Craving Greens :: Orrechietti w/Sauteed Garlic Lime Spinach

A. had his weekly soccer game tonight and I didn't get home till late (long day at work!), so I was feeling very lazy.  ...but hungry! :-)   I was tempted to order pizza but, oddly enough,  I was craving greens.  Can you believe it... that you can actually crave healthy greens... not just things like cake and chocolate! ...Well, I guess that's a good thing!

So I decided to follow my urge to be healthy and pulled out a bag of fresh baby clam spinach!  I came up with this very simple dish:  sauteed spinach in garlic and lime mixed with orrechietti, and topped with plenty of  freshly grated Parmesan.  

It only took a few minutes, and there was no chopping and hardly any cleanup.  It was so delicious and fresh that I think I'll be making this more often, no just lazy nights!  The bit of lime is perfect with the spinach and Parmesan.

* For a 'less healthy' version:  saute a bit of pancetta with the spinach and top w/toasted pine nuts. :-)

Enjoy!

ORRECHIETTI w/SAUTEED GARLIC LEMON SPINACH  (serves 2)

1/2 box Orrechietti

1 bag baby clam Spinach

2 cloves Garlic, peeled

Juice of 1/2 lime

Salt & Pepper to taste

Parmesan, grated

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Boil the pasta per box directions. 

In a large skillet heat the olive oil (about a table spoon) and add whole garlic cloves.  When the garlic starts to brown, start adding the spinach.  It will wilt quickly, you can add the spinach in parts if it does not all fit at once.  Mix the spinach with the olive oil and add the lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.  This will only take a couple of minutes to cook.  

Add the pasta to the skillet and mix.  

Remove the garlic cloves, add the grated Parmesan and serve.

Happy Weekend :: Roasted Heirloom Tomato Pasta

Have you ever started making a dish just to end up making something totally different?  Well, it happened to me yesterday.  It's starting to get a little chillier here in NYC (well, and by chilly I mean it's 75F instead of the recent 95F and humid) so I was excited to make a roasted tomato soup with these beautiful heirloom cherry tomatoes.   I love seasoning and roasting vegetables before making a soup, it makes them nuttier and sweeter.  And tomato soup is one of my favorite fall dishes.

Well , when the tomatoes came out of the oven, they looked so juicy and delicious, and the whole kitchen was filled with the smell of basil and oregano, that we couldn't help it and poured them over fettuccine instead.  So roasted tomato soup became a roasted heirloom tomato pasta sauce. ... And by far the easiest, no mess, pasta sauce I've ever made!  The tomatoes have so much juice and flavor, there's no need to add anything else to them once they come out of the oven.  Just pour them over pasta and enjoy!

ROASTED HEIRLOOM TOMATO PASTA

2 cups heirloom tomatoes, 

1 clove of garlic, chopped,

1/2 a white onion, slice

Kosher Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Springs of basil and oregano

Pasta, I used fettuccine

Preheat oven to 350F. 

In an oven safe pan, spread the tomatoes (cut the small tomatoes in half) and onions.  Pour a bit of olive oil on top of the tomatoes, and mix so the oil coats all the pieces.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a add your herbs and garlic.  

Place in the oven and cook until the tomatoes are soft and browning.  About 20 minutes.  In the meanwhile cook the pasta and drain.  Pour the tomatoes over the cooked pasta.

From the Farm:: Raviolis with Sauteed Garlic Fava Beans

I had mentioned that my challenge this week was to cook with fava beans. I really enjoy their summery taste, and love their sightly al-dente crunch. We had a pound of them from last week's veggie share and I've never used them before.

So I was really excited when I got home and A. had already prepped them! ...I could really get used to having a sous-chef :-)

I decided to combine with eggplant pomodori raviolis (eggplant, ricotta, basil, pine nuts, and sundried tomatoes!) from Brunos Raviolis that we bought at the Fulton St. market a few weeks ago. Because I wanted to taste the fava beans, and the raviolis already have so much flavor, I lightly sauteed them with olive oil and garlic, and topped with fresh Parmesan. An easy weeknight meal!

Raviolis are great because you can buy fresh at the farmers market, freeze for a couple of months, and have an instant meal any day of the week,

RAVIOLIS w/ SAUTEED GARLIC FAVA BEANS

1 pack raviolis

1 lb fava beans (this will five you about a cup of beans)

3 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic

lots of fresh parmesean

Prep fava beans by removing the beans from the pods and boiling in water for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and submerge the beans in ice water. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the outer skin from each bean. This will easily slide off and will remove the bitter flavor from the beans. Here's a picture: pods, skin, and beans

Cook raviolis per instructions. 6-8 minutes is usually enough. Drain.

Sautee chopped garlic in olive oil in a large skillet until lightly browned (a couple of minutes, not burnt!). Add the fava beans and stir. Add raviolis to the pan and add plenty of Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and serve!

Fresh from the Market:: Heirloom Tomato Pasta

Tomatoes have been showing up in my recipes the last couple of weeks, but I can't help it.  They are all over the farmer's markets, and deliciously sweet!  I came up with this recipe for a pound of heirloom tomatoes I picked up in Union Square last week.  

HEIRLOOM TOMATO PASTA

1 lb heirloom tomatoes (replace with cherry tomatoes if you can't find heirloom)

1 large carrot chopped (you also want it to be a paste - I put it in the food processor w/a little olive oil)

2-3 tbsp chopped up basil 

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup tomato juice

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 box pasta of choice

Total time: 30 minutes max!

Start boiling water for pasta (don't add oil, only salt, it should taste like sea water).

Cut the tomatoes in half.  In a large skillet, medium heat, saute garlic with plenty of olive oil to cover the entire pan. Be careful and don't burn the garlic. As soon as it starts to brown, add tomatoes.  Move the pan around s that the tomatoes get covered in olive oil and garlic.  Salt a bit. Add Carrot paste, tomato juice, and basil.  Add salt and pepper to taste (note: don't be scared to try your food through each step...it's the only way to know how much to add).  Turn heat to low and allow to simmer while pasta cooks and gets drained. This wont take long, the total time for this sauce is between 15-20 minutes.  The idea is that the tomatoes still retain their shape.

Cook pasta till it's al-dente. You'll know because when you taste it it should still have a bite. Drain.  Add a little olive oil to pasta and move into a large boil.

Remove sauce from heat and mix the sauce into the pasta.  Add plenty of parmessan. 

oh PS: if you haven't read French Women Don't Get Fat, you should. Written by Mireille Guiliano, the CEO of Veuve Clicqout, it's a quirky, entertaining, fast read highlighting the importance of eating seasonally.  ...She also says its ok to have a chocolate croissant for breakfast... Something I might have to do today :-) Happy Friday!