Penne with Roasted Vegetables & Goat Cheese

As an effort to maintain a healthy diet, I try to make vegetarian meal once a week. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to adhere to this regime the past weeks for some reasons. Ok, they are mostly excuses, so I shall not bore you with the detail.

This week however, I am determine to stick with this resolution. As I was looking for a tried and tested recipe for our vegetarian meal, I came across one listed by Robyn1007 on the Cookinglight bulletin board. Although it called for yellow squash and zucchini which I didn't have on hand, I thought I could swap it with other vegetables. In my case, I used red bell pepper and eggplant. The result is one hearty satisfying meal. The transformation of the few humble vegetables after roasting is simply amazing. I like the fact that they are easy on the waist but huge in flavor.

I can't stop raving about my love of roasting vegetable! Whenever I find a vegetable that I don't like, I would just roast it. And then, they will be welcome as VIP on my favorite list. Like cauliflower. I only eat it when it's roasted with garlic, salt and lemon juice.(yum!) Using the roasting method, I have recently became acquainted with sweet potato too. My mum would be so proud of me. She couldn't persuade me to try her favorite purple sweet potato the last time I was home.

Note: I am excited to learn from the lovely Anh that Morgot of Coffee and Vanilla is hosting the Vegetarian Awareness Month in October. I am sure there will be more vegetarian ideas for me come early November.(When the roundup is up!)Oh, and I shall not forget to submit this pasta dish as my contribution for the Vegetarian Awareness Month.

Penne with Roasted Vegetables & Goat Cheese
Adapted from Cookinglight.com

1/2 pound uncooked penne (tubular-shaped pasta)
1 medium eggplant,cubed
1 large red bell pepper, remove seed and roughly chopped into cubes
1 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
A handful of cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 cup (4 ounces) goat cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme


Preheat oven to 475°.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain, and set aside.

Combine eggplant and next 6 ingredients (squash through garlic) in a large bowl; toss well to coat. Arrange vegetables in a single layer in a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 475° for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.Add the cherry tomatoes to the jelly roll pan. Roast until all vegetables browned. Drizzle vinegar over vegetables; toss well.

Combine pasta, vegetable mixture, goat cheese, basil, and thyme in a large bowl; toss well.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

note: the original recipe uses 2 cups of sliced zucchini and sliced yellow squash respectively.

Read more...

Thai Basil: A great herb to try

We don't go to the Asian grocery stores very often. But whenever we go, I make sure that a pack of fresh Thai Basil lands in our shopping cart. Ever since I got back from a Bangkok trip 5 years ago, I have been mesmerised by Thai cuisine. There's something intriguing in Thai cuisine. No doubt it's almost always spicy, rich-because of the coconut milk used. But on top of that there's something else. Something uniquely Thai. Maybe it's the spice and herb they use.

Ironically, the mystery is only solved after 5 years and a move to another continent later. I finally learn that part of the mystery flavor is imparted by Thai Basil. Ever since my first encounter with Thai Basil, I use it in every single Thai recipes. And it never fails to offer the flavor I love and miss from Thailand. Unlike the sweet basil which we use in Italian cooking, Thai Basil has a more assertive flavor. OCT think it's pungent. However, I find it hard to express in words its complexity. For some reason, it reminds me of fennel bulb. Other than that, Thai Basil is a highly compatible herb with Asian cuisine. I like to add it towards the end when cooking red/green curry. Sometime even in sweet and sour dish, which one could associate with Chinese/Thai cuisine.

Recently I find another use of this beloved herb in a recipe from July issue of Bon Appetit. A glance at the ingredient list, I know it would be perfect for our weekly vegetarian meal. The original recipe used egg noodle, but I swapped it with angel hair with no problem. Despite its simplicity, this dish is one which packs with lots of Oriental flavors. The use of three types of fragrant oil with ginger, garlic and vinegar is certainly a clever way to infuse lots of flavors without loading on fat. I further reduced the amount of oil by 1.5 tablespoons and increased 2 more cloves of garlic without missing much flavor. It was a perfect light Oriental meal for summer.

Thai basil may seems unassuming, but adding it to any stirfry, or in this case pasta; would instantly enhance the flavor. If you haven't already tried cooking with Thai basil, I strongly urge to do so. It would certainly surprises you how simple it is to add a "Thai touch" to the standard stirfry.

I am submitting this dish which features Thai Basil as my first entry to Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Myriam of Once upon a Tart this round, and be sure to check out more about Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen.

Spicy Sesame Noodle with Chopped Nuts and Thai Basil
adapted from July 2007 Bon Appetit

1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced ( I used 4 gloves,because I love garlic!)
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil (I used 1.5 Tbps)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
11/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (or more) hot chili oil*
11/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles (about 1/16 inch in diameter) or fresh angel hair pasta ( I used dried angel hair)
12 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh Thai basil leaves

*Available in the Asian foods section of many supermarkets and at Asian markets.

Heat peanut oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl. Add next 6 ingredients; whisk to blend.

Place noodles in sieve over sink. Separate noodles with fingers and shake to remove excess starch. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain thoroughly and transfer to bowl with sauce. Add sliced green onions and toss to coat noodles. Let stand at room temperature until noodles have absorbed dressing, tossing occasionally, about 1 hour. Stir in peanuts and Thai basil; toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Read more...

Addicted to Salami

Yesterday,OCT's colleague dropped me an email requesting for a birthday cake tomorrow. Even though I have been volunteering cakes for friends' birthdays for some time now, having someone think of me as far as cake is concerned, is the first time. And you can imagine how flattered I am .

Of course, I graciously accept the honor. Even it's 100F out there, it's totally worth to turn on the oven. Well, I am not here to talk about the cake actually, since it's still in the making process.

Let's talk about dinner. Because I am going to put in 100% effort to make the brithday cake, we are going to have something simple for dinner. Yet something tasty to reward myself after the work. Giada De Laurentiis's Antipasto Salad comes to mind. We had it for dinner last week but OCT and I like it enough to bring it back to the dining table again. Besides, it will be in time to join Ruth's Presto Pasta Nights! One stones kills three birds, or rather one pasta satisfied many needs.

Whatever. These are only excuses for me to eat more salami. Besides butter, cream cheese and eggs, I now declare salami (or other form of cured meat) to be one of the "must have item" in our fridge. Well, I guess I am addicted to salami after eating some really good Genova Salami from the Italian neighborhood for the first time a few weeks back. Since then, I couldn't stop thinking about it, and week after week, we go back every Saturday to eat the shop's sandwich and salad. In which, there's a generous dose of salami involved.

When I first saw Giada's recipe, I know I am going to make it. And I tweaked it slightly by including some smoked salmon and omitting the green olive. A light and satisfying dinner for a hot summer night. This will be my contribution for Presto Pasta Nights .

Antipasto Salad
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis's "Everyday Italian"

Red Wine Vinaigrette:
1 bunch fresh basil, stemmed and leaves chopped (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Antipasto Salad:
1 pound fusilli pasta
1/2 cup hard salami, cut into strips (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup smoked turkey, cut into strips (about 3 ounces)
1/4 cup provolone cheese, cut into strips
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese
2 tablespoons green olives, halved and pitted
2 tablespoons roasted red peppers, cut into strips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Vinaigrette:
In a blender, add the basil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper. Blend until the herbs are finely chopped. With the machine running, drizzle in the olive oil until the dressing is smooth.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

In a large bowl, toss together the cooked pasta with the remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Serve.

Read more...

Triple S pasta

Friends, I have some good news to share! After enduring a long period of vacation-less time, we are finally going to visit OCT's friend in Phoenix end of this week! While we are there, we will be going on a little road trip to Grand Canyon too. But before we go, I need to clear the content of my fridge. There are too many fresh produce I bought on impulse in our last trip to the farmer's market. Which I optimistically thought we would be able to gobble down by this Thursday.

You know what, sometime a little stress is good. It makes me creative. Instead of searching through piles of recipes to see if there is one using all the produces I have, I simply fire up the stove and started cooking without a recipe.


And I must say both OCT and myself are pretty satisfied with the end result! Then again, with the freshest ingredients on hand, how wrong can a dish turned out?

I decided to jot down the recipe so that when I am strucked with the same fresh ingredients in the future, which is highly likely, I will know exactly what to do with them. If you happen to have the same stuff in your fridge right now and don't know what to do with them, I encourage you to give this a try. Not that I think this scenario is remotely likely, but here's the recipe anyway.

Quite pleased with my creation, I am also submitting my triple S pasta to Ruth's Presto Pasta Night #15. Check out Ruth's blog and the round-up of Presto Pasta Night #15 this Friday for more pasta ideas!

Spicy Sausage and Shrimp Pasta

Half pound of sausage, I happen to have some salsiccia, so that's what I used
10 medium size shrimps, shelled and deveined
1/2 vidalion onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 can(16oz) diced tomato
1/2 teaspoon sambal chilli (or any other hot sauce)
3 small sweet peppers, seeded and sliced
8 oz campanelle
1/2 cup of red wine
salt
pepper
brown sugar
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese (you can use parmesan or Parmigiano- Reggiano )

Heat about 3 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick skillet, add in the onion and garlic. Stir and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Next, add in the sliced sweet peppers and continue to cook for 2 minutes or until the peppers are soft.Then add the sausages,pinch them out from the casings to about 1-inch pieces, turn heat to medium high. Cook until the sausages are no longer pink. This will take another 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the campanelle according to the direction on box until al-dente and drain.

When the sausages are cooked, add in shrimps. Followed by the diced tomatoes and sambal chilli and bring it to a simmer. At this point, you can season the sauce with a teaspoon of brown sugar, salt and pepper. Taste the sauce, go easy with the salt. It's easier to adjust the saltiness later. Pour in the red wine. Again, it's to your taste. You can add more, or less, or omit it altogether. Give the sauce about 1 minute to boil off some of the alcohol.

Pour the cooked campanelle into the skillet and mix well with the sauce. Stir in the grated pecorino cheese.

Serves 3

Read more...

Lasagna : Two ways

We had lasagna twice last week. First was a simple roll up version, recipe of Rachael Ray and the second one- Asparagus Lasagna, was devoured on our weekly vegetarian night.

Wanting the comfort of a lasagna but not the work of putting one together, I was delighted to find a short cut from Rachael Ray's website. Instead of the usual layering method, the filling was simply placed on top of individual lasagna noodle and rolled up before putting in a baking dish. The individual lasagna rolls were then baked with a simple pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese for less than 10 minutes. OCT thought it was a pretty good, all in one meal. He has the leftover all by himself (as usual).

The second lasagna was a vegetarian version, featuring my favorite Spring asparagus. It was a perfect vegetarian meal; satisfying without feeling guilty. Instead of Bechamel sauce, this recipe used a pesto white sauce. The end result was significantly lighter than its cream/milk counterpart but tasted much nicer. Maybe because I never really like milk anyway.

Actually, I was thinking of making a seafood lasagna when I first bought the lasagna noodle. Who knows I would end up with two totally random recipes than the one I have first set eyes on. Typing this out made me feel a bit guilty, I think I will try to make the seafood lasagna before it goes totally covered by other recipes on my to try list.

Here's the original recipe, but I added in some chopped Kielbasa, and used pasta sauce insteads of Gorgonzola cream sauce, to cut down on time and fat.

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
adapted from Rachael Ray

16 cremini caps, cleaned with a damp towel and finely chopped in food processor
1 small yellow-skinned onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or the equivalent of freshly grated
2 cups part skim ricotta
8 curly edge lasagna noodles, cooked to al dente (12 to 14 minutes)
1 cup fat free chicken broth
8 ounces Gorgonzola, crumbled
1/2 cup (3 turns around the pan) heavy cream
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

In a medium skillet over moderate heat, saute mushrooms, chopped onions, and garlic in oil until mushrooms give off their juices and darken and onions are tender, about 7 or 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; the salt will help draw water out of the vegetables as they cook.

Add dry chopped spinach to the pan and heat through for 1 minute. Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. Add ricotta and stir into mixture to heat cheese through, 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat but leave in the warm skillet.

Heat broth in a small pan over moderate heat. Melt Gorgonzola into broth and bring liquid to a bubble. Stir in cream and thicken sauce 2 minutes.

Place cooked lasagna noodles on a large work surface or cutting board. Spread lasagna noodles with a layer of spinach-mushroom filling. Roll up pasta and arrange the 8 bundles in a shallow casserole dish. Pour warm sauce over roll-ups and top with mozzarella. Place casserole under broiler to melt cheese.

Asparagus Pesto Lasagna
adapted from Vegetarian Times ( I halved the recipe, and used a 9x9-inch baking dish)
serves 10

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups low-fat milk, divided
6 Tbs. pesto*, or more to taste
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish, optional
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1 1/4 lb. asparagus spears, tips cut off and reserved, spears trimmed and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.)
16 no-cook lasagna noodles (9 oz.)
2 cups shredded Fontina or part-skim mozzarella cheese (8 oz.), divided


Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk flour and 1/2 cup milk in saucepan until smooth. Gradually whisk in remaining milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, and boil 1 minute, or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in pesto, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Reserve 1 cup white sauce.

Warm oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped asparagus (not tips) and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes, or until tender. Add garlic; cook, stirring, 1 minute, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Coat 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Place layer of noodles in dish, overlapping slightly. Layer with half of cooked asparagus, 3/4 cup Fontina and half of sauce. Add another layer of pasta, remaining sauce, remaining cooked asparagus and 3/4 cup Fontina. Top with layer of noodles, then with reserved 1 cup white sauce. Arrange reserved asparagus tips over top and sprinkle with remaining Fontina.

Bake, uncovered, 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes; serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Read more...

Shrimp and Scallop Arrabbiata

I was surprised to see OCT at home when I got back from grocery shopping. Normally we would go shopping together on weekend, but I had a dream last night. A dream about the madeleine pan I didn't buy last week, and how happy I was in the dream making madeleines using that madeleine pan. I take it as a sign, a sign that I MUST go and buy the pan today. No, I can't wait until weekend. There was only 3 pans left when I saw it last week, what if 3 other people had the same dream went to buy all the pans? Then there will be none left for me..

Luckily, when I finally reached Bed Bath Beyond today, there were exactly 3 madeleine pans left on the shelf. Apparently, nobody dreamt or obsessed about madeleines except me. It must be this book that I am currently reading- Baking: From my home to yours, by Dorie Greenspan. There are a few madeleine recipes that sounds pretty promising. I can't wait to try the one with lavender, earl grey tea and chocolate filled madeleine. Actually that's pretty much almost all of the madeleine recipes in the book....It's funny that I have never eaten a madeleine in my life and hold such a high hope on madeleine.

I think I digress. I was going to talk about tonight's dinner actually. OCT was home early today to take a nap. Poor him got up really early today to work on his dissertation. Unfortunately, before he could fall asleep, his wife came back and insisted that he must eat an early dinner before he went back to work again.

I needed something that can come in a flash. And what could be more convenience that pasta! (no, instant noodle doesn't count, although we will eat it when we need something in a blink) In the spirit of trying something new, I opted for the Shrimp and Scallop Arrabbiata.



It's definitely one of the nice pastas I have eaten in a long time. But maybe I am biased, there's nothing much with seafood in it that I don't adore. So, this recipe scored pretty well in my book. I reckon this is also a good recipe for winter because all the ingredients could be found in the pantry and freezer. I hardly used any fresh produce in this recipe. More importantly, the bright colour of this pasta would sweep away whatever bad mood you may have on a gloomy, cold winter day. And on happy day like today, when I become the proud owner of a madeleine pan, the dish is scrumptious enough to commemorate the event. (I am easily satisfied!)


Shrimp and Scallop Arrabbiata

adapted from Cookinglight, for original recipe, seehere

1 (9-ounce) package fresh linguine
1 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces peeled and deveined large shrimp
8 ounces bay scallops
black pepper and salt
1 cup chopped onion
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 ounce pancetta, chopped (I used bacon)
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain. Set aside and keep warm.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook bacon until crisp. Drain, set aside and keep warm. Keep some of the bacon fat to saute onion and garlic. Add fennel seeds and red pepper to the skillet when the onion garlic mixture gives out fragrant aroma. Add shrimp and scallops to pan; sprinkle with black pepper. Sauté 3 minutes or until almost done. Add bacon back to the skillet.

Stir in tomatoes; bring to a boil.Remove from heat. Serve shrimp mixture over pasta. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 2 hungry men.

Read more...

More Thai Cuisine: Thai Seafood Noodle

I think I am hooked on Thai food. Fish sauce, to be more specific. Yes, I know it's weird, but I am afraid I have fallen in love with fish sauce. The complex taste that I savoured in so many Thai dishes, but could'nt pinpoint what was THAT ingredient that contributed to the exciting taste. Now I know. It's fish sauce.

Thais are clever, because they use fish sauce in place of salt. With fish sauce, they can achieve more sophisticated flavours with fewer ingredients.


This recipe that I have choosen for our weeknight meal is an " all-in-one-wok winner".Although OCT may not be the most picky eater, he insists on having a balance meal everyday. With balance, I mean the inclusive of carbohydrate ( any type of grains, preferably rice), protein (in the form of meat, definitely not TOFU, we consider tofu a vegetable dish. weird, i know) and fibre (which is vegetable). The Thai Seafood Noodle I have selected, consists of all of the above. And it tastes great.




(Recipe will be uploaded soon)

Read more...

Spaghetti with Spinach and Gorgonzola cheese sauce

I like cheese, but I don't like to eat it on its own. So I am constantly looking for recipes that call for different type of cheeses. This week, I bought a block of Gorgonzola cheese to try out one recipe, only to find out that I don't have some of the other ingredients..... Thanks to the advance in technology, I found another recipe that uses Gorgonzola cheese, in no time. And we are set for another unpredictable new recipe for the week, again!

Growing up in a Chinese family, my encounter with cheese is understandably, limited. Except for the occasionally sliced Cheddar cheese in sandwiches, shredded Mozzarella on top of the pizzas, and cream cheese in Cheesecakes. I found myself flummoxed by the vast choices available in supermarkets here. Not to mention the countless combination of cheese used in cookbooks.

Coming back to this new recipe. I think the highlight is really the Gorgonzola cheese sauce. Though pungent and salty on its own, Gorgonzola cheese added dimensions to this simple spaghetti dish. Even OCT who is not adventurous in trying out new food, find this delicious. This is the kind of recipe I like. Simple and straightforward in its preparation, but taste sophisticated, and keeps people guessing what's in the recipe. Very much like a good chinese dish, where everything has blended so harmoniously well, that you can never call out all the ingredients.

The photo I took didn't do the dish any justice, for it tasted much much nicer than it appears here.

Spaghetti with Spinach and Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce

1 (9-ounce) package spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated low-fat milk ( *I used 2 tablespoons and roughly 3/4 cup of 2% milk)
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
8 oz white button mushroom, sliced
1 large yellow onion, diced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach (about 6 cups)

Add the diced yellow onion to 2 teaspoons of hot oil and cook until it turns translucent. Add in mushroom, followed by spinach. Remove all from pan once spinach wilts.

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.
While pasta cooks, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk. Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly, stirring frequently.Add in the spinach mixture. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese, salt, and pepper. Combine the sauce and pasta, tossing gently to coat.

Serves 4

Read more...

Shrimp Arrabbiata

We didn't go out for dinner yesterday night. OCT decided not to go last minute even though I was already waiting for him downstair, in the cold, all dressed up. He sounded indecisive when he called to ask me to come down our apartment in 10 min, to meet him in his colleague's car. Little did I know that he changed his mind again in 10 min later!

In case you wonder if I got mad. I didn't. I think it's better for us to skip the dinner as he was really tired waking up very early for conference yesterday. So, I did what an understanding wife would do: cook a speedy dinner for us!

Shrimp Arrabbiata is fast and simple to put together. We had our dinner ready in 30 minutes, included defrosting the prawn. It's bright, tasty and healthy, and a bit spicy...But we both liked it a lot and not a single strain of linguine was left. I am sure it will come back to our dinner table soon! Maybe with more sauce next time.

Shrimp Arrabbiata

"This dish's name--arrabbiata--comes from the Italian word for "angry" because of the spicy tomato and red pepper sauce. If you want, double the tomato sauce and freeze half for a jump start on a future meal."

Ingredients:
6 ounces fresh linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup prechopped onion
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
*I added some white wine to the sauce*

Method:
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle shrimp with salt; add shrimp to pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until shrimp are done. Transfer shrimp to a bowl.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in pan. Add onion, minced garlic, basil, and crushed red pepper to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add tomato paste and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or just until sauce begins to thicken. Return shrimp to pan; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

Add parsley to the pan, stirring well to combine. Serve over pasta.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup shrimp mixture and 1 cup pasta)

Read more...

Simple Bolognese

Ok, this is a simple recipe. And I know you must be thinking: who need a Bolognese recipe! The thing is, I devote this whole week to try the recipes in Giada Le Laurentis Everyday Italian Cookbook. And this is one of the recipes that people on the net raved about, so I must give it a try and see how it compares to my own Bolognese recipe.

Simple Bolognese

Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 pound ground chuck beef
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chiffonade
8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Preparation:

In a 6 quart pot, add extra-virgin olive oil. When almost smoking, add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until the onions become very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the celery and carrot and saute for 5 minutes. Raise heat to high and add the ground beef. Saute, stirring frequently and breaking up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1/2 hour. Finish bolognese with Pecorino Romano. Check for seasoning.
Serve hot.

Serves 4 very hungry adults.

Note: I think this is a simple basic Bolognese recipe. I still prefer my own version, with which prior marination is required. (Add also includes red wine and brown sugar) However, I like the idea of adding carrots and minced celery to make the sauce more hearty in this recipe.

So much tomato based meals this week, I should cook something tomatoless next week.... Something not Italian...

Read more...