Mushroom tomato sauce for pasta

For dinner last night I wanted a pasta dish, that should incorporate mushrooms, be meatless and go well with a glass of (cheap) red wine. The latter notion sent my thoughts towards a tomato-based sauce and reminded me of past experiments adding anchovies to achieve a greater depth of flavour.

Ingredients:
- 90 g jar of anchovies in sunflower oil
- 2 brown onions, finely chopped
- ¹/₂ bulb fennel, finely chopped
- approx. 2 dL white wine
- 300 g brown mushrooms, medium diced
- 3 tomaotes, diced
- 200 g small tomatoes, diced
- 70 g can of tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- fresh basil
- fresh oregano
- water
- salt
- pepper

First the vegetables were chopped.
The oil from the anchovies was poured into a large pot and heated on high. The anchovies were chopped and added to the pot. When the anchovies were starting to brown the onion and fennel was added and the heat reduced to medium-high. After a few minutes white wine was added in 3 portions, the liquid being reduced between each addition.
The mushrooms were added and when they collapsed a little after a few minutes, the heat was reduced to low before adding tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed garlic, basil and oregano. The pot was covered and allowed to simmer while boiling pasta. The sauce was stirred occasionally and added water in small portions to ensure it didn't go to dry.
Seasoned to tate with salt and black pepper just before serving with wholegrain spaghetti and freshly grated hard Italian cheese and lettuce.
.. and of course the planned glass of read wine. We were very pleased with the result.

White Asparagus Tagliatelle

White asparagus are in season around here these days, but we've never had a habit of using these. One reason for that is that Mrs. Throat-Erator isn't a big fan of the hollandaise sauce often suggested served with white asparagus.

When we saw a recipe for a starter with white asparagus and no hollandaise we decided to try some elements of that - along the way it became a meal rather than just a starter.

Ingredients:
- 6 large white asparagus
- juice of 1 small lemon
- same volume olive oil
- salt
- white pepper
- tagliatelle
- ¹/₂ dL (¹/₅ cup) sunflower seeds
- ¹/₂ dL (¹/₅ cup) pumpkin seeds
- 25 g (~1 oz) walnuts
- 125 g (4.4 oz) mozzarella
- fresh chives
- fresh dill

The asparagus were peeled and boiled gently for 10 minutes in water containing 1 tsp salt. The water was drained from the asparagus and they were allowed to cool a bit while preparing a marinade of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and white pepper. The boiled asparagus were then marinaded while preparing the rest.

Tagliatelle was cooked.

The seeds and nuts were chopped coarsely and roasted in a dry pan with constant stirring till turning slightly golden and fragrant.

The marinaded asparagus were served on a bed of tagliatelle, drizzled with some of the marinade and added toasted seeds/nuts, sliced mozzarella and fresh herbs.

It was quite nice, although based on this I see little reason to prefer white asparagus over the green kind we normally get...

Eggplant Pasta Salad

Another quick delicious pasta dish.

Ingredients:
- 2 eggplants
- balsamic vinegar
- 300 g (²/₃ lb) pasta
- salt
- 70 g (2.5 oz) rocket
- 2-3 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto

The eggplants were cut into square rods (¹/₂ inch to the side, half the length of the eggplant), placed on a foil lined baking sheet, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and baked in the oven at 250 C ( F) for 10-15 minutes.

The pasta was boiled in lightly salted water.

Boiled pasta, baked eggplant, rocket and sun-dried tomato pesto was tossed in a bowl and served immediately.

Salami & Pesto Pasta

Being out to lunch one day I noticed on the menu that a special of the day was pasta with pesto and salami - I didn't order it, but I thought it sounded pretty good so I made a mental note of it. By the time I got round to trying it I had decided that it would work nicely to add some rocket to the mixture. I've been using Milanese salami for it so far, but that's hardly essential.

Ingredients:
- wholegrain linguine
- pesto
- fresh rocket
- Milanese salami

The pasta was boiled in lightly salted water, the rocket was rinsed and the salami was cut in strips - everything was stirred together with some pesto. Served immediately..

Asparagus & Pancetta Linguine

For the May BACC various circumstances forced a number of modifications on the dish - although I believe it still carries the spirit of the original recipe - to wit:

• Fettuccine did not appear to be available where we went shopping, so instead we went for wholegrain linguine.
• Peas are not yet in season here in Sweden and as we did not feel like using frozen peas we left the peas out.
• Turns out we did not in fact have any garlic (and we did not want to fetch some by the time we started cooking...)
• Although we could easily have gotten some Parmigiano cheese, I decided to use the rest of our Pecorino cheese instead.
• Since we are getting ready to move all our graters had been packed down, so for the cheese and the lemon zest we had to go for 'finely chopped' rather than grated - lending the dish a slightly more rustic feel.
• I did not add any olive oil as that seemed a bit superfluous.
• The dark green parts of the scallions were not stirred in but instead sprinkled on top together with last of the basil and parsley.
  

Ingredients:
- ~ 250 g (~ 9 oz) wholegrain linguine
- 80 g (2.8 oz) very finely sliced pancetta, cut in strips
- 250 g (8.8 oz) asparagus, cut in inch-long pieces
- 125 g (4.4 oz) scallions, sliced - parted by colour
- 1 dL (²/₅ cup) cream
- ~ ¹/₂ dL (~ ¹/₅ cup) pecorino romano, finely chopped - parted
- juice of ¹/₂ lemon
- zest of ¹/₂ lemon, finely chopped
- fresh parsley, chopped - parted
- fresh basil, chopped - parted
- salt & pepper

The pasta was boiled in lightly salted water - when cooked the water was poured off, but about 2.5 dL (1 cup) of it was retained for later use.

While cooking the pasta, the pancetta was fried crisp.^[1] The pancetta was removed from the pan and the asparagus pieces were sautéed in the pancetta drippings for 3-4 minutes before adding the paler ²/₃ of the scallion slices. After an additional 2 minutes this mixtures stirred into the cooked pasta and added cream together with lemon juice, lemon zest, about 1 dL (²/₅ cup) of the pasta ccoking liquid, most of the cheese, half of the parsley, and half of the basil. The mixture was tossed and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.

It was served immediately, sprinkled with pancetta pieces, the dark green slices of the scallions and the rest of the cheese, the parsley and the basil.

Delicious - despite all the short cuts performed. I've had pasta dishes with lemon before, but I cannot think of one where the lemon blended as nicely with the other flavours as in this one.

^[1] Pancetta is sometimes referred to as 'Italian bacon' - like other types of bacon it has been salt cured, but in contrast to most other types of bacon it has been spiced. This was actually my first time ever using it, and I found the spicy bacon smell from frying quite interesting. The variety of pancetta I bought was very thinly sliced (I would say that ordinary thinly sliced bacon is about 5 times as thick as this pancetta) - but since it was my first time buying it I don't know if that is the norm for pancetta.

Linguine with Feta and Pickled Beets

My muse introduced me to this idea in the purest form: simply pasta, feta cheese and pickled beets. Here it's given a little extra..

Ingredients:
- 200 g (7 oz) wholegrain linguine
- 100 g (3.5 oz) feta cheese
- 100 g (3.5 oz) pickled beets
- rocket (= arugula)
- 1/2 red onion
- 4-5 tbsp beet pickling juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- dried rosemary

The linguine was boiled in lightly salted water.

While boiling the linguine, the rest was prepared: the rocket was rinsed and left to drip off. Feta cheese, pickled beet and the onion were all chopped semi-finely.

When the linguine was cooked, the water was discarded and everything was stirred together in a large bowl - served immediately.

Tomato Soup

I don't know about you, but for me a tomato soup must contain noodles in order to be fully satisfying - I realise this may simply be a force of habit, an opinion based on the way I remember tomato soups from my childhood more than anything else. However, knowing that doesn't change my attitude about it one bit...

Ingredients:
- olive oil
- paprika
- cayenne pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
- 2.5 L (ca. 2.5 quarts) vegetable broth
- 3 leeks, cut in rings
- 800 g (28 oz) canned crushed tomatoes
- 140 g (5 oz) canned tomato paste
- salt
- 150 g (ca. 5 oz) noodles^[1]
- fresh basil, chopped - for serving
- sour cream - for serving

Olive oil was heated in a large pot, then added paprika and generous amounts of cayenne pepper. The onion and garlic was sautéed in this until the onions were translucent. After adding the vegetable broth, leeks, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste the pot was covered and brought to a boil. The heat was reduced and the soup was allowed to simmer for 10 minutes. After seasoning to taste with salt, the noodles were added and the soup was allowed to simmer until the noodles were cooked.

Served immediately with a tsp of sour cream and some fresh basil on top.

^[1] Preferably small noodles like little elbows or small shells.

Creamy Chicken Pasta

I picked this concept up from a book on pasta dishes years ago - it was a favourite with the dormitory crowd and has stayed with me in some form or other for many years now. Below follows a typical example - with some notes.

Ingredients:
- 250 g (1/2 lb) mezze maniche rigata [1]
- olive oil [2]
- 140 g (1/3 lb) chicken breast, sliced thinly
- salt and pepper
- 4 scallions, cut
- 1 dL (1/2 cup) white wine [3]
- 1 dL (1/2 cup) cream
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 125 g (1/4 lb) crimini mushrooms, sliced [4]
- 50 g (2 oz) Lodigrana Bella Lodi, grated [5]

First the pasta was boiled. Then drained and kept warm.

The chicken meat was seasoned with salt and pepper and sautéed in a little olive oil. When the chicken pieces were nicely brown all over, the scallions were added and stirred for a few minutes. The wine was added, and the volume was reduced (to about half). Adding also the cream, the boiled pasta was added, and stirred well to coat evenly with the wine/cream sauce. Finally the garlic, the mushrooms and the grated cheese was added - the whole thing was left on low heat for a couple of minutes before serving with a glass of white wine and a salad made from corn salad, cherry tomatoes, and freshly roasted pine nuts.

[1] Like rigatoni, only shorter. I've done this dish with lots of different pastas - penne, fettuccine, and linguine all work nicely. I probably wouldn't try it with spaghetti or angel hair.
[2] I have taken a liking to using the olive oil sun dried tomatoes come in.
[3] The one I used this time was the Morning Fog Chardonnay from Wente, but I didn't really like that one, so don't consider that a recommendation.
[4] Could easily be another mushroom.
[5] Practically any hard cheese will do.

Spinach Ricotta Lasagna

Over the years I've tried a couple of different vegetarian lasagnas, but don't remember any of them being as good as this.

Ingredients:
- 400-500 g (~ 1 lb) lasagna plates
- 600 g (1.3 lb) frozen spinach
- 250 g (9 oz) ricotta cheese
- bread crumbs
tomato sauce
- olive oil
- 3 medium/small onions, chopped
- 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs) canned diced tomato
- 140 g (5 oz) tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- fresh thyme
- salt & pepper
- 2 bird chillies
eggplant
- 1 eggplant, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper
béchamel sauce
- 25 g (1 oz) butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4-5 dL (approx. 2 cups) milk
- ground nutmeg, salt & pepper
topping
- Gruyère (vieux), grated

The tomato sauce was made first by sautéing the onions in oil, then adding the rest of the ingredients and letting it simmer gently while preparing the rest.

The eggplant slices were brushed with mixture of oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper; then baked in oven at 250 C (480 F) for 10-15 minutes.

The frozen spinach was thawed on medium heat in a small saucepan - nothing added.

For the béchamel sauce, nothing was changed over the other recipe: the butter was melted, the flour was stirred in to make a thick paste, then on medium heat the milk was patiently added in portions with constant stirring - and finally seasoned to taste.

Like before alternating layers of tomato sauce, lasagna plates, spinach, béchamel sauce, eggplant, and ricotta cheese. Tomato sauce as bottom layer - béchamel sauce followed by bread crumbs as top layer.

It was baked in the oven at 225 C (450 F) for 10 minutes, then at 175 C (350 F) for an additional 20 minutes.

Was served this time with freshly grated Gruyère (vieux) on top.

Lasagna with Eggplant

By now I know a couple of people who swear by making the meat sauce for lasagna using so-called Italian sweet sausage (see here), but this is the first time I'm trying it .. but it won't be the last.

Ingredients:
- 225 g (8 oz) lasagna plates
- 1 eggplant
- bread crumbs
(meat sauce)
- 5 Italian sweet sausages
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 800 g (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 170 g (6 oz) tomato paste
- oregano, rosemary, salt & pepper
- water
- oil
(béchamel sauce)
- 25 g (1 oz) butter
- 3 tbsp flour
- 4-5 dL (approx. 2 cups) milk
- ground nutmeg, salt & pepper

If your lasagna plates need to be boiled get started on those first, then proceed to the meat sauce while they're boiling.

Otherwise just start with the meat sauce: In a big pot heat up some oil, add the diced onion and stir for a few minutes. Then add the sausages, and work them well with the spoon, so you get a pretty homogeneous mixture. Add crushed carlic and continue till the meat is cooked. Then add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, plus a little water to rinse out the cans (and to make the sauce a little less thick). Bring to a simmer and leave it simmering while preparing the béchamel sauce.

Preparing béchamel sauce is basically just like preparing the kind of gravy I grew up with [1] - on the one hand I don't think it's all that complicated, but on the other I do seem to remember some learning curve when I was a kid, and I've definetely met a lot of people who seem puzzled about the whole concept. Anyway: I a small pot, melt the butter - be sure not to brown it. Once melted turn down the heat and stir in the flour to get an even, thick paste. Now, on medium heat add the milk in smaller portions with constant stirring - for each portion of milk added stir until the mixture is homogenous and turns thick again. Finally season it.

The eggplant is simply cut in slices about 1 1/4 cm (1/2 inch) thick.

Now assemble it: In an oven proof tray, put alternating layers of béchamel sauce, lasagna plates, meat sauce and the eggplant. It's a good idea to have béchamel sauce as both the bottom and top layers, and using 1 eggplant I got just a single eggplant layer in the middle. On top put a layer of bread crumbs.

Bake it in the oven, at 225 C (450 F) for the first 10 minutes, then at 175 C (350 F) for the last 20 minutes.

Serve with a little grated pecorino (or parmigiano).

[1] That kind of gravy goes well with boiled potatoes, which I ate regurlarly when growing up.

Saturday Night Pasta

Felt like having pasta last night and didn't want to make anything to complicated, nor anything involving too many ingredients I didn't already have - I did pick up the mushrooms though.

Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb (250 g) cheese ravioli
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 large tomato
- 1/2 anaheim chili pepper
- 1/2 lb (250 g) crimini mushrooms
- 1/4 cup (1/2 dL) milk
- approx. 20 brazil nuts
- salt, rosemary, oregano

While boiling the pasta start off by heat the diced onion in a bit of oil for a couple of minutes, then add the finely cut pepper and a little later the diced tomato. Cover while rinsing and cutting the mushrooms. Then add mushrooms, crushed garlic, salt, herbs and the milk. Keep on medium heat till the liquid is reduced to a fraction of what it was. When the pasta is ready, mix it in and finally add coarsely chopped brazil nuts and serve at once.

Tuna n' Spagheti - Director's Cut

Years ago when I lived in a dorm I for some time had this game going with one of the other guys in the kitchen: Whenever one of us was cooking and the other was there the person cooking was subject to using whatever spices the other person would tell him to. The directions could be loose or strict as the person giving them pleased. Maybe it was: "Use any three spices from the top shelf together with cinnamon". Or something similar. We had a lot of fun with it and it broadened our minds. Before this happened I wouldn't have tried to mix mint and (Madras) curry unless I had it from a very trusted source that it should be a good idea - as it happened it arrived more in form of a challenge, but I ended up really liking the result. This stands for me as the definitive version of what I've described here and here.

Ingredients:
- spaghetti (for 1 person)
- 1 small onion
- 1 can tuna
- 2 jalapeños
- approx. 10 cloves spicy pickled garlic
- 1/2 cup green olives
- dried mint
- yellow (Madras) curry powder
- oil
- sour cream

While the spaghetti is boiling, fry onion and drained tuna in a large pan, after a couple of minutes add sliced jalapeños, pickled garlic (as whole cloves) and green (pitted) olives. After an additional couple of minutes add a very generous amount of curry powder (your aim is yellow, and HOT) and some dried mint. When the pasta is ready, drain, mix with the rest and serve in a bowl with a little bit of sour cream on top.

G.E.P.A.P.

That is Green Eggplant Pesto Asparagus Pasta - a typical "leftovers meal", by I'm alluding to the fact that I made this mostly because I had some aspargus and an eggplant that needed using.

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 1 bunch asparagus
- 1 onion
- 1 pound (0.5 kg) pasta penne
- 3 tsp. pesto
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt & pepper

While boiling the pasta, fry the coarsely chopped onion till translucent, then add asparagus (cut into pieces roughly as long as the pasta penne) and crushed garlic, season with salt and pepper. After a few minutes add the eggplant (cut in half slices, about 1/3" (8 mm) thick) and stir on high heat for a few minutes, then cover and leave on low heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the drained pasta and the pesto.

Tuna n' Capellini - The Original

I decided to try out again the way I first made a dish along a concept I mentioned earlier.

Ingredients:
- 1 can tuna
- 1 small onion
- capellini (or other pasta)
- oil
- balsamic vinegar
- salt & pepper

While the pasta is boiling, fry the coarsely chopped onion together with the drained tuna for a couple of minutes, season with salt & pepper and add some vinegar and let it simmer for just a few minutes. When the pasta is ready and drained mix well and eat...

Creamy Cheesy Eggplant

In honesty this was somewhat inspired by these zucchinis I saw over on Spis Ordentligt, but it turned out quite nicely, so here it is anyway.

Ingredients:
- 1 eggplant
- 125 mL (1/2 cup) cream
- grated pecorino
- salt and pepper

Slice the eggplant in 6 mm (1/4 inch) slices and place them in a baking pan, season with salt and pepper, pour the cream over it and finally a little bit of grated pecorino. Put in the oven on high heat till the cheese looks nice golden and crisp. CAREFUL: On high heat DO NOT leave in the oven for too long - suddenly the cream will turn to charcoal.

I served it with mushroom tortellini, tomato sauce and coarsely chopped fresh leaves of basil.

Tuna n' Capellini

This is a real student type meal - quick, easy and cheap. I was first introduced to the concept when I moved into my first dorm some 11 years ago. There was a guy there who would eat this sort of meal several times a week; it was to be at least 3 years before I tried something along these lines for the first time, and I have to say I never did start eating it that often.
This time around it turned out like this.

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of tuna
- 1 onion
- 1 lb capellini (angel hair)
- oil, salt, (Madras) curry, tarragon

While the water for the pasta gets to a boil: In a pan fry coarsely chopped onion and tuna, season with salt, curry and tarragon.