pasta Archives - Page 2 of 3 -

April 28, 2016

Swiss Chard, Fennel, and Sausage Pasta

Pasta makes an appearance at our dinner table usually about once a week, mostly because it’s simple and also because my kids make me feel like a hero whenever I announce pasta for dinner. I still remember the time when I served pasta tossed with a plain old jar of store-bought marinara sauce and my son declared it “my best meal EVER”. (Oh why do I even bother sometimes?!)

This pasta, while not quite as easy as opening a jar, has minimal preparation and comes together quickly on busy weeknights . I used some homemade tomato sauce that I still had frozen from last summer’s tomatoes, but you could easily substitute any purchased canned or jarred tomato sauce. Ricotta and parmesan mellow out the acidity of the tomatoes and the seasonings from the chicken sausage help to further flavor the sauce. I like my pasta heavy with vegetables so there are two whole bunches of swiss chard along with a large fennel bulb, although in the end I probably could have used even more after the vegetables cooked down. It’s a simple dinner, I know, but delicious just the same and it’s these one-pot meals that get me through the week.

September 10, 2015

Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Soup

Summer may be slipping away, but luckily sweet tomatoes are still around in great abundance at the farmer’s market. I was a little teary when I went to pick up our CSA share at the market this week without the kids. Every week this past summer they looked forward to market days– they loved seeing what various fruits were available and often I would let them pick out a pastry from one of the bakery stands. Now that they’re back at school, it seemed strangely quiet without them and I missed their help with hauling back our CSA share to the car. Last week’s share included over fifteen pounds of gorgeous tomatoes. We made plenty of salsas and salads, but even then we still ended up with so many tomatoes leftover needing to be used. The remaining went into a double batch of this creamy tomato basil soup which was enough for our dinner plus more to freeze. There’s just enough cream in this soup to add a bit of richness without it becoming overly heavy. Adding pasta makes it a bit more substantial and qualifies it as a main dish while the mozzarella and parmesan turn melty and irresistible on top of the hot soup. It’s the perfect way to use up all of those end-of-summer tomatoes.

March 20, 2015

Pantry Linguini with Clam Sauce

As much as I try to cook with the freshest possible ingredients, there are days when a trip to the store is long overdue and the refrigerator is sparse. Those are the days that call for pantry pasta dinners and this linguini with clam sauce is my son’s favorite. I am his hero whenever I make this. (As you can see from the photo, I actually used spaghetti since I didn’t have any linguine on hand, but calling it “spaghetti with clam sauce” didn’t quite have the same ring as “linguine with clam sauce.” ) Sometimes I wonder why I bother making more complicated meals when my kids are totally content with simplicity. I always make sure to keep my pantry stocked with several cans of canned clams just for days when I need to throw together a quick dinner. While nothing really beats the flavor of fresh clams, canned clams are still delicious and so much more convenient. The wonderful thing about this pasta is that if you have canned clams, white wine, and fresh parsley, you probably have everything else on hand to pull this together. I would not recommend substituting dried parsley for the fresh as the fresh parsley really adds a brighter flavor and a sprinkle of color. From start to finish, this meal takes 15 minutes tops to prepare. So many things to love about this pasta!

Pantry Linguini with Clam Sauce

Ingredients

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 6.5-ounce cans chopped clams
⅓ cup white wine
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
12 ounces linguine or spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
squeeze fresh lemon juice
extra chopped parsley for garnishing

Instructions

In a large pot or saute pan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper and stir for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add undrained clams and juice, wine, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add parsley and simmer for an additional minute.
Add noodles and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Toss and cook until heated through. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve with additional chopped parsley and crushed red pepper, optional.

Notes

adapted from Southern Living

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