Tag: Italian dishes
Pasta Cinghiale- My Version
Our favorite dish to order at our favorite Italian restaurant (Arturo’s) is pasta cinghiale… it is really, really delicious and if I close my eyes, I am transported to Umbria where wild boar dishes are in abundance. I have tried to make this dish at home before but this time I found wild boar sausages and decided to use them to replicate my favorite dish…
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ pound wild boar sausage, casings off, crumbled
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 10 ounces Cremini mushrooms, chopped
- 3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Salt
- ½ to 1 cup pasta water
- ½ pound penne, cooked al dente
Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil. Add the crumbled sausage and sauté over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or till golden brown. Take the sausage out with a slotted spoon and add the mushrooms and more olive oil if needed. Saute on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the garlic and thyme and continue to sauté for another 2 minutes on medium heat. Add cooked pasta, cream, pasta water and salt to taste. Bring to a gently boil and turn heat off and serve.
Pasta with Spring Peas and Pancetta
The pasta theme continues with a very simple and delicious pasta with a bit of pancetta and lots of peas- yummy and quick!!!
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup pancetta, chopped
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- Salt
- 2 cups frozen peas
- ½ cup chives, chopped
- ½ pound cooked pasta with 1 cup pasta water
- ½ cup Grana Padano cheese, grated
Heat a large frying pan with the pancetta and oil. Saute on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and sauté on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and salt and cook on a simmer for 20 minutes. Add the peas, bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer. Add the chives, pasta and pasta water if needed. Mix well and cook till the sauce is thickened. Season with salt and garnish with cheese.
Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
This is a really delicious one…. it is hard to remember it is made without any meat. One of my husband’s favorite pasta dishes is pasta primavera. It is typically made with seasonal vegetables, a delicious marinara sauce and pasta of choice. I have made many different versions of it over the years but I have to say, this one is my favorite.
I roasted some red pepper, squash and zucchini with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roasting vegetables brings out the nutty, sweetness which is delicious in this dish. I mixed the veggies in a mixture of pesto and homemade marinara sauce. To make even more different, I tossed the pasta with some chopped fresh mozzarella.
I then roasted the dish in the oven till the cheese became soft and oozy. I served it with some delicious garlic bread and a yummy red wine… and we did not miss the meat…
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