Tag: whole-wheat pasta
Rigatoni with Mushrooms and Ricotta Cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups Cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup Shiitaki mushrooms, torn
- 1 cup Chanterel mushrooms, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 1 cup fresh ricotta
- ½ pound whole-wheat rigatoni pasta, cooked with 1 cup pasta water
- Salt
Heat a large frying pan with the butter and oil. Saute the mushrooms on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or till golden brown. Lower heat to medium and add garlic, fresh thyme and pine nuts. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and pasta water. Add salt to taste and the fresh ricotta. Mix well and taste for seasonings and serve.
Pasta with Mushrooms and Spinach
This is a super healthy, quick and delicious dish. Did I mention it is a one pot meal as well? Yes it is. It has cremini mushrooms sauteed with whole wheat penne. I add ready made or homemade pesto to boost the flavor and keep the cooking down to a minimum. I start off with prosciutto and shallots. I then add the mushrooms and pesto. All the flavors are very bold. There are a few ingredients in this pasta but all of them add a great punch of flavor- that is the key to a successful dish.
Once the pasta is cooked al dente, I add it to the mix including some of the pasta water. The starchy water creates a delicious sauce and thickens the pasta.
I then add loads of fresh baby spinach. I love using baby spinach in my salads and pastas. I always have it in the fridge. My daughter doesn’t like salad dressing- so when I make a salad for my husband and I, I give her a hand full of baby spinach as her ‘salad’. She eats it up and claims it to be her favorite vegetable.
The pasta is delicious and so healthy…. make it for the family through the week…
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Healthy Sausage and Peppers Pasta Bake
This is a really healthy dish. I went to the farmer’s market to see what looked good. I bought a large red pepper, some fresh, great looking red onion and a fresh baguette.
I wanted to make a sausage and peppers dish but with pasta and thought baking the dish would be a great idea-so that’s what I did. I had really good quality whole wheat pasta in my pantry and thought it would be great in this dish.
Last week I bought 5 pounds of fresh plum tomatoes and made some delicious sauce and froze it. I took one bag out to defrost and used it in the dish. I also had low fat shredded cheese- why not make it healthy all the way.
I love making these kinds of dishes when it starts to get cold. It was great to smell all the vegetables roasting in the oven. I also made garlic bread with the fresh baguette. I wish we had access to farmer’s market all year round- it is so great to be able to find fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally. The food tastes better and is good for you. My daughter enjoyed the pasta and the garlic bread. I was happy to feed my family and good, wholesome meal!
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Broccoli Rabe and Spinach Pesto with Pan Seared Flounder
Our favorite local restaurant is Arturos. We go there at least once a week if not more. My daughter loves their mushroom and olive pizza; mushroom ravioli and the boar ragu. The food is delicious and best of all it’s a byo- and we sure do bring our own wine! Arturos has a tasting menu every Saturday which is very good but a little pricey. Usually on Fridays Dan, the owner has some of the components ready for the next day- and if you are lucky- you get to taste some of them.
We got lucky one Friday when it was not too crowded (which is a rare occurrence now) and Dan was there. We asked him if he had anything special for us to eat in addition to the menu items. He brought us a few delicious things, one of which was a pasta covered with broccoli rabe pesto. When I heard the description, I was immediately excited since broccoli rabe is one of my favorite vegetables- I love the bitter taste and the earthiness of it. Once I tasted the pasta, I was in heaven- it was out of this world. It had a delicate taste of the broccoli rabe with a dash of cheese and salt (I asked for the ingredients).
I knew I had to make this soon at home- and I did. I bought a fresh bunch of broccoli rabe and I also had some baby spinach at home. I decided to use both and experiment with a pesto similar to what I had at Arturos. I was going to serve with a whole-wheat pasta and some pan seared flounder.
I processed the broccoli rabe and spinach leaves with olive oil and salt. I cooked it gently with some pine nuts and finished it off with a dusting of pecorino romano- okay it was more than a dusting- and it was unbelievably delicious. I simply pan seared the fish and the dinner was done. My husband and daughter loved it but couldn’t understand why I was so excited about it. I am not sure either- I guess great food made simple makes me really really happy!
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Whole Wheat Penne with Tomatoes and Spinach
This is a really healthy and quick dish to make. Everyone has a ‘go to’ ingredient in a pinch and mine is chicken sausage. I was in the mood to make a really healthy pasta- I had just bought some whole wheat penne. I used to be a big skeptic when it came to whole wheat pasta- it tasted like cardboard, but things have really improved over the years. The pasta now tastes really delicious and nutty. The texture has improved as well- soft, just like regular pasta. Now, my husband and daughter cannot tell when I have used whole wheat pasta.
In this dish I used some mushroom and fontina chicken sausages- my daughter, Sia loves them!!! I had also purchased the most fabulous looking grape tomatoes and baby spinach. I decided to incorporate all the items in this dish including some basil- the more the merrier! It took all of 30 minutes to make so it is very quick. While I was putting it together, I noticed I had feta cheese in the fridge- “perfect”, I thought. I took some pasta out for Sia, since she finds feta too salty (and I can’t get enough of the saltiness!!). I added the feta into the rest- the mixture of some left over pasta water and the cheese made the sauce really creamy and light at the same time. Since this was a one pot meal- the only other thing I had to worry about was the wine. I opened the German Pinot Noir!
- ½ pound whole wheat penne, cooked (save ½ cup of the pasta water)
- 5 chicken sausages, casings removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 pound grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup basil, chopped
- Salt to taste
In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the sausages and brown on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the tomatoes and salt. Cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or till the tomatoes soften and begin to burst- push down with the back of the spatula to crush some of them. Add the cooked pasta and the pasta water and mix well. Add the spinach and cook till it has wilted. Add the basil and feta, mix well and adjust seasonings.
Three-Mushroom Pasta with a Fillet of Cod
I love all sorts of mushrooms! I try to eat them in every possible way I can but, my favorite is in pasta. I was thinking about the New Year and eating well and healthy. My plan was to make pounded chicken cutlets with the pasta to add some healthy protein. I went shopping for my ingredients and made my way into the fish section and noticed that cod was on sale! So I decided to make cod fillets with the pasta. Luckily my daughter enjoys both mushrooms and most fishes. I also bought fresh whole-wheat pasta- again it’s the whole staying healthy theme. I have to say fresh whole-wheat pasta is a completely different specie than the dry! It has great texture and tastes yum!
I decided to step out in my back yard and gather some fresh rosemary and thyme (they are still doing quite well despite the weather) before I came back inside to unload my groceries.
I remembered to use my favorite Christmas gift this year, my 14 inches all clad frying pan! It is awesome! I love cooking in it. It is so big and pretty, it makes me happy every time I look at it. Decided to open a bottle of left over Beaujolais-Villages from Thanksgiving and started cooking! I know I am supposed to drink white wine with fish but somehow mushrooms always remind me of red so I think the Beaujolais is a good compromise.
- 5 ounces sliced shitake mushrooms
- 2 large sliced portabella mushrooms
- 10 ounces sliced white button mushrooms
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
- 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup pecorino romano grated
- 3/4 pound cooked whole-wheat papperdelle pasta
- 3-4 fillets of Cod
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of chopped thyme and rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- Extra salt for the fillets
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
In a wide frying pan heat the extra virgin olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté till golden brown, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add shallots, garlic, thyme and rosemary. Then sprinkle the mushroom mixture with the flour. Cook the flour for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and whisk until a smooth gravy is formed. In the meantime cook the pasta till al dente. Once the pasta is done, add it to the mushroom mixture and add salt and pepper to taste. Top with the pecorino romano.
Sprinkle salt on the fillets and set aside. Mix the thyme, rosemary, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper with the flour. Dredge the fillets with the flour mixture. Heat a non-stick skillet with the olive oil and cook the fillets for about 5 minutes on each side or till done.
Serve on top of the mushroom pasta!