PENNE WITH MUSHROOMS AND BROCCOLI

I haven't posted a pasta dish for quite a while, and tonight is a good time to change that routine.

I had fun tonight putting this dish together.  It was late and I had not made any plans for dinner.  While sitting on the porch with a glass of Pinot Grigio I began thinking about what was in the fridge and what I could do with it.

INGREDIENTS:

Penne Pasta

Baby Portobello Mushrooms

Broccoli

Shallots and garlic

Olive oil

Panko

Dill

Chicken Broth

White wine

Anchovies

Butter

Lemon juice

PROCESS:

Cook the thinly slice shallot and one clove of garlic with the mushrooms in olive oil over high heat.  Stir frequently and cook until caramelized.  Remove from heat, cover, and set aside. 

If needed, deglaze the pan with white wine, add olive oil. smashed garlic, and 2-3 finely chopped anchovy filets.  Cook for several minutes then add the broccoli florets.   Cook over medium heat and add about 1/3  cup of chicken broth.  Also add the dill – fresh or a cube of the frozen chopped dill.  After a few minutes add a few sprinkles of panko and cook uncovered, allowing the liquid to slowly evaporate.

Place the pasta in a serving bowl, reserving some of the pasta water.  Mix in the broccoli and the mushrooms, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and add some pasta water if needed and serve with grated Parmigiano cheese.

COMMENTS'

Good and good for you.

5-31…Capellini with broccoli and sea scallops

Today is Thursday, which means veggies from the CSA folks, which resulted in a beautiful head of fresh broccoli, which translates to a broccoli laden pasta dish.  A quick look in the freezer revealed a package of sea scallops which will be a perfect companion to the broccoli.

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta

Broccoli Florets

Sea scallops

Olive oi

Garlic….pressed

onion

Anchovy fillets…2, finely chopped

Fresh basil an dill

Fresh lemon juice

Dry white wine, one generous splash

PROCESS:

Cook the garlic and anchovies in the olive oil, along with the red pepper flakes.  Add the chopped onion, herbs, scallops and broccoli.  After 2-3 minutes add some wine and cook over low-medium heat while the pasta is cooking.

Add the pasta to the pan and mix well.  Drizzle with olive oil and add the lemon juice before serving.

COMMENTS:

Patience is a pushover after I serve scallops, broccoli, and angel hair pasta.  I will find out later just how good this dish was.

I thought it was sgreat.

5-22…Fettuccine with chicken, broccoli, and zucchini

I’ve succumbed to the magic of the merry month of May and the green produce in the markets with the promise of so much more to come.  So, tonight’s dinner is Fettuccine with Broccoli, Zucchini, and a little bit of chicken, all of it enhanced by herbs now available in our small herb garden (well protected from the whippets).

INGREDIENTS:

Fettuccine

Skinless, boneless, organic chicken thighs

Broccoli florets

Zucchini

Olive oil

Garlic and onion

Fresh basil and parsley

Red pepper flakes

Sweet vermouth

Grape tomatoes, sliced

PROCESS:

Brown the chicken in olive oil, remove and deglaze pan with the wine, saving the residue with the chicken.  Add fresh oil to the pan and begin cooking the garlic and onion until soft, then add the zucchini and half of the herbs.  You have to judge when to add the broccoli and the rest of the herbs so it doesn’t get over cooked.  I add it about 5 minutes before I expect the past to be ready.  Add the pasta, and the tomatoes and mix well and enjoy.

COMMENTS:

Patience had seconds…that’s better then anything I can say about this dish.

5-4…Fusilli with chicken, mushrooms, and broccoli

I’m currently making an effort to use up the miscellaneous ingredients that tend to accumulate in the freezer over time, meats, seafood, and frozen leftovers.  Last night I uncovered two chicken breasts, which led to the following concoction.

INGREDIENTS:

Fusilli

Chicken breasts, boneless

Portobello mushrooms

Broccoli florets

Garlic

Olive oil

Red pepper flakes

Dried oregano and basil

Fresh dill

Dry red wine

PROCESS:

After seasoning the chicken, brown in olive oil, remove, and set aside.  Deglaze pan with wine and add to the chicken.

 Sauté the garlic in olive oil and add the sliced mushrooms to the pan and cook over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and add to the pan.  About 5-7 minutes before the pasta is ready, add the broccoli to the pan.

Add the pasta to the pan, mix well, and serve with your preferred grated cheese.

COMMENTS:

The timing that I've mentioned is very flexible, and the mixed "sauce" can be made ahead of time and reheated when the pasta is ready.  The two key elements are: 1. be sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked, and 2. cook the broccoli last to preserve the fresh green color.

4-25...Farfalle w broccoli and scallops in wine,lemon, butter sauce

INGREDIENTS:

Farfalle pasta

Broccoli florets

Sea scallops

Olive oil

Butter

Garlic and shallots

Dry white wine

Fresh dill4-25…Farfalle with broccoli and sea scallops in a light cream, butter, lemon, and wine sauce.

Whipping cream

Fresh lemon juice

PROCESS:

Sauté the garlic and shallots in olive oil with red pepper flakes until soft.  Add the broccoli, scallops, butter, and dill, and cook uncovered over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes before adding the wine (1/4 cup) and lemon juice.  Continue cooking un-covered until the wine cooks off.  Add the cream and butter and stir frequently.

 

When the pasta is ready add it to the pan, mix well – as opposed to mixing not well – and serve.

COMMENTS:

This was wonderful…I’m such a good cook…tra lala lala…and the humility gods will strike me down tomorrow.  Seriously, this was good.  The tricky thing is timing the sauce so it doesn’t sit around to long waiting for the pasta.

11-29-Fettuccini with broccoli, salmon, fresh tomatoes

It has been cold and wet for days. Last night I responded with a sea food chowder, tonight I thought we might try to capture a little bit of springtime.



INGREDIENTS:

Tomato basil fettuccine (from Tuesday mornings of all places...it’s great!
Olive oil
Garlic and shallots
Lemon
Salmon
Fresh broccoli florets
Dill and parsley
white wine
Grape tomatoes, halved

PROCESS:

Saute the garlic and shallots, add the broccoli and cook for abour 5 minutes before adding the salmon, herbs, seasoning, and white wine. Just before the pasta is done add lemon juice. Mix in the pasta, drizzle with olive oil and serve with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

COMMENTS:

I consider this a 7 or 8. I enjoyed it, but it didn’t feel like something special. I love the pasta…I’ve used it in several dishes and make special trips to Tuesday Morning just to get some.

10-31…THE PASTA QUEST AT 6 MONTHS

I began this pasta marathon six months ago. One hundred and twenty pasta meals and 5 pounds later, it is time to stop and take stock of what we’ve done.

My goals were: 1. To show how delicious pasta dishes could be prepared with simple local fresh, and supermarket ingredients, and 2. To demonstrate the infinite ways pasta can be prepared. I think I’ve done a pretty good job in meeting both goals. But if I am to continue this for the full year as planned I will have to make some concessions. It is becoming increasingly difficult to prepare a different dish each night I cook without a great deal of planning and preparation requiring more and more of my time. Since I have every intention of continuing this for the next six months, and since it is supposed to be fun, and not something to stress over, I’ve decided on the following:

I will continue to cook pasta every night we eat at home, and endeavor to present 2-3 new dishes every week, and to the extent possible, I’ll introduce a few variations in the repeat dishes.

Now to the good part…

LINGUINE WITH BROCCOLI, LEMON, AND FRESH HERBS



INGREDIENTS:

Linguine
Olive oil
Garlic, chopped or finely sliced
Red pepper flakes
Lemon juice and/or zest
Fresh oregano chopped
Broccoli
Bacon, chopped

PROCESS:

Cook the bacon and remove from pan and discard the fat. Or, cook the bacon in the microwave and set aside.

Place the pasta in the boiling pasta water. About 5-6 minutes before you expect the pasta to be ready…al dente…don’t over cook…sauté the garlic and broccoli in the olive oil with the Oregano and red pepper flakes. When the pasta is done add it to the pan, along with some of the pasta water, and mix well. Add the lemon juice or zest and mix. Sprinkle with bacon and Parmigiano Reggiano and serve.

COMMENTS:

Very good! I finally managed not to overcook the broccoli, and by not adding the lemon until the end the broccoli remained nice an green.

LINGUINE WITH SAUSAGE AND BROCCOLI 8-19

With Patience away for the weekend I invited my “cousin from New Jersey” (his wife is also out of town) to join me for dinner.

I refused to cook anything that resembled zucchini or summer squash…and decided on broccoli with a touch of sausage.



INGREDIENTS:

Linguine
Broccoli
Sausage…removed from the casing
Olive Oil
Lemon
Garlic

PROCESS:

Cook the sausage and remove from pan. Add the olive oil and cook the garlic until soft.. Bring the pasta water to a boil and cook the broccoli for about 4 minutes. Drain the broccoli and add to the pan with the oil and garlic. Return the sausage to the pan and simmer under low heat. Add lemon juice to the pan.



Cook the past in the broccoli water, add to the pan and mix well.

COMMENTS:

I committed a cardinal sin tonight…forgetting to salt the pasta water. As a result I felt the dish was less than superb and give it a 71/2 or 8.



But, the company more than made up for the culinary shortcoming of the cook.