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Trofie with pesto sauce
 Here
is a simple Italian recipe from Ligury. Note that pesto is always made
to taste, based on the ingredients at hand. So adjust the ingredients
to your taste.
Ingredients
Pesto Sauce
2 cups fresh basil leaves,
packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts or pine nuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions
If you are using walnuts
instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few
times a food processor. Combine the basil in with the nuts, pulse a few
times more. Add the garlic, pulse a few times more. Slowly add the
olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to
scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add
the grated Parmesan cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch
of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Add the cooked pasta
Trofie (made with water and flour).
Northern-Style Lasagna
 Ingredients
Meat Sauce:
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large carrots, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped.
1/2 pound lean (90%) ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
Béchamel Sauce:
4 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups whole milk
Cheese Filling:
8 ounces Fontina cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Pasta:
1 package (8 to 9 ounces)
oven-ready lasagna noodles (6 1/2" by 3 1/2" each)
Directions
1. Prepare Meat Sauce: In microwave-safe 1-cup liquid measuring cup,
heat 1/2 cup water in microwave oven on High 1 minute. Stir in porcini
mushrooms; let stand 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until hot.
Add garlic, carrots, and onion, and cook 15 minutes or until vegetables
are tender, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to high. Add beef,
pork, and veal, and cook 10 minutes or until meat is browned, breaking
up meat with side of spoon.
3. While meat is browning, with slotted spoon, remove porcini mushrooms
from soaking liquid, reserving liquid. Rinse mushrooms to remove any
grit, then coarsely chop. Strain soaking liquid through sieve lined
with paper towel.
4. Add wine to meat in skillet and heat to boiling; boil 2 to 3 minutes
or until most of liquid evaporates. Stir in tomatoes with their juice,
salt, and mushrooms with reserved soaking liquid; heat to boiling.
Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until sauce
thickens slightly, stirring occasionally.
5. Preheat oven to 375° F. Prepare Béchamel Sauce: In 2-quart saucepan,
melt margarine over medium heat. With wire whisk, stir in flour,
pepper, salt, and nutmeg, and cook 1 minute. Gradually add milk and
heat to boiling, stirring frequently with whisk to prevent lumping.
Remove saucepan from heat; set aside. In small bowl, stir Fontina and
Parmesan until well combined.
6. Assemble lasagna: Spoon 1 cup Meat Sauce evenly in bottom of 13" by
9" glass baking dish. Arrange 4 noodles over sauce, overlapping
slightly and making sure they do not touch sides of dish. (If your
package of lasagna noodles has only 12 noodles, use 3 noodles per layer
and do not overlap them.) Spoon about 1 1/2 cups Meat Sauce over
noodles. Spread about 2/3 cup Béchamel Sauce over meat; sprinkle with
about 1/2 cup Cheese Filling. Repeat layering 3 more times, beginning
with remaining noodles, then meat sauce, béchamel, and cheese.
7. Cover lasagna with foil, preferably nonstick, and bake 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through and
cheese is lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes for easier serving.
Spring Ramen Chicken Soup
 Ingredients
5 cups water
2 packages (3 ounces each) chicken-flavor or Oriental-flavor ramen
noodle soup mix
6 ounces snow peas (about 2 cups)
2 green onions
1 large carrot
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Directions
1. In 4-quart saucepan, heat water with seasoning packets from ramen
soup mix to boiling over high heat. Meanwhile, remove strings from snow
peas and cut each diagonally in half. Slice green onions and shred
carrot. Cut chicken into 3/4-inch pieces. Break ramen noodle block into
2 layers.
2. When water mixture boils, add snow peas, green onions, carrot,
chicken, and noodles. Cook 3 to 5 minutes over high heat or until
chicken just loses its pink color throughout. Remove saucepan from
heat. Stir in sesame oil.
Shrimp and Rice
Casserole
 A
classic southern dish that's a snap to make - just add uncooked
aromatic rice to sautéed vegetables and fresh shrimp, then bake.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons margarine or
butter
2 medium celery stalks, cut lengthwise in half, then thinly sliced
crosswise
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)
2 cups aromatic rice, such as Texmati
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, with tail part of
shell left on if you like
1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and sliced
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, melt
margarine over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and green pepper, and
cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently.
2. Add garlic, thyme, nutmeg, and ground red pepper; cook 1 minute,
stirring.
3. Add uncooked rice, shrimp, clam juice, salt, bay leaf, and 3 cups
water; heat to boiling over high heat. Cover and bake 30 minutes or
until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.
4. To serve, discard bay leaf. Top with sliced tomatoes.
Penne with Salmon and Asparagus
 A
tarragon-infused broth and sautéed shallot add zip to this classic
seafood and vegetable combination.
Ingredients
1 package (16 ounces) penne rigate or bow-tie pasta
Salt
3 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound medium asparagus, trimmed and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 large shallot, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 piece salmon fillet (16 ounces), cut crosswise into thirds, then cut
lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Directions
1. In large saucepot, prepare pasta in boiling salted water as label
directs.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil over
medium-high heat until hot. Add asparagus, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon
salt, and cook 5 minutes or until asparagus is almost tender-crisp. Add
shallot and remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil; cook 2 minutes longer,
stirring constantly. Add wine; heat to boiling over high heat. Stir in
chicken broth and heat to boiling. Place salmon slices in skillet;
cover and cook until salmon turns opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove
skillet from heat; stir in tarragon.
3. Drain pasta; return to saucepot. Add asparagus mixture; toss well.
Basic Risotto
Ingredients
Serves 6.
approx. 1 litres
stock (chicken, fish or vegetable as appropriate)
1 tablespoon olive
oil
3 shallots or 2
medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic,
finely chopped
1/2 a head of
celery, finely chopped
400g risotto rice
2 wine glasses of
dry white vermouth (dry Martini or Noilly Prat) or dry white wine
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
70g butter
115g freshly grated
Parmesan cheese
Directions
1.Heat the stock. In
a separate pan heat the olive oil, add the shallots or onions, garlic
and celery, and fry slowly for about 4 minutes. When the vegetables
have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat.
2.The rice will now
begin to fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly
translucent. Add the vermouth or wine and keep stirring - it will smell
fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavors will evaporate and leave the rice
with a tasty essence.
3. Once the vermouth
or wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and
a good pinch of salt. Turn down the heat to a highish simmer so the
rice doesn't cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of
stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch from the rice,
allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will
take around 15 minutes. Taste the rice - is it cooked? Carry on adding
stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don't forget to
check the seasoning carefully.
4. Remove from the
heat and add the butter and Parmesan. Stir gently. Place a lid on the
pan and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. This is the most important part
of making the risotto, as this is when it becomes outrageously creamy
and oozy like it should be. Eat as soon as possible while the risotto
retains its perfect texture.
Risotto of radicchio,
smoky bacon, rosemary and red wine
 Ingredients
Serves 6.
1 x basic risotto
recipe
3 wine glasses of
your favorite full-bodied red wine
10 rashers of smoked
streaky bacon, finely sliced
olive oil
2 heads of
radicchio, trimmed and finely sliced
1 handful of fresh
rosemary
1 small knob of
butter
Directions
Add the red wine in place
of the vermouth or white wine at Stage 2 of the basic risotto recipe.
Fry your bacon in a little olive oil until slightly golden. Add the
radicchio and rosemary to the pan with a small knob of butter and cook
gently with the lid on until wilted. At the start of Stage 3 stir in
the bacon, radicchio and rosemary.
Prawn and pea risotto with
basil and mint
 Ingredients
Serves 6.
1 x basic risotto recipe
3 good handfuls of fresh
peas, podded
1 knob of butter
455g raw prawns peeled
1 handful of fresh basil,
chopped
1/2 a handful of fresh
mint, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Fry half the peas in a
good knob of butter and a little stock. Cook until tender and mash. Add
this at the end of Stage 3 of the basic risotto recipe with the prawns
and the rest of the peas and simmer for 2 minutes - prawns and peas
take no time to cook. At Stage 4 throw in the fresh herbs and squeeze
in the lemon juice. Stir and serve immediately. Drizzle with really
nice peppery extra virgin olive oil.
Go Up
(source of the article are several websites, the
books 'The best of Thai dishes', Sisamon Kongpan, Sangdad Books;
'Lemongrass and Lime – New Vietnamese Cooking', Mark Read, Simon &
Schuster; 'Step by step Sushi', Katsuji, Yamamoto/Roger W. Hicks,
Quantum Books;
'The return of the naked
Chef', Jamie Oliver, Penguin Books) |
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