Shrimp Puttanesca

This is a savory pasta dish that packs a lot of flavor between the shrimp, capers, and olives.   It's also relatively simple and doesn't require a lot of unique ingredients.  I found the recipe on Food & Wine and don't think I made any changes (except to leave the tomatoes unpeeled.)  They didn't call it a puttanesca, but considering the ingredients I decided to use that title.  Some puttanescas have anchovies in them, but this one does not.   Overall this is a good option for a quick and tasty week night meal.  And it gave me the chance to use a little fresh rosemary from the 1-herb strong garden, so that's always a plus.  We also tested our our new garlic-grating tool we got at the farmer's market in San Diego.  It's a little ceramic plate with sharp ridges that works miracles in grating garlic or ginger. 

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
• several dashes of dried red-pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
• 2-3 medium tomatoes (about 3/4 pound) chopped
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 tablespoons drained capers
• 1/3 cup halved and pitted black olives 
• fresh lemon, to squeeze on top (optional)

Directions:

 

Heat a large skillet or frying pan to medium and add the oil.  When it is hot, add the shrimp to the pan along with the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic.  Stir and try to spread the shrimp out evenly.  Stir occasionally until cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon.

Next, add the tomatoes, rosemary, capers, and olives to the pan.   Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 15 minutes.   Meanwhile, start boiling your pasta water.  Any type of pasta will do.

After the sauce has simmered, return the shrimp to the pan and cook until heated through, about 1 minute.  

Serve over pasta and garnish with additional rosemary and a squeeze of lemon.  

 

Curried Chicken and Pasta Salad

We had tons of leftover cooked chicken after I roasted two whole chickens a few days ago.  There were many chicken dishes created in the days following including enchiladas and chicken soup.  With the last bit we decided to make a chicken salad, but didn't have quite enough to make a decent sized batch.  So we cooked some pasta to mix in, and it ended up tasting quite delicious with the curry-mayo dressing.  The raisins add sweetness and I threw some carrots in there for an extra crunch.  The recipe itself came from Ina Garten- I only made a few minor changes.  This is a great dish to make ahead for a potluck or to pack and take for lunch.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 cups elbow pasta cooked in salted water (about 1 1/2 cup dry- though I didn't measure mine)
2 large stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 3)
1/4 cup raisins
3/4 cup mayonaisse (homemade always good!)
1 tablespoon madras curry powder (if you use a less powerful curry powder you may want to use more)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chutney (I used something closer to a sweet relish because it was all I had on hand)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
1/4 cup roasted salted cashews

Directions:
Combine chicken, green onion, celery, raisins,and carrot in a large bowl.  Place pasta in a separate bowl.  Set aside.  

To make sauce, combine mayonaisse, curry powder, wine, chutney, cayenne, and at least 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Stir until well combined.  

Pour a couple large spoonfuls over the pasta and stir until all of the noodles have been coated.  Add the chicken and vegetable mixture and spoon additional sauce into the mixture.  Stir, and continue to add more sauce if it looks too dry.  My carrots were an afterthought as you can see they were mixed in later.

You may not end up needing all of the sauce, so don't add it all at once.  Taste and add black pepper and more salt to taste.  Sprinkle in cashews before serving.

Pasta Verde

I found this recipe on Serious Eats and marked it as a favorite right away for it's uniqueness.   Roasted poblano peppers (which I love) made into a pasta sauce?  Yum!  I finally got around to making it this past week and it was super tasty and a nice twist to your usual tomato or cream based pasta sauces.  I doubled their recipe and made a couple very slight changes.  This is a great vegetarian option and you could easily serve it with chicken to add some protein.

                                                 Ingredients:

• 4 large poblano chiles
• 1/4 cup cilantro, leaves only
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons salt, divided
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup Mexican crema, or heavy cream
• 4 ounces crumbled Cotija cheese 
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Sriracha (optional)  

Directions:

Cover a large baking sheet with foil.  Slice the poblanos in half, and remove the seeds and core.  Place face down on the baking sheet.  Turn on your broiler, and place the peppers in the oven until the skins are blistered.  Rotate the pan as needed to make sure they are getting even coverage.  

Remove from the oven and place them in a bag or covered bowl to steam for 5-10 minutes.  When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins.  

In a blender, combine the roasted poblanos, onion, garlic, cilantro, and chicken broth.  Blend until smooth.  

Meanwhile, heat a large pot of water with 5 teaspoons salt to a boil.  We used these little twisty noodles because they really hold the sauce well, but any pasta would be fine.  Cook the pasta as directed and drain in a colander when al dente.

To finish the sauce- heat the butter in a medium sauce pan.  Add the sauce with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Turn off the heat and stir in the crema.  

Mix the sauce in with the pasta, and serve with cotija cheese, sriracha (or hot sauce), and a squeeze of fresh lime juice for each bowl.  

The flavor of the charred peppers is amazing, and the crema lightens it up a bit.  It isn't really spicy on it's own so the sriracha adds some nice heat to the dish.  The lime juice brings it all together so don't leave it out! 

 

Pasta & Broccoli

This is an Italian dish we learned how to make from our friend Lucian.  It's great because it's an entire meal in one dish, and it really lets the flavor of the ingredients shine through.  The chunks of pepperoni crisp up and become super tasty morsels mixed in with the pasta and steamed broccoli.  The garlic and red pepper flakes add some bite to the dish, and the Parmesan cheese rounds it out with some creaminess.  All in all, it's a wonderfully tasty dish that is simple, comforting, and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta (we used farfalle, but any short pasta will work)

1/2 lb pepperoni (ask for two 1/2 inch thick slices at the deli counter)

2 lbs broccoli (about two bunches), crowns and upper stalks chopped into bite-size pieces

1 shallot, minced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)

1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Heat a large pan over medium heat (we used our caldero).  Cut the pepperoni into little 1/2 inch cubes and place them in the hot pan.  Cook for about 15 minutes, flipping the pepperoni occasionally to make sure all sides crisp evenly.  Meanwhile, heat a large pot of heavily salted water over high for the pasta.

It should be nicely browned, but not too dark.  Reduce heat to medium low.  Add the garlic and shallot with a pinch of salt, and saute for a couple minutes until they start to turn golden.  Add the red pepper flakes and stir to combine.  Meanwhile- add your pasta to the boiling water and cook for one minute less than the suggested cooking time.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining.

Place the broccoli in the pan with the pepperoni and stir to combine.  Add the pasta water and 1/2 t salt.  Stir and leave covered for 5-7 minutes to steam the broccoli.  Stir occasionally to make sure the broccoli is evenly cooking.  

When it is cooked to your desired consistency remove from heat and pour the broccoli and pepperoni mixture in with the drained pasta.   Stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese and 1/2 t freshly ground pepper.  Serve with remaining Parmesan on top.  Enjoy!