Category Archives: Pasta

Pasta, Vegetarian

Pasta with Parsley and Broccoli Rabe

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Pasta with Parsley and Broccoli Rabe

This one is adapted from a Melissa Clark New York Times Wednesday Food Section recipe. It’s quick. You can make the sauce in the time it takes to boil water and make the pasta.

Pasta with Parsley and Broccoli Rabe

Ingredients:
  • 1 lb. small pasta (ziti, rigatoni, etc.)
  • 2 cups parsley, leaves and tender stems
  • 10 anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, divided
  • 1 small bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped
  • 2 tbsps. capers, drained
  • 3 tbsps. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 1 broccoli rabe, trimmed stems and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ½ cup chopped fresh tomato
  • 2 tbsps. butter
  • ¾ teaspoon grated lemon zest
  •  Pinch of red-pepper flakes
  •  Salt and black pepper
  •  Ricotta, for serving
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until almost done. Save one cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
While the pasta cooks, coarsely chop the parsley, 6 anchovy fillets, scallions, and capers all together and set aside.
In a large pot over medium heat, add oil, remaining 4 anchovies and half the garlic  Cook, stirring, until anchovies start to dissolve.

Pasta with Parsley and Broccoli Rabe

Add the broccoli rabe, tomato, about two-thirds of the parsley mixture to the pot. Add some of the pasta water and cook until the broccoli rabe is wilted and tender.Pasta with Parsley and Broccoli Rabe
Add the butter, lemon zest, remaining garlic and red-pepper flakes. Toss until the butter melts then add the pasta and mix with the greens adding more pasta water if the mixture seems dry. Check for seasoning.Pasta with Parsley and Broccoli Rabe
Remove to a serving dish and add and mix the remaining parsley mixture. Drizzle with olive oil, and serve with ricotta.

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Pasta, Vegetarian

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

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Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

This recipe is adapted from one I found in Bon Appetit. It’s hardy and makes a good winter dish.

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

Start a pot of water for the pasta.
Begin by browning the mushrooms in oil. Do this in one-layer batches. Mushrooms have a lot of moisture and if you put too many in the pot at one time, they’ll steam instead of brown.Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Remove the mushrooms from the pot and add the shallots. Cook until translucent and soft, not brown. Return the mushrooms to the pot, season with salt and pepper and set aside until the pasta is ready.
Cook the pasta until almost done. Use any kind you like. We got this colorful pasta as a Christmas present. They’re colored with carrots, spinach and beets.
Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce
When the pasta is almost done drain and transfer to the pot with the mushrooms and toss. Add the cream and one cup of the pasta water and simmer for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and then add the lemon juice and zest, parsley, butter, and toss. Serve with additional grated cheese.

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Pasta

Sausage and WInter Squash Ragu

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Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

I got this recipe from a northern friend (her grandparents are from Tuscany). You can use any kind of hard winter squash. I used butternut but acorn or even pumpkin would do it.
Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

Ingredients:
  • 3 cups peeled and diced squash
  • Olive oil for basting and frying
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 lb. Italian hot or sweet pork sausage casing removed
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 1 cup diced mushrooms – your choice
  • 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 2 sliced garlic cloves
  • 1 lb. short pasta like ziti, rigatoni, etc.
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
Start a pot of salted water  for the pasta.
Heat the oven to 450o and roast the peeled and diced squash with oil and salt and pepper for 15 minutes.

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu
Sauté the mushrooms and onion in oil in a pot until they’re soft. Remove from the pot. Add the sausage and break it up and cook until it’s brown. Return the mushrooms and onion to the pot, then add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook on a medium flame for 5 minutes and then add 1 cup of water, stir, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

Cook the pasta until almost done and add it to the pot and mix it with the sauce. Add some of the pasta water if it looks too dry. Now, add the roasted squash and parsley. Mix and serve. (My friend said it can be served with grated cheese but I think that would overpowers the sweetness of the squash.)

Sausage and Winter Squash Ragu

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Pasta, Vegetarian

Red Pesto Pasta

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Red Pesto Pasta

This is adapted from a recipe in Bon Appétit.

Red Pesto Pasta.

Ingredients:
  • 6 anchovies
  • 3 smashed garlic cloves
  • ¾ cup olive oil
  • ½ cup raw walnuts
  • 1 – 6 oz. can tomato paste
  • ½ red bell pepper, sliced *
  • 3 oz. Parmigiana cheese
  • 2 oz. fresh lemon juice
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsps. butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 lb. small pasta (ziti, penne, gemelli, etc.)
* If you like it spicy use red serranoes instead of a bell pepper.
Put a pot of salted water on the stove for the pasta. By the time the water boils and the pasta is cooked, the sauce will be ready.
Cook the anchovies, garlic, and walnuts in the oil until the garlic starts to color. Add the tomato paste and the sliced pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.Red Pesto Pasta.
Let the mixture cool for a few minutes and scrape it into a food processor or blender. Add the cheese, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until smooth and pour the mixture into a heated serving bowl and add the butter.
When it’s done, add the pasta and ½ cup of the pasta cooking water to the bowl, more water if the sauce is too dry. Serve Red Pesto Pasta with Parmigiana cheese.Red Pesto Pasta.

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Pasta

Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce

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Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce

I got this recipe from a friend who got it from a food page on Facebook. No amounts were given but what I’ve listed here works pretty well. Since the ingredients aren’t written in stone, I suggest that you adjust the amounts according to your taste. Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce is rich, thick, and hearty with some intense flavors.
Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce
Ingredients:
  • 1 medium onion cut into ¼ moons
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced
  • Olive oil – enough for frying
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 cups sliced mushrooms – your choice
  • 3 or 4 Italian sausage cut into small pieces*
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 28 oz. can tomato puree
  • 1 lb. pasta – something small

*When you have to cut sausage or any soft meat, it helps to keep it in the freezer for 20 minutes first.

Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce
Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce
Start a pot of salted water on a burner for the pasta.
Sauté the pepper and onions in oil until they begin to soften. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the paste and blend. Continue cooking until peppers and onions just begin to brown and remove them from the pan.
Add some more oil and cook the mushrooms until they soften and brown. Remove them from the pan.
Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce
Add the sausage to the pan and brown. Add oil as you need it. When almost done add the garlic. Blend and add the puree and return the onion, peppers, and mushrooms. Taste for seasoning. Stir and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes.

Mushroom and Pepper Pasta Sauce

Drain and serve the pasta.  Add some pasta water if the sauce is too thick. Serve with grated Parmigiana.

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Pasta

Pisarei e Faso

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Pisarei e Faso

Pisarei e faso’ is a traditional dish of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna. It’s small bits of pasta in a tomato sauce with beans. Sort of an Italian Chili.

Pisarei e Faso'

For the Pisarei:
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
  • About ½ cup warm water
Place the flour and breadcrumbs in a large glass bowl and thoroughly mix.
Pour in enough warm water a little at a time and blend with your hand until dough is formed. Shape it into a ball, cover the bowl and let it rest for an hour.Pisarei e faso’
Cut off pieces of the dough and roll into thin cylinders with half an inch diameter.Pisarei e faso’
Slice the cylinders into small pieces and make an indentation in the middle of each by rolling it with your finger.Pisarei e faso’
For the Sauce:
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3-4 oz. pancetta, chopped (or lard)
  • 16 oz. tomato sauce *
  • 16 oz. can white cannelloni beans, rinsed
* Tomato Sauce
 Lightly sauté the onion in the oil and then add the pancetta. When the onion is translucent and the pancetta fat renders, add the tomato sauce.
While the sauce is simmering bring water for the pasta to a boil in a large pot. Add the pisarei . Don’t crowd the pot or they’ll stick together. After about 8-9 minutes, when they float to the top they are ready.Pisarei e faso
Take them out of the water with a skimmer and place them in the pot with the sauce. Sauté’ for a few minutes and add the beans. Simmer for another few minutes and serve Pisarei e faso’ with parmigiana and a drizzle of olive oil.

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Pasta, Vegetarian

Pasta Primavera

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Pasta Primavera


I’m pretty sure that Pasta Primavera is something that was made up in an Italian restaurant in America. My mother used to make pasta with various vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, squash) as a type of minestra. Usually she used only one vegetable but if she felt like it, she’d use a variety of what was available. She never included cream and cheese was only added at the table. My mother called it ‘Pasta with Vegetables.’ I’ll call it ‘primavera’ – that means Spring.Pasta Primavera


Pasta Primavera


Start a pot of salted boiling water that you’ll eventually use for the pasta. Boil the vegetables 1 or 2 at a time until almost tender and remove them to a bowl.Pasta Primavera


When the vegetables are done add some more salt to the boiling water and begin cooking the pasta. After cooking  the vegetables in that water it’s now like vegetable stock. While the pasta cooks in one pot, in a second pot sauté the garlic in the oil. Add some salt, black and red pepper and the parsley.


Pasta Primavera


Pasta Primavera


Add the cooked vegetables and toss to coat with the garlic, parsley and oil on low heat. When the pasta is almost done add it to the vegetables, mix and add 1 & 1/2 cups of pasta water and mix well. Place in a serving bowl, drizzle with some olive oil and serve with grated Parmigiana cheese on the side.




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			Pasta
		

			
Red Wine Pasta

		

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Decanter on Amazon






Red Wine Pasta


This one is adapted from David Tanis, New York Times – City Kitchen. Don’t use a very expensive wine for this but one at least good enough to drink. You can use Chianti, Merlot or Pinot Noir.


Red Wine Pasta


Red Wine Pasta


Put on a pot of salted water to boil. Add a cup of the wine and lower the heat.


Red Wine Pasta


Sauté the pancetta in the oil. Remove it when it browns. Then add the onion, salt and pepper. Fry the onion until its softened. Add the garlic and tomato paste – stir and coat the onion. Then the bay leaf and the rest of the bottle of wine. Raise the heat and let it reduce – about 10 minutes.


Red Wine Pasta


Bring the pasta water back to a boil and cook the pasta until almost done. Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the sauce and stir as it absorbs it. Add some pasta water if the sauce is too thick.


Stir in the browned pancetta, the butter, parsley and Parmigiana. Check for seasoning. Serve with more grated Parmigiana.


Red Wine Pasta




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			Pasta, Soup
		

			
Minestra con Piselli Caiano

		

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Minestra con Piselli Caiano 


Minestra con Piselli  Caiano


Minestra con Piselli  Caiano  translates to something like Soupy Pasta with Pigeon Peas. It sounds better in Italian.


Minestra con Piselli  Caiano


Piselli Caiano Minestra


Ingredients:


    

  • 

    1/4 cup olive oil
    

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    2 cloves garlic, sliced
    

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  • 

    A handful of cherry tomatoes sliced in half or a large tomato roughly chopped
    

    • 

  • 

    4 cups chicken stock
    

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  • 

    Salt and black pepper to taste
    

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  • 

    1/2 lb. shells or other small pasta
    

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  • 

    15 oz. can of pigeon peas
    

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Minestra con Piselli  Caiano preparation –


Fry the garlic in oil. Add the tomatoes and cook until slightly soft.


Piselli Caiano Minestra


Add the broth, bay leaf, and the pasta. Keep adding heated water, maybe 2 or 3 cups, to keep a soupy consistency. When the pasta is almost done, add the peas, stir and cook for a few minutes. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil.


Piselli Caiano Minestra




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