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Category Archives: Pasta and Noodles
Hay Hay it’s Donna Day and Jo of Have Fork Will Travel was the winner of last month’s HHDD Challenge. Jo will be our hostess for this month’s challenge and she has picked the perfect dish to help keep those Halloween Vampires away, a creamy pasta recipe. To read more about this dish and to get the recipe please visit Have Fork Will Travel.
To read learn about this Donna Hay event (HHDD) as well as a list of the rules for this challenge, please click here. The deadline for getting your entry in for this challenge is October 31st.
Looking forward to seeing your ghoulish dishes.
Homemade semolina pasta with a simple fresh tomato sauce make an easy dinner that will please even the pickiest eaters.
A couple months ago Lori over at the Recipe Girl and I were tweeting about simple food that we sometimes forget about. The first one that came to mind for me, is a simple tomato sauce, that I use to make very often when I needed a quick meal after a long day. I have put that conversation and that recipe in the back of mind for an evening when we would need an easy dinner.
We have been traveling for the past three weeks (stop awwwing for us, it was all work) and have been locked in conference rooms where most of our meals have been dried out sandwiches or buffets of fried food and limp veggies. I have been dying to get back in the kitchen and even more so we have been dying for a good meal. I stopped by the market on my way home from work and picked up some Dirty Girl Dry Farmed Tomatoes, a baguette and a bottle of wine. Rest of the meal would be found in the pantry at home.
Some of you may be wondering what dry farmed tomatoes are? I discovered dry farmed tomatoes a couple years ago and have never looked back, in all honesty, I even look forward to these little gems more than their cousins the heirloom tomatoes. Dry farming is a waterless method of growing tomatoes which will only produce about 1/3 as many but the end result is a tomato that is dense and packed with flavor, not to mention the deep red color. As soon as I see the first ones in the markets, I am buying them all the time. At the close of the season, I purchase a big bag of them and freeze them whole. They are a wonderful addition to toss into a sauce, stew or soup.
Now back to dinner …… We got hooked on fresh pasta a couple months ago, after purchasing a pasta machine when we were in Montreal. We used it very often before it gave out on us after the 5 time of using. Finally upgraded last month and purchased the pasta attachments for the KitchenAid, love it! For this meal, I made a simple pasta dough out of some semolina flour, olive oil and organic eggs. While the dough was resting, I combined the tomatoes with lots of fresh garlic and a sprinkle of Maldon salt and then let it do it’s thing, while I rolled pasta. The attachments are so easy to use and you can have fresh pasta in less than an hour, I cannot believe we waited so long before purchasing!
Once the pasta was cooked (and fresh pasta only takes minutes) and drained, I tossed it with handfuls of fresh basil from the garden, a drizzle of olive oil, a generous grind of fresh black pepper and the fresh tomato sauce – Delicious!
Recipe: Homemade Fresh Tomato Sauce
1 lb fresh tomatoes, used dry farm tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
maldon salt, sprinkle
olive oil, drizzle
basil, handful, sliced thinly
Roughly chop tomatoes and put into a bowl. Add the garlic, sprinkle with salt and let sit for at least 30 minutes, the longer the better. Gently heat before serving, only until heated through. Cook favorite pasta, drain, add basil, olive oil and tomatoes. Toss. Serve. Eat.
Pillows of creamy homemade ricotta has been lightly scented with fresh herbs, with a small hidden surprise, is nestled between layers of fresh homemade semolina pasta and then gently cooked before being sprinkled with fresh black truffles.
 
I imagine everyone has been touched at least once in their lives by cancer. I knew people who were dealing with it, when I was growing up, but it really did not hit me until a few years ago, when my friend Dawn, was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I was devastated. This was not suppose to happen to someone so young, let alone someone you love! Then a few years back, almost at the same time I started this site, I met Barbara of Winos and Foodies and through her I met Jen of Use Real Butter, two more amazing women who were battling cancer. Each of their stories touched me in so many different ways, I wept with each word, I smiled at how strong they were and I shared with Lenny, daily, how amazing I thought each of them was. During this time I was dealing with something that we were not sure what it was and cancer was definitely an option during the 6 month testing process. Always in the back of my mind, I told myself, that Dawn, Barbara and Jen were survivors and that if they had the courage, I could battle anything and that this was only going to be a bump in the road. I was lucky as the outcome was not cancer but rather premature menopause; but it was these three amazing women that helped build the strength in me, during a time when I needed it. I thank you each for being who you are and how extraordinary you make every day! Since this time we have had a few more friends who have been diagnosed with different forms of cancer and each time we are left speechless and saddened. But, each person fights it and ends up being a stronger person for the courage and strength they used during this battle, we admire you for this and want you to know we are there for each of you!
In honor of the LiveSTRONG event, Barbara sent us an email asking us to participate, of course we said yes. I am always honored when she asks us to be part of her events. I knew that I was going to make one of our favorite dishes homemade Raviolis with egg; but, I did not know until Sunday morning that I would include homemade ricotta. I sent out a tweet asking if anyone had a recipe for ricotta and Holly of Holly Hadsell-El Hajji was the first to respond with her recipe. It is so easy, so easy in fact, I will never buy ricotta again. It was the icing on the cake for this ravioli recipe. I seasoned the ricotta with fresh thyme and oregano as well it had a slight floral taste to the cheese, due to the fresh Meyer lemon juice I used to make it. We made our own semolina pasta, using the newest addition to our KitchenAid family, the pasta roller. It made life so much simpler and we were able to make a thinner pasta, which was perfect for this ravioli. Inside each little pillow of ricotta, we put a raw egg yolk and then we gently cooked them just until the pasta was al dente and the yolk still runny. Topped off with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh black truffle! An amazing meal for an amazing cause – Thank You Barbara!
Recipe: Homemade Ricotta
Easiest spaghetti dish I have ever put together. Simply seasoned with onions, garlic, thyme and spinach, nothing to it really. Easy eating!
Okay, not sure if this is a “great” fall back on dish or a dud. I saw this whole “frozen” spinach write up in the latest Donna Hay magazine and thought to myself, “what a great thing to have on hand, frozen spinach”! I usually keep a bag of frozen sweet peas on hand for last minute risottos, stews or soups or the occasionally bump or bruise, but spinach, never. Donna has this great recipe, well it looks great, with pasta and frozen spinach. I did not have the other ingredients so I just threw together something with what we had. Now, it was edible, it was not terrible, it tasted good but definitely was not the best thing I have tossed together. Lenny had this odd look on his face, the entire time I was cooking, it basically read …. “I cannot believe we have “frozen” spinach in the house”! Okay, let’s say it was temporary insanity; but, I want you to be the judge of this dish!
Recipe: Spaghetti with Spinach
1 bag frozen spinach
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
handful fresh thyme
3 tablespoons olive oil
drizzle of white wine
1/2 lb spaghetti, cooked according to instructions
4oz feta
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
Cook pasta according to instructions on package. While draining pasta, reserve about 1/8 – 1/4 cup of the cooking water. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in frying pan and saute onions until soft. Add a drizzle of white wine and the frozen spinach, cook until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and cook for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss with pasta and reserved cooking water just until moist not over saucy. Add Feta, stir. Serve. Eat.
Pasta is tossed with good olive oil, goat cheese, olives and fresh herbs to make an easy and tasty dinner.
We had some left over olives and goat cheese from our dinner with Stephen. Instead of eating it or tossing it out, I tucked it away in the fridge, to do something with. Last week we had a late evening of work and gym and this hidden treasure came in perfectly.
The olives were seasoned perfectly with fresh herbs and lemon zest, all that was left was a tad bit more seasoning. I love browned garlic over a fresh steamy bowl of pasta, so I decided to thinly slice some garlic and make garlic chips. I gently cooked them with olive oil and few red pepper flakes. While the garlic was cooking I cooked some pasta. One the pasta was finished all I had to do was drain it, toss in the left over olives and goat cheese, sprinkle the garlic chips over and give the dish a light drizzle of good olive oil ~ a quick, easy and incredibly tasty dinner in under 20 minutes! The combination of the tangy but creamy goat cheese went very well with the fresh lemon zest, the salty olives and the spicy red pepper.
Recipe: Pasta with Olives, Goat Cheese and Garlic Chips
2 oz mixed olives
handful of fresh herbs – we used rosemary and thyme
lemon zest
2 cloves of garlic, thinly slices
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
pasta
good olive oil
Cook pasta according to directions, reserve about 1/4 cup of cooking liquid. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and good garlic with red pepper flakes until crispy and golden brown. Toss pasta with reserved cooking liquid, olives, goat cheese, herbs, zest crispy garlic and drizzle over a small amount of good olive oil. Serve. Eat.
A cool and refreshing summer salad made with bean thread noodles, crisp green beans, mouth tingly mint and cilantro all dressed with a very flavorful dressing of lime and fish sauce. This salad is easy to make and you will have dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.
Priya picked summer salads for the HHDD #27 kickoff. I love summer salads and Donna Hay has an outstanding collection of them. In order to narrow the choice down Priya found a wonderful lime and noodle salad for HHDD # 27. After reading the recipe, I could not wait to try it as there were so many ingredients that I love in salads: mint, cilantro, chilies and nuts. Now this event and the fact it is all about salads excited me, but I was even more excited when Laudalino (aka .. Lenny) told me he wanted to make the salad!
Laudalino is tossing around the idea of learning to cook. I have told him time and time again, that I thought Donna Hay recipes would be a great place to begin. He was eager, hungry and took this recipe by the horns and created a fantastic dinner for us. The salad has loads of texture, from silky bean thread noodles to spicy chilies. He did add a bit of red pepper to give it a little more color. The sweetness of the red pepper went very well with the crisp green beans and the cool cucumbers took the fire away from the spicy chilies. The salad came together with a sweet but tart dressing made of limes and fish sauce, in which he grated some lime zest as well as some fresh chili, this gave it a nice spicy bite. This salad is prefect for a hot summer evening as it is very light and refreshing.
Lenny, thanks for making a fantastic dinner!!! Priya, thank you for being a great hostess for HHDD #27!
Recipe: Lime and Mint Noodle Salad
*adapted from Donna Hay
serves 8
250g bean thread noodles
500g green beans, trimmed and halved
1 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced
¾ cup mint leaves, chopped
¼ cup coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
¼ cup roasted unsalted peanuts
1 1/2 large red chillies, seeds removed and finely chopped
1/4 red pepper, cut in thin strips
Dressing
⅓ cup (80ml) lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1½ tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 red chili, grated
Place noodles in a bowl, cover with boiling water and allow to stand for 5-6 minutes or until soft. Cook the beans in boiling water for 2 minutes or until bright green. Drain, cool under cold water and drain again. Combine with the noodles, cucumber, mint, coriander, peanuts and chili. To make the dressing, combine the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar and pour over the salad. Serve. Eat.
A creamy pungent Gorgonzola sauce lightly coats linguine, prosciutto and spinach in this easy pasta dish.
We just celebrated our anniversary. It has been 7 years since Laudalino and I met. I guess it is true, time flies when you are having fun as well as it stands still when you are with the one that you love. I still remember the first time I saw him; his boyish good looks, dark thick wavy hair, he had blue jeans on with brown shoes (yes, I am a shoe girl) and a brown and cream checked shirt; I instantly thought he was cute but thought, “brown?” He took me to dinner which I normally never did on a first date, I broke all rules of coffee or a drink, only on the first date. I knew, just from conversations and emails, that this would be different and half way through dinner, my heart felt the same!
This year for dinner I wanted to recreate the evening where I first cooked for him but creating the same meal. My friend, Evelyn, makes this outstanding linguine dish, that I made 7 years ago. I knew it would be the perfect meal, as I wanted to make something that would be simple and where I would be able to talk to him while cooking. He arrived with flowers and a bottle of wine. I started the evening with some Roquefort cheese, a baguette and a bottle of wine, while I prepared dinner. I remember us talking and laughing and just enjoying each other’s company. When it came time to sit down to eat, I reached around, to grab the remainder of the baguette to have with dinner. I reached and I reached ….. nothing! I could not believe this man had eaten an entire baguette, not even a crumb was left. We still laugh about it and how he can not stop, he has to finish everything, hence one reason you will very rarely find a leftover in our house!
Tonight we started with a nice french wine, Roquefort with truffle honey drizzled over and a baguette, well, half of a baguette. After 7 years I know better and I always hide the other half for dinner! Happy Anniversary to you Baby and to another glorious food filled 7 years! xx oo
Recipe: Linguine with Gorgonzola, Prosciutto & Spinach
1lb dried linguine- I used pappardella pasta
1lb fresh spinach
1/2 lb thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/2″ pieces
2 tablespoons garlic
2 tablespoons fresh basil
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
3/4 olive oil
1/2 lb crumbled gorgonzola
kosher salt, to taste
fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
parmesan
Boil linguine, until al dente. In a large skillet, cook prosciutto, garlic, basil and oregano in 1/2 cup oil over moderately high heat, stirring until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta in colander. Return pasta to a kettle and toss with remaining 1/4 cup oil, prosciutto mixture, 1/2 of the spinach and gorgonzola. Season pasta with salt and pepper. Arrange the reserved spinach leaves on 4 plates. Mound pasta on spinach and sprinkle with pine nuts. Garnish with basil leaves and parmesan. Serve. Eat.
Black truffles also known as tuber melanosporum are a type of fungus which grow at the roots of specially inoculated oak trees. Each winter truffles are found by specially trained dogs who smell truffles which are located from 5cm to 30 cm below the ground.
Lenny got a fantastic birthday package in the mail today from our friend, Celine, founder of Gourmet Attitude. A box with 3 Australian Black truffles. He was not home but I knew when I saw the box that it was something very special; I ripped it open. As soon as I removed the little brown bag and carefully opened it, the moist, woody perfume filled the kitchen. I was in heaven and could not wait for him to get home to indulge! What a very special treat!
We wanted to make something deserving and decided that a bowl of homemade pasta would be perfect. We are all about fresh homemade pasta since purchasing a machine on our trip to Montreal. I used the same recipe as before, but this time we made fettuccine instead of angel hair. The topping was simple, a little olive oil and a shaving of fresh truffle. The dish was warm, earthy, slightly nutty and a little mossy, absolutely perfect! Sometimes the simplest dishes are the best dishes! Thank you Celine!
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