded cheese, frozen peas (no need to defrost), and fresh herbs.  Stir to combine. 

-Transfer mixture to a large baking dish.  Top with the breadcrumb mixture.

-Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until browned on the top.  Serve.

This will serve a least 5 people, so needless to say, I have a lot of leftovers I am very excited to eat for lunch this week.

This recipe is so easy to tweak.  It's great with mushrooms, squash from any season, artichokes, and spinach.  I've also made it with fontina cheese, which is really tasty and melts perfectly in this dish.  The recipe can cater to just about anyone's vegetable preferences.  I highly recommend giving this a try, but maybe wait until the air starts to get cool, and it will be that much more appetizing when it comes out of the oven piping hot.