Rustic Pasta Sauce

This sauce is simple, easy to make and it's good for you too.

Ingredients3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
I teaspoon red pepper flakes
I red pepper
1 medium size yellow onion
¾ cup kalmata olives
2 cans stewed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 cup grape tomatoes
1 ½ cup arugula
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon)

Chop ½ of a medium yellow onion into one inch pieces. Slice one red pepper into thin julienne style slices about 1-2 inches in length.

In a large sauce pan heat three tablespoons. Add red pepper flakes and cook for one minute or until you can smell the pepper. Add the onion, tomatoes and red pepper and cook until the onion becomes slightly translucent. Add one can of stewed tomatoes with liquid. Drain the liquid from the second can before adding. Bring to a low boil. Add olives, parsley, salt and pepper. Cook sauce for about five minutes on a low boil to evaporate some liquid. Add grated cheese and stir. Let cook for a few minutes. Cheese will absorb some of the liquid and you want it to melt into the sauce. Add arugula and stir to incorporate—this will wilt.

Remove sauce from heat. You should still have some liquid in this sauce.

Prepare one pound of pasta. I recommend penne for this dish. Just before pasta is done and is still slightly hard, scoop the noodles from the pot with a slotted spoon and add directly to the sauce. Heat up sauce and cook the pasta until al dente. Serve with grated cheese on top.

Serves 4-6

Notes:I used the stewed tomatoes (full of lycopene) with onion, celery and green pepper. Be sure not to over cook the onions and red peppers. They should still have a slight crunch to them when the sauce is completed.

PENNE, TOMATO, RED PEPPER AND OLIVE CASSEROLE

The snow is falling very heavy outside. We are expected to get about 10 inches by the end of the day. My hubby decided to work from home to avoid the hazardous commute. Since it's a special occasion having him here, I decided to make us something comforting for lunch. In the refrig I found grape tomatos, red peppers and olive tapenade. In my house we have an endless supply of pasta and the penne boxes are stacked so high you can barely get in the pantry!

This dish is a casserole, but it can work just as well if you want to skip the whole "baking the in oven" part. You can also substitute pastas or skip the greens if you don't have them on hand.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound penne
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup olive tapenade spread (Trader Joes brand)
1 red pepper
¾ arugula
½ cup fresh chopped basil
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
1 glove garlic (or 1 frozen garlic cube)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup fresh mozzarella cubed (small pieces)

Heat water for pasta with salt.

Slice tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out seeds into a bowl to discard. Slice red pepper length wise. Slice into very thin strips about 2-3 inches long. Finely slice garlic or use the cubed frozen garlic which incorporates nicely into dishes.

Cut fresh mozzarella into small cubes.

Preheat oven to 425.

Cook penne just until it begins to soften. Noodles should still be slightly hard. Drain pasta. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

In large saucepan add olive oil and heat. Add garlic and stir for about one minute until garlic is incorporated into oil. Add tomatoes and red pepper. Saute over high heat until slightly soft.
Turn off heat. Stir in tapenade.

When pasta is done remove directly from the water with a slotted spoon into the pan. Stir as you add pasta. If you need more liquid add a bit of pasta water or a bit move olive oil. Add arugula and stir. It should begin to wilt from the heat of the pasta.

Grease a 9 or 10 inch baking dish or casserole dish with butter or non-stick spray. Cover the bottom of the dish with a layer of the pasta mixture. Sprinkled half of the mozzarella cheese over the pasta. Add another layer of pasta and repeat. Add remaining pasta as a top layer and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes at 425 or until cheese browns on top and mozzarella is melted inside casserole. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.


Servings: 4

PENNE, TOMATO AND OLIVE CASSEROLE

Our friend Vito stopped by today to help us with some projects around the house. I put this together for the boys and they ate the whole thing! (Well, I had my fair share too!)

Ingredients
1 pound penne
1 container grape or cherry tomatoes (about 1-1/2 cups)
½ cup kalmata olives (rough chopped)
½ cup fresh chopped basil
½ cup fresh chopped parsley
1 glove garlic minced (I prefer the frozen garlic cubes)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Crushed red pepper flakes
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup slice mozzarella

Heat water for pasta. Slice tomatoes in half and gently squeeze out seeds into a bowl to discard. Remove pits from olives and rough chop. Rough chop basil and parsley. Finely mince garlic or use the cubed frozen garlic which incorporates nicely into dishes.

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook penne just until it begins to soften. Noodles should still be slightly hard. Drain pasta. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water.

In large saucepan add olive oil and heat. Add a sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes and let them heat up. Add tomatoes and garlic and stir. Add olives, stir. Add basil and parsley and incorporate. Add penne into pot and add about ½ to 1 cup of pasta water. Heat up mixture so pasta continues to cook, but only al dente. Add more water as needed.

Grease a 9 inch baking dish or casserole dish with butter or non-stick spray. Add pasta. Sprinkled mozzarella cheese and grated cheese over top.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese browns on top. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.

This recipe is Vito tested and approved!

Servings: Two hungry guys and one hungry girl.

Chicken and Lemon Borsellini Soup

I found a package of Chicken and Lemon Borsellini while grocery shopping, and I knew I just had to make something with it. I decided to create a soup that was light and could carry the yummy texture of the little pasta pouches filled with chicken.

In this recipe, you can add more or less pasta, lemon, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper to get the desired flavor.


Ingredients
1-1 1/2 cup chicken and lemon borsellini
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup chicken stock low sodium
1 scallion stalk
1 clove garlic minced (Frozen cubed garlic blends best)
2 squeezes of of fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
Lemon rind grated
3 tablespoons grated Parmesean cheese
Handful of loosely chopped parsley
Kosher salt (about 2-3 teaspoons)
fresh ground pepper

Slice up scallion and mince garlic. Bring water, vegetable and chicken stock to a simmer. Add garlic, scallion, 1/2 parsley, 1-2 teaspoons of salt and about 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Bring to a low boil and add borsellini. (Add a bit of water is more liquid is needed) The pasta only needs to cook for two minutes so keep it on a very low boil or simmer until pasta floats to the top. Remove from heat. Cut a lemon in half. Grate some lemon rind into broth and then add two squeezes of lemon juice. Stir and taste. Add more if necessary. Take a taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired. If you used low sodium stock you may have to add more salt to get desired taste.

Spoon into bowls and top with remainder of grated cheese and parsley. Eash dish should be filled with pasta sitting in an inch or two of broth.

Servings: 2

Parsley & Basil Pesto Pasta with Seared Shrimp

I found a recipe in Cooking Light that I really liked, but I added a few of my own modifcations. The CL recipe called for all parsley in it and only walnuts. My version adds shrimp, basil, pine nuts and red pepper flakes into the mix.

Ingredients

3 cups parsley leaves (flat leaf)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup pine nuts

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

pinch red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic minced

1 pound spaghetti

15 shrimp medium size

First, make the pesto and defrost your shrimp if they are frozen.

Pesto: Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. I find that you have to add a coinsiderable amount of olive oil to the mix in order to get the leaves to process.

3 cups parsley leaves (flat leaf)

1 cup basil leafs
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic minced

olive oil as needed

Once you have the mixture, place it in an air tight container and cover the top with a small amount of olive oil.

In a large non-stick pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Once the oil it hot add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Once you begin to smell the flakes cooking (may be about 10-20 seconds) add shrimp and reduce heat to medium. Let shrimp begin to cook a bit and then add one clove of minced garlic. Stir so the garlic gets distributed on the shrimp. Turn off heat, so shrimp don't over cook and set pan aside.

Bring pasta water to a boil. Remember to salt your water. Cook 1 pound of spaghetti.

Rough chop about 1/4 or less of walnuts. You can use your own judgement here on how much walnuts you want in your dish.

Remove shaghetti from heat just before it is done. You want it almost al dente. Transfer it into the pot with shrimp to finish cooking. I do this by scooping it out with a pasta ladel. You can also use a regular collander but be sure to save some of the pasta water. This will help thicken your sauce. Combine shrimp and pasta and begin to add pesto. Stir it in bit by bit over medium heat until you get the desired amount of sauce. Add small amounts of pasta water as you go. This will help distribute the sauce and finish cooking the pasta. Once the pasta is al dente (about 2-3 minutes) sprinkle walnuts on top and combine. If you like you can also sprinkle on some parm cheese. Enjoy!

Substitutions:

Whole wheat or organic pasta

Skip basil and use only parsley