De Ma Cuisine

Pasta Archive

Thursday

5

December 2013

2

COMMENTS

Orzo Pasta with Kale and Italian Sausage – In the Kitchen with Rachel O – Video

Written by , Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Herbs, In the Kitchen with Rachel O, Main Dishes, Meat, Pasta, Pork, Quick and Easy, Sausage, Vegetables

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Something weird happened. I discovered that I’d never tried Orzo pasta. What?! Why!? Don’t worry, I rectified it. I need to issue an apology to Orzo pastas everywhere. I was sticking to my usuals: rotini, penne, and spaghetti. I can’t believe I was missing out for all these years.

Now I know.

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We’re getting in to the season of greens. Hooray! Yippee! Let’s rejoice! I love to eat greens. I love beet greens, collard greens, and kale. Spinach is awesome, mustard greens are spicy-good, and swiss chard is pretty looking and tastes great.

They’re packed with nutrients (hello vitamins A and C, calcium and magnesium, potassium and folic acid*). They are so easy to make (hello salads, wilted or sautéed, and in a frittata). And, they taste really good.

I like to eat greens just about any way I can think to make them. Add them to a soup? Yes! Bake them and make chips? Please! Purée them and make pesto? Obviously! And then there’s one of my super favorite ways: wilted. Wilted wilted wilted.

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Let’s talk about a spicy sausage that you can feel good about eating. Llano Seco makes an amazing Italian Sausage. How cool that they treat their little piggies so well. Why can’t all meat farmers do this? Use it if you can. Trust me on this one. (Oh and while you’re at it, you might as well buy some bacon, and ham, and Argentine sausage… ok just buy everything. This is seriously tasty pork.)

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It’s a simple meal, with honest, delicious ingredients. Cream, sausage, greens, pasta… you’re done. It will be ready in a flash. Oh this is gonna be good!

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Happy Eating!

Orzo Pasta with Kale and Italian Sausage
Recipe Type: Main Dishes, Dinner, Pasta, Vegetables, Sausage, Meat, Pork, Greens, Stove Top, Quick and Easy
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1/2 lb. orzo pasta (dry)
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 2 Italian sausages, sliced into rounds
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, diced
  • 2 bunches kale, sliced into ribbons
  • 1/4 t red pepper flakes
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/4 t pepper
  • 1/4 t thyme
  • 1/2 C pasta water
  • 1/4 C cream
  • 1/4 C parmesan cheese, grated, for topping
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta. Reserve 1/2 C pasta water.
  2. Heat skillet. Add oil. When oil is hot, add sausages. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
  3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add garlic, seasonings, and half of the kale. Using tongs, pull up from bottom and toss, letting kale wilt. As it decreases in volume add more. Turn to low and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
  4. Remove from heat. Add pasta water and cream. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
  5. Serve kale mixture over or tossed with pasta. Top with parmesan cheese.

Sources: (*) Nutrition Almanac, 2002‚ Lavon J. Dunne.

Thursday

21

November 2013

0

COMMENTS

Mac and Cheese with Roasted Veggies – In the Kitchen with Rachel O – Video

Written by , Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, In the Kitchen with Rachel O, Lunch, Pasta, Roasting, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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I’ve said it time and time and time and time again. Pasta is one of my go-to meals for a quick and easy dinner. It has come to the rescue many times. It just happens, doesn’t it? The dinner hour arrives and there’s nothing to eat… dun dun dun.

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Usually my solution is to boil some salted water for pasta and sauté some veggies. But, this time, I thought that it might be nice to get a little more creative.

One of my favorite, all time best, totally the yummiest ways to eat veggies is when they are roasted. Don’t even get me started on how they taste… Ok do. They get kinda sweet, a bit nutty, crispy outside, tender inside. I can eat a whole pan by myself. No joke. I usually make extra because I know how much I want on my plate, and I know that I have to share with Tim. Yes, I’m selfish that way. I don’t like to share my roasted veggies.

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I liked shells for this dish, but I think elbows would be delicious, rotini could be amazing, maybe even orzo would be good… You get it. Use the pasta that you and your family love best. I just like the shells because the sauce seems to get trapped and makes each bite so much yummier. Oh, and also, they’re multi-colored and they look fun.

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Maybe it’s a pasta night tonight. There are endless ways to make it great.

Happy Eating!

Mac and Cheese with Roasted Veggies
Recipe Type: Main Dish, Pasta, Cheese, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Roasting, Stove Top, Oven
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 small head garlic, top sliced off
  • drizzle of olive oil (for garlic)
  • 3 C summer squash, cut into large chunks
  • 1 1/2 C tomato, cut into large chunks
  • 1 C onion, cut into large chunks
  • olive oil (for veggies)
  • salt (for veggies)
  • pasta
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 T all purpose flour
  • 2 C milk
  • 1/2 C pasta water
  • 1 to 1 1/2 C cheese (pepper jack and parmesan)
  • to taste, salt
  • to taste, pepper
  • 1 t unsalted butter
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 375F.
  2. Drizzle garlic with olive oil and wrap in foil. Place on a baking sheet a roast for 15 minutes.
  3. Toss veggies with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add to garlic baking sheet and continue to bake for about 25-30 minutes more.
  4. Cook pasta, reserving 1/2 C starchy water for sauce before draining.
  5. Heat a medium pot. Add 2 T olive oil. When hot, whisk in flour. Cook for 30-60 seconds. Slowly add milk, a little at a time, whisking and letting it thicken between additions. Heat until steam rises, but do not boil (sauce may break). Add pasta water.
  6. Remove from heat and whisk in cheese, a bit at a time. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Mash 6 cloves of roasted garlic and whisk into sauce. Stir in butter. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
  8. Combine pasta with veggies and sauce. Let it stand a few minutes before serving.

 

Wednesday

16

October 2013

5

COMMENTS

It’s a Tuna Mac!

Written by , Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Fish, Main Dishes, Meat, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Vegetables

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I love to make something fancy-ish for dinner. It’s fun for me. Buuut, there are some days when I need something simple.

Those are the nothing’s working, I’ve been up since 5am, woe to me days.

Thank goodness for Mac and Cheese… with tuna… and peas.

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Husband and I are both big fans of this meal. Yet, it’s another one that I didn’t think I liked. What’s wrong with Shepherd’s Pie and Tuna Mac, younger self? I think we need to have a talk (and yes, then we can have a conversation about time travel and whether or not it’s possible… I’m of the school that it’s not, although I don’t mind shows and movies where they think it is… Tuna Mac to time travel… cool).

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This dish is also affectionately known as Tuna Casserole. I’ve been avoiding those words. They have negative connotations. Right?

Push those aside and give it a try.

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And hope tomorrow is a much better day.

Happy Eating!

Tuna Mac
Recipe Type: Main, Dinner, Pasta, Fish, Cheese, Stove Top, Vegetables
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
  • pasta, enough for 2-4 people
  • 1/2 T olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 medium zucchini, diced
  • 1/2 t salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 C peas (frozen are fine)
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 T all purpose flour
  • 1 C (or more) milk
  • 1/4 C pasta water
  • 1 to 1 1/2 C cheese, grated
  • 1 – 0.5oz. can tuna, drained
Instructions
  1. Cook pasta.
  2. Heat pot. Add 1/2 T oil. Add onion, zucchini, and salt. Cook over medium-low for 5-7 minutes, or until veggies are soft.
  3. Add peas. Cook 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add 2 T olive oil and flour to pot. Whisk together and cook for 30 seconds. Slowly add milk, a little bit at a time, whisking and letting it thicken between additions. Add pasta water and tuna. Heat until steam rises from the pot, but do not boil.
  5. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, a bit at a time.
  6. Taste and adjust seasoning.

 

Friday

27

September 2013

2

COMMENTS

Sweet and Spicy Lemongrass Stir Fry

Written by , Posted in Dinner, Herbs, Lunch, Main Dishes, Pasta, Quick and Easy, Vegetables, Vegetarian

SweetSpicyLemongrassStirFry5We ate this for lunch today. Husband is home sick, so he’s been laying around while I work. Today’s work included making a stir fry so I could take pictures of it. After a few bites he exclaimed, “THIS IS LITERALLY PERFECT”. I had to agree.

I’m not sure what I like the most about this stir fry. I don’t know if it’s the hint of spicy that’s behind the sweet gingery sauce. It could be the tender-crisp veggies that are so hot but still bright green. Or maybe it’s the time it takes to prepare this dish from start to finish.

Or… it might be the excitement about finally finding a way to use lemongrass. Even after all these years of getting a weekly box from Abundant Harvest Organics, there are still vegetables that I don’t know what to do with. I was going to make a stir fry anyways, and when I opened the box and saw those lemony sticks sitting in there, it just made sense.

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So, I did a little research and figured out how to use it. There are some parts that you don’t want to eat, those could be saved for soups or a creative cocktail. Personally, I think I could just keep a split stalk around me all the time so I could smell it whenever I wanted to. Wow. With all the synthetic fragrances out there, I’m not sure that there’s anything that I’d rather smell than things like lemongrass, basil, or garlic. I’ll take those over an eau de something fake any day. Smell your food, friends. It’s too good to just eat… I think I will use the top portion for soup (which might be what we’re having for dinner – sickness just seems to need soup). I think it would be lovely in a vegetable broth with some zucchini, peas, carrots, ginger, and noodles. I also have plans to make up some sort of cocktail with it. There will be ginger involved. Ginger and lemongrass seem to be good friends. Or maybe I’ll just keep making this stir fry over and over and over again.

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I hope you make this stir fry. We really enjoyed it. And however you use the rest of the stalk of lemongrass, remember to smell it first. For real.

Happy Eating!

Print
Sweet and Spicy Lemongrass Stir Fry

Yield: 2

Sweet and Spicy Lemongrass Stir Fry

Ingredients

  • Soba noodles
  • 1 T coconut oil
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 medium summer squash, julienned
  • 1 serrano pepper, seeds and ribs removed, minced
  • 1-2 T prepared lemongrass
  • 2 lg cloves garlic, sliced
  • Sauce: 1 T cornstarch
  • 1/2 C cold water
  • 1/2 T red wine vinegar
  • 2 T white vinegar
  • 1 T honey
  • 1/2 t ginger, dried
  • to taste, salt

Instructions

  1. Boil salted water.
  2. Whisk together sauce ingredients. Set aside.
  3. Add pasta to boiling water. When cooked (takes about 4 minutes), drain, toss with a bit of coconut oil, and keep warm.
  4. Prepare lemongrass: Chop off top and bottom of stalk (use only bottom 3-4 inches of stalk). Peel and discard tough outer layers. Mince tender inner layers.
  5. Heat skillet and add oil. When hot add broccoli, squash, chili pepper, and lemongrass. Cook over medium to high heat, using tongs to turn veggies often. After 3 min add garlic and cook 1 min more (or until veggies are tender crisp).
  6. Pour sauce into skillet. Toss with veggies and let it thicken, about 1 minute.
  7. Serve veggies over pasta.
http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/sweet-and-spicy-lemongrass-stir-fry/

Friday

13

September 2013

3

COMMENTS

Saving Dinner – Rotini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Written by , Posted in Beef, Cheese, Dinner, Fruit, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Meat, Pasta, Sauces, Thoughts, Vegetables

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Picture this: You’ve had a long day. You’re tired, kinda grumpy, and gosh you’re hungry. Maybe you’re cooking for 1, maybe it’s for 7… and you don’t have dinner planned. Does this ever happen to anyone else? No? Just me? That’s ok. Because I almost always have pasta on hand.

Add to it a bit of tomato sauce, some fresh veggies, and you’ve got dinner. If you have ground beef, that’s a bonus. If not, don’t worry. I think you’ll be just fine.

Maybe you haven’t made it to the store yet this week. You’ve got some cheese and veggies, but no tomato sauce in the pantry. I’ve got you covered. Sauté some veggies (the ones from this recipe if you have them, minus the tomatoes). Once they’re cooked, remove them from the pan. Then make a béchamel sauce (fancy sounding way to say a white sauce): add 2 T olive oil to a pan, heat it until it shimmers, then add 2 T all purpose flour and whisk. Cook for about 30-60 seconds, then slowly add some milk (1 to 2 C should do), whisking and letting it thicken between additions. Let it heat up, but don’t boil (the sauce may break) – just heat until steam rises. Remove from the heat and whisk in 1/2 to 1 C cheese, a little at a time. (You could add the fresh tomatoes now. Just let them warm through.) Add your sautéed veggies, some salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings.

Or, you could do both… I call it Spaghetteroni and Cheese. It’s any sort of pasta with tomato sauce that gets topped with cheese sauce. In our home, we think it’s crazy good.

I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of these options. And I’m not sure if I can choose a favorite. But, if I’m going with easiest, this Rotini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce is super simple and doesn’t take too long to go from starving to eating.

Dinner is saved.

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Leftovers can be frozen, so don’t be shy about making a double or even triple batch. Store a few single servings in freezer-safe containers – they’ll be great for lunches if you’re tired of PB&J (I mean, who doesn’t love PB&J?! I do, but it can get old…). I don’t know that I’d recommend freezing the pasta, but you could make enough for dinner and for everyone to take some for lunch the next day. The sauce would also be delicious over top of some Roasted Summer Squash (toss thinly sliced squash with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly crispy), mixed in with a roasted spaghetti squash, as Stuffed Tomatoes (heat sauce, hollow out large tomatoes, fill with sauce, serve topped with parmesan cheese), or mixed with rice to stuff a Zoo Boat (Stuffed Summer Squash)… the possibilities are endless!

Aaaand now I’m craving PB&J.

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Happy Eating!

Print
Rotini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Yield: 4

Rotini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1 T olive oil (opt.)
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 2 small zucchini, chopped
  • 3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped (opt)
  • 1 carrot, grated (opt)
  • 3 cloves garlic, diced
  • Salt, to taste
  • Pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 t dried savory
  • 1/2 t dried Parsley
  • 1/2 t dried basil
  • 1/4 t dried oregano
  • Pinch coriander
  • 1 T balsamic vinegar
  • 2 T lemon juice, divided
  • 2-3 8oz cans tomato sauce
  • 1/2 C pasta water
  • 1/2 pkg rotini rice pasta (or your favorite kind of pasta)
  • Parmesan cheese, grated, for topping

Instructions

  1. Cook beef. Remove from pan and set aside. Wipe out pan if desired.
  2. (If pan has been wiped out, add 1 T olive oil. Let it get hot.) Add veggies and some salt. Cook over medium-low heat until tender, 10 min or so.
  3. Add seasonings, balsamic vinegar, 1 T lemon juice, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 min.
  4. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  5. Before draining pasta add 1/2 C pasta water to tomato sauce and stir in. Add 1 T lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
  6. Top pasta with sauce and some parmesan cheese.
http://www.de-ma-cuisine.com/saving-dinner-rotini-pasta-with-fresh-tomato-sauce/

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