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Posts from the ‘Pasta’ Category

Jun 11

CSA1
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CSA Week 1 Recipe: Garlic Scape and Pea Shoot Pesto Pasta Salad

Happy days are here again!

This past Saturday was the first official week of our annual CSA membership! To celebrate we used a portion of our share to create a pesto for a potluck celebration at our local dairy, Mecox Bay Farm. Garlic scapes are perfect for making pesto, their flavor is slightly spicy and bright. The peas shoots lend a hint of sweetness. Experiment with any combination of herbs, greens, cheese and nuts. It’s all good!

CSA Week 1: garlic scapes, pea shoots, asian greens, 3 different lettuce varieties, green garlic, rainbow chard, kale.

GARLIC SCAPE AND PEA SHOOT PESTO PASTA SALAD

2 cups assorted seasonal vegetables such as snow peas and asparagus, trimmed

1 pound pasta (I like a fun shape for this – we used Cavatappi.)

8 garlic scapes

extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

red pepper flakes (to taste)

small handful of fresh basil, chopped

1/4 pound fresh pea shoots (about 2 cups), roughly chopped

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

small handful of toasted pine nuts or walnuts (optional)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Blanch the snow peas and asparagus for about 3 minutes, until crisp-tender. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and rinse under cold water or shock in an ice water bath.

To the boiling water now add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Set vegetables and cooked pasta aside.

In the meantime, roughly chop the garlic scapes and place in a medium saute pan. Cover the scapes with the oil, add the oregano and red pepper flakes and cook, over medium-low heat, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, let the scape oil cool slightly, then fold in your basil and pea shoots to wilt just a bit.

Transfer the entire content of the pan into a food processor, add the cheese and optional nuts, and blitz until well-combined into a pesto. If you need to add more oil to create a smooth texture, simply stream in a little at a time.

Toss together the vegetables, pasta and pesto in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. If you have some edible arugula or mustard flowers, scatter over the top for a pretty presentation!

Serves 4-6 as a main.

Jan 10

Linguine Red Cabbage
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Linguine with Red Cabbage by Jessy Gray

Now that the holidays are behind us it’s time to focus on New Year’s resolutions and, for me, healthy eating (whoops, I mean, a return to healthy eating) is always high on the list.  This recipe is perfect for January because it’s hearty, healthy and uses cabbage, which is available in abundance this time of year.  This recipe also has great shock value – watch your husband’s jaw drop in disbelief and then attempt to smile when he hears what’s for dinner.  Believe me though, he’ll totally want seconds.  I adapted this from Food & Wine, and it will make at least 6 hearty main course servings.

LINGUINE WITH RED CABBAGE

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium red onions, very thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste

salt and freshly ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 pounds red cabbage (about one medium head), thinly sliced (about 8 cups)

1 x 13.25-ounce box linguine (I like to use whole wheat)

1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

1/4-1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup reserved pasta cooking water, divided

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet.  Add the sliced onions, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft, about 10 minutes.  Add red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Add the sliced red cabbage, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender (20-30 minutes).

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add linguine, and cook until al dente.  Reserve 1 cup of cooking water before draining.  Return pasta to cooking pot.  Spoon the cooked cabbage/onion mixture over pasta, add the reserved pasta water (start with a 1/2 cup then add more if needed), and toss well. Incorporate the crumbled feta into the pasta/cabbage mixture, adjust seasoning and serve topped with a generous amount of chopped parsley. (The leftovers make a fantastic lunch!)

Nov 6

Rainbow ChardCrop
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Rainbow Pasta

Let’s face it – children love rainbows, especially girls, so I milk this theme anyway I can. It was the focus of my daughter’s recent 4th birthday party and last night it was dinner. Earlier in the day we picked up some fresh rainbow chard from Quail Hill Farm and our gang over at Sunset Beach Farm at the new Winter’s Market in Sag Harbor, NY. We got home and my daughter couldn’t believe a vegetable could contain so many colors. “Where’s the blue?”, she asked. Good question, kid!

This is a simple recipe, but when my preschooler exclaimed that she could eat it “every day of the week, including in my lunch box,” I thought it became important to share – because if that’s not an endorsement, I don’t know what is!

RAINBOW PASTA

1/2 pound (appox half a box) of whole wheat or whole grain pasta (we usually go for kid-friendly rotini or penne. You could take the theme even further with the tri-color noodles!)

1 bunch rainbow chard, cleaned thoroughly, rough ribs and stems removed, and leaves separated.

3 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup vegetable stock

Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the box until al dente.

Meanwhile, chop the ribs and stems of the chard into bite size pieces.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chard ribs and stems. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

While this is cooking coarsely chop the chard leaves. (For kids I like to chop into slightly smaller pieces so they can easily scoop up the veg without it dangling over the edge of their spoons.)

Add the vegetable stock to the pan as well as the chard leaves. Toss it together, reduce the heat to low, and cover to allow the mixture to steam. Give it a stir every couple of minutes until the chard is tender, about 7 minutes total.

Serve the chard over the warm pasta and put out the Parmesean cheese (my kid’s favorite part, of course!). If you prefer to keep this dish vegan, you may want to season with a little salt and pepper prior to serving. I like to add red pepper flakes to mine. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

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