Roasted Beet Malfatti & Creamy Roquefort Sauce

I'm so happy to be doing another group post with Argentine flavor! The last time, we tackled a national specialty - the alfajor. This challenge is no easier and is just as emblematic. We're cooking gnocchi! Maybe gnocchi doesn't sound very Argentine to you, but this dish is actually so Argentine that it has its own day of the month. Each time the 29th rolls around you're sure to see restaurants full of diners with plates of gnocchi (or ñoquis, as they're known here). Why? Because it's Dia de los Ñoquis, or Gnocchi Day. Just as with the US, Argentina is a country of immigrants and this dish is strong reminder of European influence.

"Ñoqui" is also a slang word (from lunfardo) that is used to refer to someone who expects to get paid without actually doing any work. Think immigration office. (Ha! I probably shouldn't say that since I'm still waiting for my DNI to arrive.)

So, however you want to look at it,  happy pasta day or happy lazy day. Let's all forget work and eat pasta!

Here's what my fellow bloggers are making for Gnocchi Day:

• Aledys of From Argentina to the Netherlands for Love -- Gnocchi all a romana
• Katie of Seashells and Sunflowers -- Butternut squash and ricotta gnocchi, two ways
• Rebecca of From Argentina With Love -- Ricotta and potato gnocchi
• Paula of Bee My Chef -- Spinach gnocchi
• Ana of Ana Travels -- Arugula gnocchi with tomato sauce a la Ana

I really did attempt to make gnocchi but, as usual, I just don't have the patience for this dish and I ended up with malfatti (bigger gnocchi). Beet is not a traditional gnocchi flavor but I had to try something different -- and pink, apparently.

Roasted Beet Malfatti

Recipe seems to originally be from Bon Appetit. Also see Eat a Beet and The Fifth Tine

• 3 small beets (of which you will use 3/4 cup, grated)
• 450 grams (1lb) ricotta
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
• ~3/4 teaspoon salt (original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon)
• Pepper to taste (a few twists for me)
• 1 1/2 cups flour, divided + crap loads more for rolling

Wrap beets in tinfoil and roast at 200C/400F until tender 45-55 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes and peel skins off. Coarsely shred and measure out 3/4 cup and place in a large bowl. Stir in ricotta, egg, cheese, salt and pepper. Add 1 cup of flour -- it will look like that big pink blob, pictured above. At this point you're suppose to either lightly shape and roll into a log (which would be super long if you tried to do the whole thing) or roll each individual gnocchi in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. My dough soaked up all the flour on the counter and then asked for more. In total, I probably incorporated 1 1/2 cups into the dough and used another 1/2 cup just for rolling into logs, which I did in a few batches. This lead to malfatti. 

Anyway, cut one-inch pieces of the dough log to form each gnocchi. You're suppose to roll along a gnocchi board or fork to get those classic indentations, but this dough was too wet to roll so I just pressed it with a floured fork. I noticed that one of the other recipes just left the pieces as balls. Anyway, get it to whatever shape you can and then line them up on a baking sheet. I then popped them into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes and they came out easier to handle.

Creamy Roquefort Sauce

•  Drizzle of olive oil
• 1 big clove garlic, minced
• 28g (2T) butter
• 2 T flour
• 1 cup milk 
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• Pinch nutmeg & dried thyme
• 120 grams Roquefort or blue cheese, crumbled

Saute garlic in oil for one minute, add butter and melt. Add flour constantly whisking to create a roux and cook for 2 minutes. Add milk slowly while whisking to keep lumps from forming. (This never works for me in a pan that's not non-stick, so I add part of the liquid until it's warm and then remove to a bowl and whisk like crazy until dissolved, then return to the pan and continue adding liquid.) Stir in sour cream until melted. Once sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, add nutmeg, herbs and cheese and stir until melted. Taste and season with salt, if desired. (I went with a roux-based sauce instead of cream because of all the cheese in this recipe, but it would probably be amazing too.)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop in gnocchi in batches so that the pot doesn't get too crowded. Cook for 4 minutes - or until they float to the surface plus an additional minute. Remove from the water into the sauce. 

Don't stir it around too much or your sauce will turn pink. Whoops! Garnish with a handful of toasted walnuts and additional cheese. This recipe is quite rich so I used reduced-fat ricotta and sour cream. I'm not sure the ricotta was the best idea, as it was quite grainy - you may want to go with full-fat. Also, many ricotta gnocchi recipes suggest draining the ricotta and I would try that for this recipe too - perhaps it wouldn't require so much flour.

In the end, it was quite heavy but Guille loved it. He said it reminded him of when his mom would make gnocchi when he was younger. And she only makes it every 5 years. Smart lady. Gnocchi is exhausting...and now I'm going off to act like a ñoqui.

Macaroni & Cauliflower & Cheese

I had every intention of making a healthy mac and cheese, and I do think this is a pretty acceptable version, but I wouldn't insult you by saying it's good for you. It started, innocently enough, with this Eat Yourself Skinny recipe. But here's where I went wrong: there was no wheat pasta to be found (only the vegetable kind, which I'm not sure is any better and it didn't come in the right shape anyway) and we certainly don't have Smart Taste or whatever, and I didn't use reduced-fat cheese or fat-free half-and-half - because what the crap is that?? We may have a few reduced-fat cheese options but they're the shredded, processed kind that include additives. Fat-free half-and-half does not exist here and it's silly to think that it's an actual thing - it's full of corn syrup and artificial ingredients. So, I thought it best to use real cheese and milk. What this recipe does have going for it is cauliflower to replace some of the volume of pasta - so it is healthier compared to most versions. But let's be honest, the only way this is healthy is if you eat a small portion - like, smaller than the salad you'll serve next to it:

Mac & Cauliflower & Cheese

• 325 grams elbow macaroni (about 12 oz?)
• 1/2 large head cauliflower, chopped into florets
• 1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• ~ handful of parsley, chopped
• 4 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 115 grams/4 oz. Finlandia Light (reduced-fat cream cheese)
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar, gouda, or similar cheese, shredded (I used half gouda, half Tynbo)
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus a bit more
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• Few leaves of fresh basil, chopped
• Butter to coat pan

Butter a casserole dish and preheat oven to 375F/190C. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente - adding cauliflower for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Reserve ~1 cup pasta water and drain. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, 1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese and a shake of salt and pepper, set aside. Sauté onion in oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Mix in Finlandia, cheeses, the remaining 3 Tablespoons of Parmesan, milk, mustard, pepper, basil, macaroni and cauliflower, stirring until creamy and combined (about 1 minute), adding reserved pasta water as necessary - I added about 3/4 cup. Pour into prepared casserole dish and sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture. Bake for about 20 minutes. Note that the crumbs won't brown because there's no oil or butter in the topping. If desired, mist the crumbs with olive oil.

Sweet Noodle Kugel with Membrillo Jam

Whenever I describe my husband's Jewishness (or lack thereof) I say that he's Jewish, but the wrong half. This is incorrect, of course, because you're either in or you're out - based on your mother. My mother-in-law is not Jewish (well, actually, she is in the same 'wrong-half' way, as her father was Jewish) but my father-in-law is. This means that there is a long history of Jewish culture in the family, but no Jewish mothers with sacred recipes. Too bad, but at least Smitten Kitchen features an array of Jewish food. Celebrating the New Year with my great-uncle-in-law inspired me to figure something out so I cooked up a proper feast for Rosh Hashanah, I think.

There was challah, zucchini latkes, two kugels and an apple cake (and a chicken - not of my doing). Having no real experiences to go off of, I'd say it featured some traditional dishes but I have no idea how they compare amongst many other versions. It was mostly Smitten Kitchen recipes, since I trust her and I don't think she's trying to trick me. ahem.

So here's the most interesting part of it all - sweet noodle kugel (which my autocorrect seems to want to change to bugle). Really, I think this is a brunch food. It's super sweet and soufflé-like but it has freaking noodles in it. Still, it's almost like eating cake. I can't explain it, as it confuses me, but I keep eating it just to see if I can figure it out. I can't, but that's alright.

I replaced the cottage cheese with ricotta (based on availability) and I subbed-in some casan crem (sour cream). My recipe is also for half a batch - which was plenty because everyone else at dinner was just as confused as I was and ate small pieces of this sweet casserole. I added membrillo because our uncle remembered long ago eating a kugel his mother would make with layers of membrillo. I had no idea how to do that, so I swirled in some jam.

Sweet Noodle Kugel with Membrillo Jam
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

• 225 grams (1/2 pound) wide egg noodles
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar (I would probably reduce this by a Tablespoon or 2)
• 300 grams ricotta cheese
• 150 grams sour cream
• 85 grams (or 1 stick) butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• dash of salt
• 1/4 cup membrillo jam

Cook the noodles al dente, drain. In a large bowl, beat eggs until fluffy. Gradually add sugar, then the ricotta cheese, sour cream, butter, vanilla and salt. Stir in the drained noodles. Drop blobs of jam into the mixture and swirl with a knife. Pour into a greased 9x9 pan and bake at 350F/180C until kugel is set - mine took about 50 minutes but my oven runs hot.

No-Chicken Noodle Soup

As we shake off the last chill of winter, I'm finally getting around to cooking up some comfort food. Here's a vegetarian version of chicken noodle soup to see you through these last days of cold and flu season. Of course you could throw in some tofu in place of chicken, but I thought the simplicity of this recipe was its greatest strength. Well, that and the homemade noodles. 

No-Chicken Noodle Soup

adapted from Food Network with inspiration from The Pioneer Woman

(Double this recipe if you prefer more soup than noodles)

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1-2 ribs celery (I used 2), diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, smashed (and diced)
• 1 small onion (or 1/4 medium onion - 1/2 cup), diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• pinch of dried thyme
• 6-8 cups vegetable stock (or water and vegetable powder)
• pinch of turmeric
• pepper to taste
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, toss in all the veggies and season with salt and cook until tender (6-10 minutes, depending on the size of recipe you're making). Toss in thyme and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock or water+veggie powder, turmeric and pepper. Simmer for a little while (maybe 10 minutes) then bring to a boil before adding noodles.

Pasta Noodles

from The Pioneer Woman

(Serves 2)

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour

In a medium bowl, make a well in the center of the flour and crack in eggs. Slowly mix together with your hands. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until dough becomes smooth, adding flour as necessary (see Ree's photos for the perfect consistency). Let dough rest for a bit before rolling out. Roll onto a floured surface as thin as you can get it - the thinner the better. Cut thin noodles with a sharp knife or pizza wheel.

Add noodles to your boiling soup and cook for 2-5 minutes (depending on thickness) until noodles are cooked. Toss in some pepper and parsley. Add a squirt of lemon if you like. Of course, this is even better as leftovers.

Easy Peasy & Asparagus Pasta

This blogger has now gone where she had never gone before - the land of meat. Well, I didn't really go there but I looked up recipes for Guille, went shopping for prosciutto, and told him how to incorporate it into the recipe. So, I didn't actually touch it but I did cook next to it. Yeah, marriage!

Spring just arrived and brought along some lovely English peas and asparagus.

While my vegetarian version of this pasta was delicious, I'm sure that the prosciutto added an extra level of flavor that many others can appreciate.

Pea & Asparagus Pasta (Prosciutto optional)

Adapted from yumsugar

• 1 c. shelled fresh peas
• 1 bunch of asparagus (or 3/4 pound), cut on the diagonal into 2 cm pieces
• 2 1/2 cups dry bow-tie pasta
• 1 T. (15 g.) butter
• 1 T. extra virgin olive oil
• About 180 g. prosciutto, cut into ribbons (optional)
• 1 small onion (can use green onion or shallot)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• Big pinch of salt (not much needed if using prosciutto)
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (substitute with stock if you don't have any on hand)
• 1/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1-2 T. lemon juice (optional)
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the chopped asparagus. After 2 minutes, add the peas. Cook another 2-4 minutes - until the veggies reach your desired texture - they should be tender but still have some pop. Remove veggies using a slotted spoon and immediately place in a bowl of ice water to shock. Return the veggie water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente, reserve pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan (or 2 pans if you're making 2 versions), melt butter and oil over medium heat. If using prosciutto, add now and cook for 2 minutes. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender (5-8 minutes), add salt and pepper. If using wine, add and turn up heat to medium-high for 3 minutes, then reduce heat back to medium. Add stock, cream, peas, asparagus, parsley, and optional lemon juice (Gui did not want lemon added to his version). Toss to coat and add additional salt and/or pepper, if needed.

Add in the pasta and toss to coat. If needed, add as much pasta water as you like. Stir in parmesan cheese. Here are both of our pots - we split the recipe to make half in each (that's about 90 g. of prosciutto in Gui's pan):

Both of us ended up with leftovers - yum! If you're making the veggie version, I would add either wine or lemon juice (along with a little lemon zest) for flavor, as using just stock and cream will leave the flavor a little flat. The butter (double the oil) and cream (replace with stock or pasta water) can be left out for a healthier dish.

Since we used the same recipe to make 2 versions, all we needed was one extra pan to each get what we wanted. It seems there's room in the kitchen for both of our styles.

Pesto Pasta Salad

This is my second attempt at this summer salad, and it turned out exactly how I had hoped it would this time. However, the measurements are by no means exact, as I used the taste-and-season method.

The recipe is taken from elements in this basic pesto but I never seem to have enough basil for a classic pesto and G isn't a big fan of garlic. The idea is to include equal parts nuts and cheese with a double to quadruple amount of basil.

Here's a rough estimate of my ingredients:

• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 handful of Italian parsley
  
• 1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (pine nuts are nearly impossible to find down here)
• 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. mayonnaise
  
• 1 squeeze of lemon
• 1 generous pinch of salt (depending on saltiness of cheese)
  
• 3 turns of the pepper grinder
• 1 1/2-2 c. whole grain spiral pasta (I just dumped in what I had left - no exact idea)
• 1 1/2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 splash of pasta water

Boil pasta in salted water until cooked to your preference and drain, reserving a small amount of pasta water (I kept 1/2 c. to be on the safe side). Combine basil, parsley, nuts, cheese, salt and pepper in food processor and blend until the nuts are in tiny pieces. Add olive oil, mayo, and lemon juice and process until fully combined. In a large bowl, combine pasta and pesto, adding pasta water as necessary to evenly coat the pasta with the pesto. Stir in tomatoes. Super yum.

Hopefully my basil will grow enough to satisfy my need for pesto throughout the summer!

Turning a Side Dish into Dinner

To turn green beans with almonds into a main course, I tossed in a couple handfuls of wheat pasta - it goes well with these flavors.

Warning: if you like your beans crunchy, then you know how to alter.

• 3 c. fresh green beans, ends snapped off
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  
• 2 T. e.v. olive oil
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
• 3 handfuls of corkscrew wheat pasta (about 1 c.)
  
• 1/2 c. chopped almonds, toasted
  

Drop beans in well-salted boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can steam the beans). In the meantime, saute onion in oil, seasoning with salt, pepper, and additional seasonings such as Seasoned Salt (copycat recipe) or even a little veggie powder, until the onion begins to soften. Add pasta to boiling beans (or steaming water) and continue to cook until al dente. Add beans, pasta, and 1/4-1/2 c. bean/pasta cooking water to the onion and saute together for a few minutes, giving the flavors a chance to come together. Add more salt as needed, or choose to garnish it with parmesan cheese. Once most of liquid has evaporated, sprinkle almonds on top and serve.

If you're not a vegetarian, you would probably be interested in adding bacon or using bacon grease in this recipe!

Couscous with Roasted Vegetables

I don't know if I'm superstitious or pessimistic, but I'm completely paranoid about jinxing things these days. It seems that as soon as I put something out there, it gets flipped upside down. And so, I've been reluctant to blog about the wedding. You see, we set a date. A date that was all ours, to be remembered annually for the rest of our lives! But of course, within just days, we realized that we had to change it. And all for the better, actually. My mother is thinking about coming and might possibly bring the rest of my immediate family with her. The only problem is that we have to push the wedding back by more than a month. And so, while they figure out what their plans are, I'm on hiatus. I'm not planning one more single bit of this wedding until I know what to plan for. And, well, since I don't really have a goal date for my goal weight, I'm still lovin' on un-whole grains. The latest culprit? Couscous.

I found another "food browser" that helps me understand exactly what I'm eating. One cooked cup of couscous is a single serving with 176 calories. Mix it up with some roasted vegetables and you won't even need to eat that much.


Couscous with Roasted Vegetables
(serves 6)

• Approximately 6 cups of chopped veggies, which could include:
  
• 1 onion
  
• 1 red pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 small eggplant
• 1 carrot
• 1 c. mushrooms
• 1 small zapallito
  
• 1 c. broccoli
• olive oil
• S & P to taste, pinch of dried sage and oregano
  

• 1 cup quick cooking couscous
• 1 cup vegetable stock

• Parmesan cheese
• flat parsley

Chop veggies into small cubes and toss in a large bowl with enough olive oil to coat. Create a large tinfoil pouch for the veggies on top of a baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes at 180C (350F). Bring stock to a boil, stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat. Don't touch for 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork. You can stir in a handful of finely shredded cheese if you like.

Place couscous in the bottom of a serving dish and top with veggies. Dress with a drizzle of olive oil, a handful of shredded cheese, and parsley. Eat and then go out for a walk.

Complex Carbohydrates

Ok, I know that it doesn't seem like it, but I am trying to eat healthier in order to avoid a crazy last-minute diet before the wedding (why on Earth did I think that I could fit into a dress with a 24.5 inch waist?!?! Must be that I haven't been measured since high school). What I need, though, are the facts.

Yes, everyone knows that brown (meaning whole wheat) rice, bread, and pasta are much much better for you. But sometimes I don't wanna choke on all of that whole grain, getting those little indigestible bits stuck in the back of my throat. Yes, I will try to incorporate these into my cooking but since I'm not totally committed, let's evaluate their bleached and unhealthy counterparts, the white grains. Afterall, knowing is half the battle.

White Rice (1 Serving Size = 1 cup (165 g.) cooked)

Nutritional data and images courtesy of www.NutritionData.com

Pasta (1 Serving = 56 grams or 2 oz. dry - about 1 cup cooked)
It's always hard for me to judge how much uncooked pasta really is. But this handy website actually shows you what 200 calories looks like - that's 56 grams below. Their pic of 28g of butter is also a nice slap in the face.


Bread
I can clearly see how many calories are in each slice of bread by reading the nutrition label. But just because I only buy wheat bread doesn't mean that I've conquered bread nutrition. It's those baskets of free bread at restaurants that get me. Of course I'm starving and bored so I'm gonna eat that crummy (or sometimes very tasty) bread. But according to this, there are 140 calories in a white, crusty bread roll. No thanks! Take it away!

The best time to exercise off (and readily digest) carbohydrates is less than an hour after eating. Which means I'll probably be going back to the evening spinning class.

In my quest to develop a healthy lifestyle, I read that you should drink a glass of water when you wake up. Interesting...and perhaps an easy improvement. Let me know if you have any tips!

When Words Fail

Sometimes in life, unavoidable situations occur which make people sad. I don't usually know what to say in such situations. A sympathetic 'I'm so sorry' is about all I can muster.

And sad people don't really think about food or even remember that they are hungry. But they do have to eat something. This is where you can help them.

Casserole-giving isn't a tradition in such situations in Argentina, but if you get the chance, leaving some slices of banana bread or a few brownies on the table might help some sad nibblers. Without being too specific, Guille also decided to invite over our saddened loved ones for a casual lunch (and an opportunity for them to leave the house).

Although we live above a gourmet pasta shop, we thought it would be worth it to make homemade pasta, along with tomato sauce, in order to squeeze every bit of love and care into lunch. Nothing fancy, just food.


Guille brought home a retro pasta maker last week and I had no idea how simple it would be to actually make it work (I'm always underestimating him). But he made me delicious spaghetti last week in the time it took me to whip up a simple pesto.


And so, Guille got it out again to make fettuccine and zini shaped pasta for our lunch. This recipe makes enough for 2 conservative servings but it is easy to double, triple, quadruple...

Egg Pasta

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 T. water
• 1 T. oil

Whisk together flour and salt in large bowl. Add egg, water, and oil and stir until it comes together to form dough (adding additional flour as necessary). Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few minutes to bring it together.


At this point we push it into the pasta maker while turning the hand crank (but you can roll it out and cut into strips). It took us a while with this thing but our guests even jumped in to help, momentarily distracted. It only takes a few minutes to cook fresh pasta - drop it into boiling water with a drop of oil. In the end, shared effort and a shared meal resulted in full bellies. And when a sad person says 'I'm full,' and you know that it's true, those words mean more than anything in the world.

Guille's Tomato Sauce

• 2 T. evoo
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  
• 1 large carrot, shredded
• 1 med bell pepper, chopped
• 1 can peeled, diced tomatoes
• 1 Knorr veggie cube
  
• 2-3 cups water
• s & p to taste
• 1/2 T. freshly chopped basil
• 1/2 T. freshly chopped oregano

Saute onion and garlic in evoo over med high heat for 4 minutes. Stir in pepper and carrot, cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, 1 cup water, and veggie cube (or you could use 1 cups of veg stock). Season with s&p, drop heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding water (can use pasta water) every 5 minutes or so. Finally, stir in herbs and toss with cooked pasta.

There were leftovers, which Guille mixed with a couple dollops of Casancrem (not-so-sour cream), topped with shredded parm cheese, and baked for 10 minutes in a moderately hot oven.


To make brownies from scratch, follow Joy the Baker's recipe (I cut it in half and baked in a 7" round pan). You will never want to use a box again. Be sure to use quality cocoa powder - if you live in Argentina, that means you'll need to ask for it at a specialty cake store. I also left out the nuts and coffee, to create a simple chocolate brownie.

Fabulous Fideos

Corkscrew Pasta with Cremini Mushroom Sauce

This made a very hearty pasta, with a flavor as rich as french onion soup. The sauce is based on the one that tops this polenta, but is thinned out with extra liquid. (Always cook with wine that you would drink!)

• 200 g. corkscrew pasta
• 200 g. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 2 T. EVOO (and/or a butter/oil combo)
  
• 1 T. fresh rosemary, roughly chopped
• 1/2 c. white wine + more for drinking while cooking
  
• 1 c. vegetable stock
• 1/4 t. cornstarch, dissolved in 2 T. hot water
• S & P to taste
  
• Shredded parmesan cheese to top

Saute onion and garlic in oil over med heat until translucent (it helps to have a Guille tossing these for you like a pro).


Add mushrooms and rosemary and stir to coat. Reduce heat to low and saute for about 10 minutes - allow the mushrooms to brown and onions to slightly caramelize (see photo below, don't burn your camera) before adding wine, 1/2 c. stock, and cornstarch solution.


Simmer for 5-10 minutes, adding more stock as necessary for desired consistency and S&P to taste. Don't allow the liquid to cook out as in the polenta recipe. Combine with cooked pasta and top with cheese.


Variations on Pasta Primavera


Pasta Primavera is one of my favorite dishes and can be made with any assortment of veggies, but I always prefer that it include zucchini and fettucine. Typically, my recipe goes something like this:

• Saute 1 medium sliced onion and 1 clove garlic in EVOO for a few minutes
• Choose 3 or 4 veggies:
  
• carrots
• peppers
• zucchini
• yellow squash
• asparagus
• broccoli
• peas
• tomatoes
• Add the thickest vegetables (sliced thin) first to allow for more cooking time, simmer in water and/or veg stock (about 1-2 cups, adding more as necessary) for about 15 minutes
• Add al dente pasta and simmer together for a couple of minutes while the noodles finish cooking and the sauciness thickens
• Top with a TON of parm cheese

I also made a spiral noodle version with shredded carrots and zucchini and added cherry tomatoes when it was close to done. The veggies and cheese got into all the cracks and were delish!

Eggplant Parmesan

I only had one white eggplant on hand so I adapted this recipe and baked in a small casserole dish with only two layers of eggplant. It made about 5 servings.

• 1 eggplant, 1/2 inch slices (no need to salt a white eggplant, if using a darker one - sprinkle each slice generously and let set for 30-45 minutes, depending on size, rinse and pat dry)
• 1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1/2 t. dried oregano and a pinch of salt & pepper
  
• 1-2 c. bread crumbs
• 2 c. tomato sauce (I used Guille's famous sauce that we kept frozen)
• Mozzarella and parmesan cheeses
• Fresh basil to taste, shredded
  

Dredge eggplant slices through egg mixture and then bread crumbs. Bake in a single layer for 5 minutes on each side at 180C/350F. Cover bottom of casserole dish with sauce, top with a layer of eggplant slices, add basil and a layer of both cheeses. I used about 1 1/2 cups of grated parmesan cheese and 3 slices of some form of mozzarella. Repeat - sauce, eggplant, basil, cheese. Bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes.

The leftovers make for a very yummy sandwich!

Vegetarian Penne alla Vodka

Oh yes, friends. The mother of all pasta dishes. I feel like I can check this off of life's to-do list. I'd been eyeing the bottle of vodka for a while, waiting for my opportunity to cook up this specialty and a small dinner party gave me the chance to create my own version. This dish is unknown here so I felt free to play with the ingredients. Argentineans often add cream to pasta as a sauce but I need a little more than that. I had trouble finding a vegetarian (not vegan) recipe so I tweaked a few to come up with the following:

• 2 T butter
• 1 1/2 T olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  
• 2/3 c. vodka
• 1 c. tomato puree
• A couple of tomatoes (canned, whole, peeled) chopped up a little
  
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 2 T milk (2% or less, as you prefer)
  
• 1/2 t. salt + more for the pasta water
• ground pepper or crushed pepper flakes to taste
• a handful of basil
• 1/2 c. cheese + extra for table (of the parmigiano-reggiano variety - reggiantio would be great and cheaper, we used sardo)
• 400-450 g penne (1 lb)
  

Melt the butter and olive oil together over medium heat, add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes before adding the onion. Saute for 5 minutes (add red pepper flakes here and cook for at least 30 seconds) and add vodka (you probably want to take the pan off of the flame to avoid burning down the kitchen while you pour in the vodka), simmer on low for approximately 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mixture will get a little foamy and reduce by nearly half. Roughly chop and add a couple of canned, whole tomatoes and the puree, along with salt and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will look something like this:

You could stop here, cover the tomato mixture and continue when you're about 15 minutes away from serving time. Or just keep going... Add cream and milk (believe me, this is a smaller amount of cream than any recipe lists and it was just perfect. Simmer for 10 minutes while your penne cooks to al dente in salted water. Drain pasta and mix with sauce, cooking together another 5 minutes until the pasta is cooked to your taste. You may need to add a touch or water or a little puree. (You could also just fully cook the penne and then stir together with the sauce but it's really great if the flavor gets into the noodles.) Finally, mix in the cheese and serve, topped with shredded fresh basil.


Of course, this isn't figure friendly but I'm sure it's lighter than what I typically ate in restaurants AND it has all the flavor. This served 4 of us and was lunch for 2 today.