pasta

Simply Summer {Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad}

by Lisa on July 17, 2011

Smoked salmon is literally one of my favorite things.  Unfortunately, when you’re pregnant, you’re not supposed to eat smoked fish unless it’s cooked.  For me, that kind of defeats the purpose of eating smoked salmon but last week I really wanted some.  So I threw together this simple pasta salad.

To make it pregnant-friendly, I poached the smoked salmon in water so that it would keep it’s flavor.  You could poach it in wine or oil if you want, but I wanted to keep it simple and true to flavor.

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 bag of farfalle pasta
  • 1 package smoked salmon {about 8 ounces}
  • asparagus, trimmed and cut into pieces (a 12 oz. package or so}
  • 12-16 grape tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 ears of corn, boiled
  • 2 whole scallions, sliced thin
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • handful of basil, chiffonade

Method

Bring a pot of water, preferably with a colander in it, to a boil.  Salt when it comes to a boil and add the corn.  Boil for 5-8 minutes. Remove the corn.

Bring the water back to a boil and quickly blanch the asparagus for 1-2 minutes so it keeps its crunch.  I find that very thin asparagus works well in this recipe.  Remove the asparagus and place in a bowl {if you have some time, put the asparagus in an ice bath, I skipped this step}.

Once the asparagus is done, bring the water back to a boil, salt liberally and add the farfalle.  Prepare the farfalle according to package directions, until al dente.

While the pasta cooks, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a separate pan, bring water to a boil {enough to cover the salmon}. Add the salmon and poach for about 5-8 minutes.  Remove from the water, flake with a fork and add to the bowl.

Cut the corn off the cob and add to the bowl with the asparagus.  Chop the tomatoes and scallions and add to the bowl.

Drain the pasta and add to the bowl.

To prepare the dressing, juice 2 lemons and whisk the juice together with the olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pour over the rest of the ingredients, add the basil and mix well to combine.

Serve warm or cold {I prefer warm}.

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For a dish I threw together at 9:30 pm, this was surprisingly delicious.

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Jeromy and I each had 2 servings and ate it the next day for lunch.

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Experiment with different flavor combinations-use the vegetables you have on hand-make this recipe your own!

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Enjoy!

{ 1 comment }

Quick and Easy {Shrimp Pasta Salad}

by Lisa on June 17, 2011

Just like most people, I like my weeknight meals to be quick and easy.  For example, last night we had blackened catfish with corn on the cob. It took about 20 minutes to make.  That’s my kind of meal. 

Tuesday night my mother-in-law flew in from Boston and Jeromy picked her up at the airport. I wanted to make something satisfying but not too filling since we were going to be eating around 9 pm.  I looked around at what I had on hand and decided that this dish would fit the bill. 

Ingredients

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  • 3/4 of a pound of orecchiette {or any other small pasta}
  • 1 pound shrimp, shelled and chopped {I used frozen, but fresh would work well}
  • 3 cups broccoli florets
  • 1/2 pound grape tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 heaping teaspoons crushed garlic
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 cup lemon juice {from approximately 4 lemons}
  • splash of white wine
  • pasta water, reserved
  • 1 cup basil, chopped
  • kosher salt
  • pepper

Method

Bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare the pasta according to the packaging.

Prep the rest of the ingredients because this recipe moves fast.  Mise en place is key.

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Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep sauté pan.  Add the crushed garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the broccoli.

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At this point, the pasta should be done, drain and set it aside.   Add 2-3 tablespoons of the reserved pasta water to the pan along with the tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.

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Add a splash of white wine, the second tablespoon of olive oil and the lemon juice then bring the pot to a simmer.

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Once the pot is simmering, add the shrimp and the pasta.  Mix until the pasta is well coated and the shrimp is warmed through {if you use fresh shrimp, cook it ahead of time}.

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Remove from the heat, transfer to a serving bowl and mix in the basil.

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Honestly, I wasn’t so confident in this recipe. I knew that the flavors all worked together, but I just wasn’t convinced it was going to taste good. Luckily, it tasted great.

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I added a little bit of parmesan cheese when I served it. I know that it’s frowned upon to mix cheese with seafood, especially in Italian cooking, but I just couldn’t help myself :-)

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Both Jeromy and my mother-in-law had seconds.  That’s a sure sign of a successful dish.

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Sorry, Dixie, none for you.

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Enjoy!

{ 4 comments }

Mangia! {Pasta Puttanesca}

by Lisa on February 5, 2011

This is really two posts in one: homemade pasta and puttanesca sauce.  Let’s just get right to it.

My bridesmaids gave me the pasta attachment pack with the Kitchenaid stand mixer at my bridal shower and I have been dying to try making my own pasta.  A couple of weeks ago, I was craving pasta puttanesca, so it seemed like a great opportunity.

I used this recipe for the pasta.

You’ll need:

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons water

Method:

Combine the flour and salt in  a bowl.  Turn out onto a flat surface and create a well in the center.  Pour the egg into the center of the well.

So, make sure that the well is deep enough for the egg.  I didn’t and look what happened! {ignoring the awful lighting–I was trying to get a picture before the egg went everywhere!}

Gradually pull the flour into the center of the well and mix with the egg until you have a stiff dough.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of water to make the dough stick together.  Finally, knead the dough on a floured surface for 3-4 minutes.

Unfortunately, I could not take pictures of the pasta while I was rolling it out.  I followed the directions with the pasta attachments, since I had never used them before.  This dough made enough for 2 dinner servings plus a little leftover for the next day.

Bring a pot of water to boil.  While waiting, start on the puttanesca sauce.

I used my favorite recipe from Smitten Kitchen, with some modifications.  Mainly, I loosely follow the measurements.  I’m rather heavy-handed with this recipe, the more robust flavors, the better!  I also add a can of tomato sauce because I like my pasta to be coated in sauce–the original recipe only calls for diced tomatoes. I’ve tried it both ways and prefer my method.

The no-fail route to completing this recipe is to have all of the ingredients ready before starting to cook.  It moves really fast, so if the parsley still needs to be chopped, the garlic will probably burn and so on.  Mise en place is the key!

You’ll need:

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/3 cup flat parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 1/8 crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 package of baby arugula
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Method:

Heat the oil in a saute pan.  Add the garlic and saute for a minute until fragrant but not browned.

Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste and crushed red pepper to the pan and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.  Simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the arugula and simmer until it has wilted, about 1 minute.

Keep the sauce warm on the stove.  When the water is boiling, generously salt it so that it resembles ocean water.

Add the pasta and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Fresh pasta cooks faster than dried, be careful not to  over cook  it!

Drain the pasta and add it to the saute pan.  Stir well to coat the pasta with the sauce.

Serve immediately, with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

The salty, spiciness of this sauce is phenomenal.  Simmering the sauce gives the flavors time to really develop and meld together.  This dish does not have any meat, but to make it vegetarian I’d have to omit the anchovy paste and I think something would be missing without it.  This is really comfort food at it’s finest and it makes for great leftovers.

Enjoy!

{ 4 comments }