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Recipe: Puttanesca Pasta Salad

This pasta dish probably looks eerily similar to the Tricolore Pasta that I posted a few weeks ago. That’s because in fundamentals, it is. The process — making a thick ‘sauce’ that’s loosened by the hot pasta — is exactly the same. I can’t recommend this technique to you enough if you need a pasta dish in a hurry. With just a few ingredients, a sauce really can make itself!

I made this last week when I was yet again in need of a quick, healthy lunch that could last a few days. Whole Foods had these gorgeous spicy mixed olives on their olive bar, so I thought I’d get some and make a ‘Puttanesca’ inspired dish. A typically southern Italian dish, the classic Puttanesca features spaghetti tossed with olives, tomatoes, capers, anchovies, garlic, and chili peppers. This dish covers all those, but omits the capers (I was out of them) and the anchovies (I actually like them, just not in a pasta salad!). I also tossed in some green parsley for color and flavor, and some sweet orange bell pepper to counter the saltiness. The result is a pasta dish that you can eat warm or cold. Make it ahead and bring it to a garden party this summer — it’d be perfect! Get the recipe and another photo after the jump. (more…)

Roasted Tomato and Chicken Stew with White Beans

It’s no secret that I love soup. What’s not to like about it? Easy to make, you can use scraps from your kitchen, they’re usually healthy, and make great leftovers. Win, win, win, WIN in my opinion.

Two weekends ago it was cold here in SF, and I was craving an Italian-style soup, but one without any pasta (I’ve been continuing to lay off the refined carbs). This Minestrone inspired soup, thick with shredded chicken, lots of vegetables, and a light garnish of salty parmesan cheese did the trick. To amp up the flavors, I roasted some fresh tomatoes and garlic — each tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar — and beyond the extra richness it added to the soup, the smell alone made this step worth it. While they were roasting, Joe kept drifting in and out of the kitchen, until he finally came in and asked, “Why does it smell so GOOD in here?”

Need I say more?

Get the recipe (and more food pics!), after the jump!

 

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Recipe: Bucatini with meatballs and homemade tomato sauce

A couple weeks ago, Lara from Simply Irresistible posted two pasta recipes that looked SO good. Well, I mean, all of her recipes look really good, but I must’ve been craving pasta, because the minute I saw these, I wanted to make them right then and there. Which is weird, because at home, Joe and I typically stay away from pasta, mostly for dietary reasons. But the weather has been cooler, and the thought of a big, warm bowl of noodles just sounded really delicious!

Two Saturdays ago, we spent the day out and about, running errands and buying a coat for Joe, and it was drizzling all day. Inspired by Lara, I suggested pasta for dinner to make up for the miserable weather. I was blown away when Joe said, “Spaghetti and meatballs?” Done and done. And to make things extra special, I told him I’d even make the sauce from scratch.

This dish turned out really well! If you’re following exactly what I did, I’d recommend you save this one for a weekend, when you have a bit more time. However, you could easily make it a weeknight meal by using your favorite jarred marinara sauce.

Get the recipe after the jump! (more…)

Recipe: Hearty Stuffed Peppers

Do you have a recipe that you often forget about, but whenever you make it, you want to kick yourself for not preparing it more because it’s so easy and so delicious? That’s how I felt when I recently made my roasted stuffed peppers. Ridiculously easy to put together, you can make this recipe as sinful or as healthful as you’d like — but no matter which route you choose, the results are irresistibly satisfying.

I like to stuff peppers with ground turkey meat, but you could of course substitute chicken, pork or beef — anything you’d like really. During my most recent attempt, I used a mixture of dark ground turkey meat, onions, garlic, lots of herbs and just a hint of parmesan. The mixture is spooned into red and yellow peppers, then baked with marinara sauce until the peppers have browned and the meat cooked through. The best part? The juices from the meat always leak out of the peppers, mixing with the marinara and leaving you with a tomato sauce that tastes like it was cooking all day.

The great thing about stuffed peppers is that you can customize them to any genre of food you’d like. You could stuff them with cooked rice, corn, black beans and diced chicken, top each with some monterrey jack, and bake with green enchilada sauce. I’m betting they’d be delicious stuffed with ground lamb, spinach and feta, then smothered in a creamy white sauce (yes, that would definitely fall in the ‘decadent’ category). Stuffed peppers are a great way to clean out your fridge, if you think about it!

You can also choose to make these as a side dish — just buy smaller peppers and adjust the amount of filling you make.

Hearty Stuffed Peppers

  • 4 medium to large bell peppers, if serving as a main dish (I used two red and two yellow)
  • 3-4 springs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
  • 3-4 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves stripped
  • 6-8 fresh basil leaves, cleaned
  • 1.25 lb ground dark turkey meat
  • 1/2 yellow onion, very finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8-10 cremini (dark brown) mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and finely chopped
  • 1 extra large egg
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan, plus extra for garnish
  • –salt and pepper to season
  • 2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce
  • –extra virgin olive oil

Preheat your oven to 375°.

Slice the tops off of the peppers and set aside. Using your fingers, clean out the seeds and white ribs from inside the pepper, being careful not to tear the sides of the vegetable.

Combine the herbs on a cutting board and mince together. In a medium bowl, combine the turkey meat, onion, garlic, herbs, mushrooms, egg and parmesan cheese. Season well with kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Use your hands to thoroughly combine, as if making a meatloaf. With a spoon, tightly stuff each pepper with the turkey mixture. It’s okay to overfill these a little.

Select a baking dish that will fit all your peppers. Pour enough marinara into the dish to completely cover the bottom. Place the peppers into the baking dish, then top each with a little extra parmesan if you’d like. Pour sauce over each pepper and into the baking dish (I used a little less than 1.5 jars of marinara total), drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top of each pepper, then place its “lid” on top.

Bake for an hour to an hour and a half (depending on your oven and the size of the peppers you chose) until the peppers have begun to brown and the sauce mixture is bubbly. You may want to spoon some of the sauce over the peppers part way through baking to help speed the pepper cooking process along. Serve with pasta, vegetables, or on its own!

Recipe: Pasta with sun dried tomatoes and spinach

Last Thursday in an attempt to both a) self-medicate and b) pay homage to the great Jersey Shore, Joe and I stopped by A.G. Ferrari and picked up lots of Italian goodies to snack on.

The next day, we had to go for broke and indulge two nights in a row, so the leftovers from our Jersey Shore binge — namely sun dried tomato pesto, sun dried tomatoes and Piave cheese — became the stars of a quick Friday night pasta dish. This is another great example of MacGyvering something together into a totally scrumptious meal (where are your requests, people?). While my pasta dish was pretty simple, one could easily add in grilled chicken, or cooked broccoli, white beans, or any other type of leafy green. Just use whatever you have laying around.

I present to you gemelli with sun dried tomatoes and spinach. The recipe is super easy. (more…)