Tag: pasta

Pasta with Garlic and Oil (and artichokes)

Posted on by elltee

Serves 4 to 6.  Total time 30-40 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons minced garlic (about 12 cloves)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • Juice from one lemon (or 2 TSP lemon juice)
  • Zest from one lemon
  • 3/4 TSP red pepper flakes
  • 8oz jar of marinated artichoke hearts in oil
  • 1 pound spaghetti (or fettucine / linguini)
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Note – I cook the pasta in one large pot and use a dutch oven for the rest and to mix everything together.  You can also use a skillet in lieu of the dutch oven and mix everything back into the pasta pot after you’ve dumped out the cooking water.

Instructions

Cook olive oil, 3 TBS garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a dutch oven (or skillet) over low heat, stirring often, until garlic foams and is sticky and stray-colored, about 10 minutes.  Off heat stir in lemon juice, pepper flakes, lemon zest, parsley, and remaining 1TBS garlic.  Transfer to a small bowl.

Increase heat to medium-high for the dutch oven (skillet).  Add artichokes with marinade / oil and a pinch of salt.  Grill artichokes until lightly browned and tender.  Remove from heat.

Meanwhile bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large pot.  Add pasta and 1TBS salt.  Cook until almost al dente.  Strain pasta and reserve some of the cooking water.

Add garlic-lemon-oil back to dutch oven with the grilled artichokes.  Add a little reserved cooking water if necessary and stir to combine.  Add pasta to mixture and toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and add remaining reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency.  Serve with Parmesan.

Note: If you have frozen artichokes, just pat them dry and grill them with an additional 2TBS of olive oil.  Or you can leave out the artichokes altogether, as well as the lemon zest if you’re going for a more “pure” recipe of ‘Aglio e Olio’.

 

Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese

Posted on by elltee

4 hours total

Ingredients

8 ounces cooked elbow macaroni (Can use up to one 14 oz box, any type)
One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick ) of butter, melted
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
2 large eggs, beaten
4 1/2 cups of shredded cheese, plus 1/2 cup reserved for top.

1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard
Dash of paprika

Steps

  1. Cook the pasta per box instructions.
  2. In a large 4-quart slow cooker with a liner (or sprayed with cooking spray), mix the pasta, evaporated milk, milk, butter, salt, pepper, eggs, mustard, and all but the reserved 1/2 cup of  grated cheese.  Or for ease mix all this in a large mixing bowl and then transfer to the slow cooker.
  3. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top of the mixture and then sprinkle with paprika.
  4. Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours and 30 minutes. Turn off the slow cooker, stir the mixture and serve hot.

 

Note: Use a slow cooker liner / bag every time.  It makes clean-up a cinch.  https://amzn.to/2XdVymo

From http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/crockpot-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe.html

Rigatoni with Tomatoes, Bacon, and Fennel

Posted on by elltee

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 onion, chopped fine

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 x 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

1 pound rigatoni (or other pasta)

1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus extra for serving (can also substitute Parmesan)

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

Fish Sauce

Directions

  1. Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper-towel-lined plate; set aside for serving.  Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from pot (or leave it all in – I did).
  2. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt to fat left in pot and cook over medium heat until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic, fish sauce (anchovies), fennel seeds, and peper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. (might need to open the windows due to ‘fragrant’ fish sauce…)
  3. Stir in tomatoes and cook until dry and slightly darkened, about 5 minutes (took much longer for me, probably because I didn’t drain the juices from the canned tomatoes well enough.
  4. Stir in broth, water, and reserved tomato juice, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a boil.  Stir in pasta, returning to vigorous simmer, and cook, stirring often, until pasta is tender, 15 to 20 minutes (again took a little longer to thicken properly.
  5. Off heat, stir in Pecorino (or Parmesan) and parsley and adjust sauce consistency with extra hot water as needed.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve, sprinkling individual portions with reserved bacon and extra cheese (or just gently mix bacon into the whole thing last, right before serving).

Note: The recipe originally called for 2 minced anchovy fillets for that savory taste.  I substituted a few dashes of fish sauce instead.  It also wanted the fennel seeds “lightly cracked”, but I just added them straight out of the spice bottle.

 

Modified from “Cook it in your Dutch oven”, page 57, by America’s Test Kitchen

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti with Sausage and Peppers

Posted on by elltee

Serves 6.  

Cooking Time : 3 hours on high

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 lb italian sausage, removed from it’s casing

2 onions, minced

1 green bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2″ pieces.

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces ziti

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 15oz can tomato sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz) 

 

Directions

  1. Line slow cooker with aluminum foil collar and coat with vegetable oil spray.  Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Brown sausage well, breaking up large pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes.  Add onions, bell peppers, garlic, and oregano and cook until vegetables are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in tomatoes and heavy cream, scraping up any browned bits, and simmer until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.  Stir in ziti (uncooked), salt, and pepper.
  3. Transfer ziti mixture to prepared slow cooker and spread tomato sauce evenly over pasta.  Cover and cook until pasta is tender, about 3 hours on high.
  4. Remove foil collar.  Gently stir pasta, adding hot water as needed to loosen sauce consistency.  Sprinke with mozzarella, cover, and let sit until melted, about 5 minutes.  Serve.

Note: Foil collar on inside of slow cooker is designed to evenly distribute heat and prevent the pasta from being burned.

Note: Use low moisture pre-shredded mozzarella, not fresh mozzarella in a solid block and packed in brine.

 

Stolen from “Slow Cooker Revolution, page 236, by America’s Test Kitchen.