Category: Pasta

Warm Kale Pesto Pasta by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

There’s a big, wide world of uncooked kale recipes out there. And I readily admit to not liking raw kale, it’s way too chewy for me. I do however, both cook with and eat kale: I chiffonade it (thin slivers) and add it to soups, I sauté it with shallots or onions and make a frittata and am fond of thin slivers of kale added to my Italian-style green beans which I slow simmer in tomato sauce. I eat my kale cooked.

A couple of weeks ago, I started coming across multiple recipes for Kale Sauce Pasta and was curious. The recipes called for removing the kale from the stem and cooking it in in boiling salted water until tender. It was then drained and pureed with delicious ingredients, like parmigiana cheese and extra virgin olive oil. Most of the recipes were attributed to Josh McFadden, an Oregon Farm-to Table Chef and author Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables. In turn, he attributes his Kale Sauce Pasta recipe to the very famous River Café in London. And someday I will dig through my piled boxes of stored cookbooks and find the original inspiration (recipe), but until then…..

N’casciata: Sicilian Baked Eggplant Pasta by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

I read cookbooks and I read mysteries.   And it’s a bonus when the mysteries reveal a few great meals!                                                                   

One of my favorite series, written by the late Andrea Camilleri, is set in a fictional Sicilian coastal town.  The protagonist, Inspector Salvo Montalbano fervently anticipates each meal and eats with gusto and complete concentration (no talking!). This pasta dish is often prepared by the faithful Adelina, his long-time housekeeper.  Adelina prepares traditional Sicilian recipes and is very proud that Salvo so enjoys her cooking.  The title, ‘n’casciata’, describes a baked pasta dish ‘encased’ (n’casciata) in layers of fried eggplant.  I have, with my sincere apologies to Adelina, lightened and simplified this classic:  the eggplant is not sliced and fried, but is diced, coated in olive oil and roasted in the oven AND I have swapped out the labor-intensive traditional beef ragu with a store-bought marinara. (I always use RAO’S marinara sauces; both the flavor and texture are close to homemade.)

I’m confident Salvo would enjoy my version as well.

Ode to Rome: Pasta Cacio e Pepe By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

This is a quick and simple and delicious pasta dish from Rome.  Long strands of pasta are coated with a cheese & butter sauce.  Traditionally made with only sheep’s milk pecorino cheese; I have added a bit of Parmigiana to soothe the American palate. It adds a bit of sweetness to temper the tang of the pecorino.  And -  this recipe uses very few ingredients and can be made in one pot!

Fideos: Spanish-style Toasted Noodles with Poached Shrimp & Romesco Sauce By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

‘Fideos’ is both a dish from Spain and a short, spaghetti-like noodle that is usually toasted.  Toasting gives the noodles a warm golden color and a deep rich flavor.  And it is very easy to accomplish in your home kitchen.

The recipe includes a simple and quick-cooking shrimp stock.  Both the toasted noodles and the peeled shrimp are cooked in this broth which builds in a supporting layer of flavors to the finished dish.

A traditional Catalan sweet red pepper sauce, Romesco*, adds body and a bright punch of flavor to the finished dish.

Mac n’ Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower, Scallions and Bacon by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

Cauliflower is now a mainstream vegetable!
At our Prepared Foods counter, I am surprised (and impressed) at our Millennial customers’ whole-hearted embrace of all kinds of vegetables. Their mothers were so successful at getting them to eat their vegetables that they continue to do so long after they have left the nest (and moved into South Boston).
This recipe ‘embraces’ roasted cauliflower. Roasting cauliflower is a game-changer; roasting expresses cauliflower’s hidden sweetness without the ‘cruciferous stink’ associated with boiling or steaming the vegetable. The cauliflower is then cooled, chopped into smaller pieces and folded into the
mac n’ cheese base, adding texture and earthiness to the finished dish.