Tag: Pasta

pasta with loads of broccoli, green olives and pine nuts

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When I make pasta, I like to make the vegetable component equal to or greater than the pasta. If you’d rather have more pasta, by all means cook a whole pound of pasta to eat with this dish—but I think you’ll like the massive amounts of broccoli if you stick to my ratio! I like to use whole wheat pasta, especially DeCecco or Ronzoni, but use whatever you like best. This recipe is a meal in itself—no side dish is necessary.

Broccoli is one of those great vegetables that tastes pretty good even in the dead of winter, but if you freeze broccoli from the farmers’ market in the summer, this recipe works great with the thawed florets, and they taste so good. The browned onions really sweeten up the dish, and the green olives really make this recipe pop! I like to add the anchovies, since they add a wonderful briny depth, but leave them out if you’d prefer. The cheese is completely optional, and I don’t think necessary, especially if you use the anchovies. This recipe is based on one from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen.

2 large onions, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil + more for the pasta
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¾ cup pitted green olives, sliced or roughly chopped
1/3 cup fresh oregano, chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed in your hands
6 canned anchovies, rinsed and blotted dry on a paper towel
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds broccoli, cut into small florets, stems peeled and diced
½ pound whole wheat penne, spirals, or shells
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted in a dry skillet
hunk of Parmesan cheese for the table (optional)

1. Saute the onions in the oil in a wide skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When they are golden brown, after 20-30 minutes, add the garlic, anchovies, olives, and optional oregano, and turn the heat to low. Taste for salt and season with pepper.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, then throw in the broccoli florets and stems and cook just until they’re tender, about 5 minutes. Scoop them out and add them to the pan with the onions along with a little of the cooking water.
3. Add the pasta to the boiling water. When it’s done, drain it into a colander, then return to the pot and toss it with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Divide among heated pasta bowls and cover with the vegetables. Sprinkle with pine nuts, and pass the cheese at the table for those who wish it.

spaghetti with grape tomatoes, olives, capers, & pine nuts

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When the kalamata olive bread is on our baking schedule for the week, we like to make this pasta dish. The olives in the bread are great with the olives and capers in the pasta! If you want to heat a whole loaf of bread to eat with dinner, you can heat it, unwrapped, for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven just before serving dinner.

Dan likes to call this recipe his signature dish, because he’s the only one who has the patience to cut all the grape tomatoes in half before roasting them. I think if you just left them whole (and let them burst in the oven) they’d be just fine—maybe the dish wouldn’t be as pretty, but it would still taste great!!

In the summer, we love to make this recipe with local cherry tomatoes, but we make this recipe all year ‘round with big boxes of grape tomatoes from Costco. The original recipe (from Cooks Illustrated) called for this amount of sauce for a whole pound of pasta, but we like twice as many tomatoes for our pasta—so please note that the recipe below only calls for a half-pound of pasta. We always make a double batch to have plenty of leftovers, so we buy two of those giant boxes of grape tomatoes at a time. While you’re at Costco, you can pick up a giant jar of capers, a bag of pine nuts, a mesh bag of garlic, a huge jug of olive oil, a big wedge of Parmesan cheese, and a jar of kalamata olives… Then you’re set up to make this dish whenever you get a hankering!

2 pounds grape tomatoes, halved pole to pole
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 large cloves garlic, sliced thin
¼ cup rinsed and drained capers
½ pound spaghetti (I like whole-wheat, especially DeCecco or Ronzoni)
½ cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives
¼ cup chopped flat-leaved parsley
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, gently toss tomatoes with oil, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper flakes, pepper, garlic, and capers. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray or oil. Spread tomatoes in an even layer on baking sheet and roast until tomato skins are slightly shriveled (tomatoes should retain their shape), 35 to 40 minutes. Do not stir tomatoes during roasting. Remove from the oven and cool 5 to 10 minutes.
2. While tomatoes cook, bring a large pot of water to boil. Just before removing tomatoes from the oven, stir 1 tablespoon salt and pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and return to pot. Scrape tomatoes into pot on top of pasta, add olives and parsley; toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkling pine nuts and optional cheese over individual bowls.

fresh tomato sauce

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I admit, if I didn’t have a friend with a really big greenhouse, I’d never make tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes. If you are lucky enough to have lots of fresh tomatoes on hand, you can increase the amount of sauce accordingly, to freeze. It’s a variation on one of Lynne Rosetto Kaspar’s tomato sauce recipes in The Italian Country Table. Most tomato sauce recipes (including hers) tell you to use a food mill to get rid of the skins at the end of the process, but 1) I don’t have a food mill, and 2) I like my sauce chunky. So I just peeled the tomatoes at the beginning to avoid the little tough bits of skin in the sauce.

sauce
2 pounds ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced fine
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced fine (the easiest way I’ve found is to use a coffee grinder)
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon sugar

pasta & toppings
½ pound pasta, such as spaghetti. (I prefer whole-wheat.)
kalamata olives, quartered lengthwise
chopped parsley

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. You can use this water to prepare the tomatoes, and then to boil the pasta, so wash your tomatoes first. Mark an “X” in the bottom of each tomato with a serrated knife. Put 3 or 4 tomatoes in the water at a time for 30 seconds to a minute, until the skin starts to peel away from the “X.” Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon, and cool in a bowl as you dip the other tomatoes. Peel the skin off the tomatoes and remove the core with a paring knife. Cut the peeled tomatoes into wedges.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and ½ teaspoon salt and sauté the onions to golden-brown, stirring often with a wooden spatula.
3. Stir in the rosemary, garlic, tomatoes, and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often and scraping down the sides of the pot. Cook about 15 minutes, until the tomatoes have thickened and the tomato flesh is softened.
4. At this point, you’ll probably still have lots of chunks of tomato flesh in the pot. If you like it chunky, leave it this way. I wanted it a little smoother, though, so I used an immersion blender to puree some of the tomato pieces into the sauce. It still left the sauce quite chunky. If you don’t have an immersion blender, put some of the sauce into a blender and puree.
5. Now, stir it all around and taste it. Add more salt until you have the right balance of flavors. If you want the sauce to be thicker, boil it down some more.
6. Salt the tomato-dipping water and bring it back to a boil. Cook your pasta in that fiercely boiling water until done to your liking.
7. Serve the pasta with generous amounts of sauce, and top with a sprinkling of olives and parsley. 

savoy cabbage and potatoes with pesto

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I was inspired to invent this recipe when reading a letter from my friend Andi, who recommended a recipe from Lynn Rosetto Kasper’s The Italian Country Table. She adds broccoli and a potato to her pasta with pesto, and calls it “the King of Pestos.” I had a beautiful Savoy cabbage in my refrigerator, aching to be eaten, and I had a brainwave that thin slices of cabbage would be fun to toss with pesto sauce, like spaghetti noodles! You can eat this on top of spaghetti, or not—add olive oil and parmesan to the spaghetti, if you like, before piling the cabbage strands and potatoes on top. But I like it best just by itself—no noodles or cheese, but just the potatoes added to the cabbage for heartiness. The cabbage is sweet and delicious (you can’t beat our Alaskan crucifers!) with the pesto! You’ll be surprised how much cabbage you can eat in a sitting with this recipe!

You could just use commercially prepared pesto if you like—that would save you a little time. This recipe for the pesto is what I do to make a big batch and then freeze flat in ziplock bags. If you’re just making it for this recipe, just make about one-third of a batch. If you’d rather make parsley pesto instead of basil pesto, that works, too! I’ve included both recipes. When I make this, I use more parsley pesto than the basil pesto—it’s not quite as flavorful as the basil, so I like a more generous coating.

basil pesto
This makes a lot—about three times more than you need, so you can freeze the rest, if you like. I like my pesto on the smooth side, so I do this 2-step process with the food processor and then the blender. It makes a lot of dirty dishes, which is why I make a big batch all at once and freeze the extra. If you don’t mind a rougher texture, you can skip the blender.

6 large cloves garlic
½ teaspoon salt
6 packed cups fresh basil leaves
10 tablespoons pine nuts
12-14 tablespoons best quality extra-virgin olive oil

1. In a food processor, puree the garlic with the salt.
2. Add the basil leaves and puree them.
3. Then add the pine nuts and process into a rough paste.
4. Add half of the olive oil, process again.
5. Transfer the whole batch to a blender jar. Add the rest of the olive oil while pureeing the sauce in the blender—stirring down and around as needed to get a nice smooth puree.
6. Taste for salt, and add more as needed.
7. Scoop into 3 freezer ziplock bags and freeze them flat.

parsley pesto
This recipe also makes more than you’ll need for the cabbage and potatoes, but you can very easily freeze the extra for later use as a pasta sauce! I’ve used it to spread on pizza dough, too, as a sauce. It’s great! And parsley is a lot more affordable than basil, too. (Note: when using this for pasta, loosen the pesto a bit with pasta-cooking water--to the consistency of heavy cream--before mixing the sauce with the pasta.)

Whatever you do, don’t use curly parsley. It has hardly any flavor, and the texture is awful, no matter how long you puree it.

2 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
4 cups packed parsley leaves
½ cup pine nuts
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. In a food processor, chop the garlic with the salt.
2. Add the parsley leaves and pine nuts, and turn on the motor, beginning to grind the parsley. It’s OK if all the leaves aren’t incorporated yet.
3. While the motor is running, pour in the olive oil gradually. Let the blade run for a while to puree the mixture. It won’t be very smooth, but it’s hard to get the parsley pesto smooth, anyway—the leaves are very tough, and it’s almost impossible to get the blender to get it smooth. 
4. Taste for salt, and add more as needed.
5. Use what you’d like for tonight’s dinner, then scoop the rest into a freezer ziplock bag and freeze flat.

cabbage and potatoes

3 medium waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (Butterballs are ideal)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thinly
1 large Savoy cabbage, halved, cored, and cut into ¼-inch slices
sea salt or kosher salt
Freshly-ground pepper

1. Drop the potatoes into boiling, lightly salted water. Cook until tender, 5-7 minutes.
2. Saute the garlic for a minute in the olive oil over high heat, then add the cabbage strands. Add ½ teaspoon salt and saute until wilted and just tender. Taste for more salt and add more as needed, plus some pepper. 
3. Scoop 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the pesto into the bottom of a big pasta bowl. Add a little hot potato water to thin the sauce. Toss the cabbage with the pesto, then add the potato and toss again. Taste to see if you want to add more pesto. Serve, topped with freshly-ground pepper.

Savoy cabbage and sage on pasta with toasted walnuts

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I love this recipe! Here’s another of my pasta recipes that has loads of vegetables and not so much pasta. Healthy, healthy, healthy! Make this especially when you can get fresh Alaskan Savoy cabbage—it’s so sweet and delicious! The combination of sweet, browned onions, sweet Alaskan carrot slices, and the salty, toasted walnuts… it’s fantastically flavorful Fall food! It’s inspired by a recipe in rebar modern food.

One nice thing about this recipe is that you don’t need to put any cheese on it, because of the salty, roasty-toasty walnuts. Try it with just the nuts before you heap Parmesan on it!

½ pound whole wheat pasta, or buckwheat soba
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion (or 2 medium onions), diced
sea salt or kosher salt
6 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon dried sage (or ¼ cup fresh sage, minced)
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves)
1 medium head Savoy cabbage, halved, cored, and cut into ¼-inch thick ribbons
½ to 1 cup vegetable stock, bean broth, or water
3 medium carrots, cut into thin half-moon slices
1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar (optional)
freshly ground pepper
½ cup walnuts, toasted for 15 minutes in a 350-degree oven
1-2 tablespoons toasted walnut oil (optional—but I love to use Loriva oil)
½ bunch parsley, leaves chopped finely

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil to cook the pasta.
2. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions with ½ teaspoon salt until golden. Add carrots and sauté for another couple of minutes, then add the garlic, chiles, and herbs for several more minutes.
3. Stir in the cabbage with another ½ teaspoon salt and the stock or water, and add enough stock to keep the cabbage from sticking in the pan. Continue to sauté the vegetables until the cabbage is tender.
4. Meanwhile, add a couple of tablespoons of salt to the boiling water and cook the pasta until tender.
5. Chop the walnuts coarsely and toss them in a small bowl with the toasted walnut oil (if using) and a generous pinch of salt.
6. Just before serving, taste the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar to taste, but don’t overdo it—you want to be able to taste the flavors of the vegetables and the toasted walnuts.
7. To serve, put a small mound of pasta on each plate, and mound a big pile of vegetables on top. Sprinkle with toasted, salted walnuts and chopped parsley.

parsley pesto

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You can use this pesto for the Savoy cabbage & potatoes with pesto recipe, or you can just put this on pasta. I’ve used it to spread on pizza dough, too, as a sauce. It’s great! And parsley is a lot more affordable than basil, too. 

Whatever you do, don’t use curly parsley. It has hardly any flavor, and the texture is awful, no matter how long you puree it.

2 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
4 cups packed Italian (flat-leaved) parsley leaves
½ cup pine nuts
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1. In a food processor, chop the garlic with the salt.
2. Add the parsley leaves and pine nuts, and turn on the motor, beginning to grind the parsley. It’s OK if all the leaves aren’t incorporated yet.
3. While the motor is running, pour in the olive oil gradually. Let the blade run for a while to puree the mixture. It won’t be very smooth, but it’s hard to get the parsley pesto smooth, anyway—the leaves are very tough, and it’s almost impossible to get the blender to get it smooth. 
4. Taste for salt, and add more as needed.
5. Use what you’d like for tonight’s dinner, then scoop the rest into a freezer ziplock bag and freeze flat.

To serve on pasta:
Put a generous dollop of pesto in the bottom of a large bowl. When the pasta is about done cooking, scoop a few spoons-ful of the pasta cooking water into the pesto and stir it up until it has the consistency of heavy cream (add more water until it’s just right).  Then add the pasta and toss with the pesto until well-combined. Add more pesto (diluted with hot pasta cooking water) until the pasta is nicely green and is flavored to your liking. Don’t be afraid to add a lot--the parsley pesto is less potent than basil pesto (but quite delicious in its own right).

cauliflower with raisins & pine nuts on pasta

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This is a really fun and unusual pasta dish! As usual, I make tons of veggies relative to the pasta! It’s based on a similar recipe in Peter Berley’s Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. If you’re not adding the optional cheese, the pine nuts and salt are crucial to the dish. (I really don’t think this dish needs cheese—try it first without before you sprinkle!)

I haven’t tried this without the saffron, and I’m sure it would still be good without it, but the saffron does add a nice flavor. You can find it at Summit Spice & Tea Co., along with really full-flavored bay leaves, hot pepper flakes, sea salt, and any other spice you might need for other dishes!

This makes a big batch, because our Alaskan cauliflowers are usually quite large, and it seems silly to give you a recipe for a half a cauliflower. It makes good leftovers, too! But if you want a small batch, just halve this recipe.

1 large cauliflower, cored and separated into smallish florets
sea salt or kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 large bay leaves
½ teaspoon saffron
½ to 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes (to your taste)
¼ cup tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
¾ cup raisins
1 cup water
½ cup dry white wine
½ pound pasta (spaghetti or rigatoni, for example—I like to use whole-wheat pasta)
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
freshly-ground black pepper
½ cup pine nuts, toasted in a small skillet over medium heat until lightly browned
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 2 tablespoons salt. Add the cauliflower and cook until just barely tender, about 3-4 minutes. Remove the cauliflower, but reserve the water for cooking the pasta.
2. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, sauté the onions in a large, non-stick skillet in the olive oil until golden-brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves, saffron, and red pepper flakes and sauté for another 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato paste, optional tomatoes, raisins, water and wine. Raise the heat and bring the sauce to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the cauliflower, and stir well to combine. Let it sit, off heat or on very low heat, while you cook the pasta.
4. Return the cauliflower water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender.  Drain.
5. Add the parsley to the cauliflower sauce, and season to taste with salt and fresh-ground pepper. (It is likely to need quite a bit of salt. Don’t be shy!)
6. Put a small pile of pasta on each plate or pasta bowl, and pile high with cauliflower. Garnish with lots of toasted pine nuts. Try it first, and if you like, add Parmesan cheese!