deliciousness

spaghetti with white wine and shrimp

serves 4
adapted from giada de laurentiis’ everyday pasta

1 pound spaghetti (3/4 pound if your family likes the sauce/stuff more than the pasta)
olive oil, salt, pepper
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
handful of sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (also used 1 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes, drained)
1 1/2 cup white wine
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (she also used 2 cups of clams)
2 large handfuls of argula

Boil large pot of salted water and cook pasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil (use oil from sun-dried tomatoes jar for more flavor) over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic, turn down heat to medium, and cook until tender but not brown. Add both tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened/heated through. Add wine and shrimp (and clams if you want), and bring to a boil. REduce heat, cover, and simmer until cooked, 7 minutes. 

Add pasta to shrimp mix and combine so that pasta soaks up some wine sauce. Gently fold in arugula. I know it’s taboo to mix seafood and cheese, but I added a lot of grated parmesan cheese to the pasta before folding in arugula. Add in some pepper flakes if you want some heat too.

spicy pasta, bean, and sausage soup

adapted from epicurious.com
serves 4-6

2 15- to 16-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian hot sausages, casings removed
4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
8 ounces (about 2 1/3 cups) orecchiette (little ear-shaped pasta) or other small pasta
1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add sausages, rosemary, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausages are cooked through, breaking up with fork, about 8 minutes. Mix in tomato paste. Add beans, broth, and pasta. Simmer until pasta is tender and mixture is thick, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Serve, passing remaining 1 1/4 cups cheese.

pasta with creamy smoked bacon and pea sauce

via jamie oliver
serves 4-6

10 slices smoked streaky bacon or pancetta, preferably free-range or organic, diced into small chunks
small bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped
150g parmesan cheese, finely grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g dried mini shell or other type of pasta
olive oil
knob of butter
300g frozen peas
2 heaped dessertspoons crème fraîche
1 lemon

to prepare:
bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the mini shells. cook according to instructions.
get a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a good lug of olive oil and the butter. add the bacon to the pan, sprinkle a little pepper over and fry until golden and crisp. as soon as the bacon is golden, add your frozen peas and give the pan a good shake. after a minute or so, add the crème fraîche and chopped mint to the bacon and peas.
drain the pasta in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water. add the pasta to the frying pan. halve your lemon and squeeze the juice over the pasta. when it’s all bubbling away nicely, remove from the heat.
it’s really important that the sauce is creamy, silky and delicious but if it’s too thick for you, add a splash of the reserved cooking water to thin it out a bit. add the grated parmesan and give the pan a shake to mix it in.

lamb ragu with mint

via giada de laurentiis
yield: four servings

1 pound rigatoni pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine
4 cups marinara sauce 
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
1/2 cup ricotta cheese

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.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet warm the olive oil over high heat. Add the shallots and the garlic and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the ground lamb, salt, and pepper. Cook until the lamb has browned and the juices have evaporated. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half. Add the marinara sauce and simmer over low heat until the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. Add the mint and ricotta and stir until mixed. Add the pasta and stir to coat. Serve immediately.

darling pasta

via use real butter

1/2 lb. chicken breast, diced
1 lb. rotini or cheese tortellini, cooked
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sundried tomatoes, rehydrated and cut into strips
1 cup roasted red peppers, diced
1 cup pesto
1/2 cup pine nuts
2 tbsp vegetable oil
parmesan, grated

Heat oil over high heat in a large sauté pan. Add garlic when oil is hot and stir until fragrant. Add the chicken and sauté until just cooked. Stir in the tomatoes and peppers. Mix in the pesto and pine nuts. Toss the drained pasta into the pan and stir together. Remove from heat and serve with grated parmesan.

Notes: Instead of adding the garlic in the beginning and very likely burning it, I added it when the chicken was almost done and sautéed them together before adding the tomatoes and peppers. Also used the oil that came with the sun-dried tomatoes instead of regular olive oil.

rapid ragu

via nigella lawson
serves 4

2 tbsp. garlic oil
1 cup cubed pancetta
1 lb. ground lamb
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups sliced onions (about 2 medium onions)
⅓ cup Marsala
1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes
⅓ cup green lentils
½ cup water
½ cup grated red Leicester or Cheddar (optional)

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until the onions are a deep golden brown and soft, about 25 to 30 minutes. Make sure to use a gentle heat and cook the onions slowly so they don’t burn.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a wide, medium-sized saucepan, and fry the pancetta until beginning to crisp. Add the lamb breaking it up with a fork in the bacony pan as it browns. Tip in the caramelized onions, Marsala, tomatoes, lentils and water and bring the pan to the boil. Simmer the ragu for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Sprinkle over the cheese before serving, if using.

Notes: I used italian sausage instead of lamb, so I opted out of pancetta too. Instead of buying or making garlic oil, I just minced two garlic cloves and tossed it in after browning the sausage. Didn’t know if it made a difference, but I let the garlic brown a little in the sausage/oil for a bit, then threw in the lentils for a bit and coated it with the oil too. Also used the Marsala to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Didn’t let the ragu simmer for the whole twenty minutes because I didn’t time cooking pasta well and didn’t want it to overcook. Lentils may have been underdone but since no one in my family had had lentils before, they didn’t notice.

pasta with roasted tomato sauce

via patentandthepantry
serves 4

1 pound tomatoes, cut into 1 or 1/2″ chunks
3 cloves garlic, whole, unpeeled
olive oil
salt
pepper
1/2 lb. pasta
parmesan (I used diced mozzarella since that’s what my mom likes)
parsley (or basil)

Set oven to 375. Chop tomatoes into roughly 1/2″ to 1″ pieces (depending on how chunky you want the sauce to be), place in baking dish, scatter in unpeeled garlic cloves, then drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle on kosher or sea salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 to 45 minutes until tomatoes are starting to carmelize and break down.

Cook pasta according to directions or, if using fresh, cook in boiling, salted water for just a few minutes until al dente. (Depending on the thickness of noodle, this can take anywhere from about three minutes and up.)

Slip cloves of garlic out of their peels and then mush with fork into tomatoes. Scoop sauce onto cooked pasta, sprinkle with grated parmesan (or mozzarella) and fresh chopped parsley (or basil if you have any). Drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.

served with:
herb roasted chicken tenders
roasted cauliflower

sun-dried tomato pesto

adapted from epicurious and giada de laurentiis
serves 4

1 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese or Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
3 garlic cloves
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 pound linguine pasta
1 lb. chicken tenders

Combine sun-dried tomatoes, Romano cheese, basil, pine nuts and garlic in food processor. With machine running, gradually add olive oil and process until smooth paste forms. (Can be made prepared 2 weeks ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

While water is boiling, dry chicken with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken on medium high heat until lightly browned on both sides. Let it rest and cut into smaller pieces.

Cook linguine in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Combine 3/4 cup tomato pesto with reserved cooking liquid in same pot. Add linguine and toss over medium-high heat to coat, adding more pesto, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

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