Easy Baked Pasta

This is a simple pasta dish that’s perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

Don’t confuse this recipe with a big Sunday gravy-and-meatballs dinner—this is a quick, 20–25 minute, start-to-finish meal that makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

You’ll start with a quick marinara in an oven-safe skillet, then finish everything under the broiler.

The secret ingredient to this recipe is the pasta water. Whether you are making a marinara, a pesto sauce or a cream sauce, the starch of pasta water elevates the taste and texture of your sauce. You only need a small amount for this dish, one ladle or about 1/4 cup.

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 sprig fresh basil (add it to the sauce stem and all; you’ll pull it out once it wilts)
• Shredded mozzarella + grated Parmesan (to your liking)
• 6–8 oz pasta (your choice)

1. In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the garlic.
2. Once the garlic starts to sizzle (don’t let it brown), add the tomatoes.
3. Stir in the oregano. Add the basil sprig, gently placing it right into the sauce.
4. Cover and let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. While it simmers, boil your pasta per the package directions. Cook until al dente and reserve a bit of pasta water (the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce).
6. Remove the wilted basil, then add the al dente pasta to the sauce.
7. Stir in 1 ladle (about 1/4 cup) of pasta water. You can also add salt and crushed red pepper to taste.
8. Add shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan. I like to add just a bit so it’s not too cheesy, but you can do it to your liking.
9. Finish under the broiler on high for 2–3 minutes, until the sauce bubbles and the cheese just starts to melt. (No broiler? Bake at 425°F for about 10 minutes, or until bubbling and melted.)
10. Carefully remove the pan, plate, and garnish with chopped parsley if you’d like—then enjoy.

@dominic.condo

This is an easy baked pasta dish, perfect for a quick and tasty weekday meal. #marinara #pasta #easydinner

♬ original sound – dominiccondo

Pasta with Clam Sauce

I am very excited to share with you this recipe for Pasta with Clam Sauce for a number of reasons. First, this is a recipe that is about as classic and traditional as it gets in regards to an Italian-American kitchen. Second, it is also a recipe that not only have I not ever featured on this blog, but also one that I have not ever had the opportunity to make on my own.

Most of all, this is a recipe that is not only enjoyable any time of the year, it is also a perfect dish to include in the upcoming Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fish dinner.

The recipe is courtesy of friend and fellow foodie, Janelle Fragale. Janelle has a deep passion for her Italian-American culture and heritage, and this is reflected in her love for continuing her family’s traditions in the kitchen. Her family also has a background in the food industry, which carries through with her passion for cooking. When Janelle asked if I would be interested in sharing her family recipe for Pasta with Clam Sauce, I was elated. I also though it would be a good opportunity to lead off with a Q&A session to find out more about her passion and history with food, along with some tips and tricks on how she manages certain dietary restrictions.

I hope you enjoy the Q&A session, along with Janelle’s recipe for Pasta with Clam Sauce. Buon Natale!
– Dom

You come from an Italian American family that is steeped in tradition, where family gatherings are important. Can you share a little of the traditions that your family follows?

One of the most important traditions that we’ve always done is no matter what, we make sauce on Sunday and we eat together. Sometimes we have meatballs in the sauce, pepperoni, sausage, braicole, all of these meats give the sauce a delicious flavor. We usually call it Sunday dinner even though it happens around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. In Italy, they usually have a bigger meal in the middle of the day so that’s why we usually say Sunday dinner. This all goes well with a nice loaf of bread for dipping! 

Your family has a history in the food industry. Can you share a little about that? How did this exposure help influence your tastes in food? 

Yes, so my family owned a wholesale meat business where we serviced many of the restaurants, deli’s, pizzerias, & banquet halls. As an appreciation to these customers for buying from us, we would frequent these restaurants on a Saturday night. From a young girl, I knew right away what an experience it was to dine out. From the atmosphere, to the appetizers, to the specials, etc I used to take it all in and knew how special it was and what was unique about each place. I would also be critiquing in my head of what I thought could be better too!

Holiday gatherings and big family meals are often a key component to an Italian-American family. What were holidays like for you growing up? Do you continue with the same traditions?

Holidays growing up were a lot of fun. My favorite holiday has to be Christmas Eve since a lot of my favorite food is on that menu. We always celebrated the Feast of the Seven Fish where you incorporate some type of fish in almost every meal that night. Pasta with Clam Sauce, a cold Seafood Salad, Fried Shrimp/Fried Calamari just to name a few. Then after we ate, Santa would make a special trip in to hand out all of the gifts. We still continue this tradition til this day and I am looking forward to it this year! 

You mentioned to me that you have a nut allergy. How old were you when you discovered this? Do you find this to be a challenge being in a family where gatherings often involved food?

I was about 5 years old when I discovered that I had a nut allergy. I was actually helping my Grandmother crack walnuts open and I started to get a severe allergic reaction. Throughout the years, we had to adjust certain things, especially in desserts.  

What are some tricks that you can share for a dish that normally calls for a nut ingredient? For example, pesto comes to mind for me right away. One of the key ingredients that I use are pine nuts or walnuts. What tips can you offer for the readers who may also deal with nut allergies?

Some alternatives could be using a seed or seed butter such as sunflower seed butter for that nutty taste. For pesto, I usually omit the nuts altogether or add in some sunflower seeds and of course some extra grated cheese and garlic.

Who would you say is your biggest influence in the kitchen?

My biggest influence in the kitchen is of course my Mom. She has always been an excellent cook & baker as well. I have learned a lot from her throughout the years. I always paid attention, even though she didn’t give me much time to practice since she was always doing the cooking lol. She’s impressed with my cooking skills now. 

What is one ingredient that you could not live without?

One ingredient  I would never live without would be garlic!!! The more garlic the better!! Nothing worse than a dish without any garlic! 

Pasta with Clam Sauce

Courtesy of Janelle Fragale

1 pound of linguini or long pasta of choice 
6 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4-6 cloves of garlic finely chopped  (the more the better)
1/2 cup of dry white wine 
Red pepper flakes (about 1/2 teaspoon, plus additional to your preference)
2 pounds of of little neck clams cleaned 
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt to taste 

In a large pot over high heat, bring water and salt to a boil. Add linguini or pasta of choice and cook according to the directions. You can leave the pasta a bit under cooked since it will cook another minute or two when combined with the other ingredients. Reserve one cup pasta water.

In a separate large sauté pan, heat the olive oil. Add in the chopped garlic and sauté just until golden. Add the wine, red pepper flakes, salt, clams and some fresh parsley. Bring to a simmer and cook covered until the clams open. 

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan along with some of the reserved cooking water, 1/4 cup at a time, to create a nice saucy consistency. 

Toss and mix altogether. Add some more fresh parsley and red pepper flakes and salt if needed. Transfer to pasta bowl and serve with a nice piece of crusty Italian bread!

‘Tis the Season, Part 2: Smoked Paprika

In my previous post, I shared with you one of my favorite go-to seasonings, Everything Bagel Spice. Many of you offered up a lot of great tips and suggestions on the Dom’s Kitchen social media pages, and I thank you all for the comments! For today’s post, we’re going a little bit deeper into the flavor profile as I share with you another favorite seasoning of mine, smoked paprika.

Before we get into my recipe suggestions using smoked paprika, I’ll quickly explain the difference between smoked and traditional paprika. Paprika is a spice made of ground chili peppers, which has a bit of a ‘sweet-heat’ taste to it. Specialty spice shops offer different varieties of paprika, some being more sweet, and some bringing more heat. If you purchase paprika at a supermarket, it’s going to be a mild heat, semi-sweet version. It is a perfect accent to a variety of foods, such as soups, stews, poultry, fish, vegetables and sauces. It is a nice addition to dried rubs, and is often used as a garnish, sprinkled over potato salad and deviled eggs.

Smoked paprika is made with chili peppers that have been smoked before being ground. Smoked paprika offers up a bold and more outdoorsy flavor, reminiscent of a campfire. There is a lot more depth and flavor in smoked paprika, which also allows it to work well in recipes similar to the ones I mentioned above for traditional paprika…only on a more bold level. Make no mistake, there is a lot of difference between smoked and traditional paprika, and one should never be substituted for the other without expecting a different result in taste. Fore more in-depth reading on the comparisons between traditional and smoked paprika, visit www.pepperscale.com.

A lot of times when I use smoked paprika in a recipe, it is often a last minute decision. I’ll give my recipe a taste, and it’ll hit me that “oh yeah, smoked paprika will boost this up nicely!” However, two of my stand-by recipes that I used smoked paprika with are breakfast hash brown potatoes and Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes. We’ll start with the hash browns. 

Seasoned Hash Brown Potatoes

Whenever I make hash brown potatoes (I prefer the Ore-Ida frozen diced hash browns), I go with four basic seasonings – salt, pepper, onion powder and smoked paprika. The salt and pepper I add to taste, but I load up on the onion powder and smoked paprika. Sounds simple enough, right? But here’s the trick that I learned to really get the flavor cooked into the potato. I start by heating up a few tablespoons of canola oil in a pan (vegetable oil will work as well). Before I add the potatoes, I sprinkle some onion powder and smoked paprika onto the oil. As the oil heats up, it becomes infused with the flavors of the onion powder and smoked paprika. Once you add the potatoes, the flavor starts to cook into the potatoes immediately. I then add more seasoning to the top of the potatoes and let it cook over medium heat for a good 6-8 minutes, until the bottom starts to brown. As you flip the potatoes, the flavor will be well incorporated . You can adjust the seasoning to your liking until the potatoes are crips and golden brown.

Ground Turkey Sloppy Joes

If you cook with ground turkey, you know that it usually needs a little help in the flavor department. Even if you go with 93/7 mixture (meaning 93% lean and 7% fat), flavor enhancements are usually necessary. Not only does this recipe incorporate smoked paprika to help boost the flavor, it also includes fresh peppers, onions and garlic, along with some additional seasonings and spices. While I do enjoy a little bit of spice, my kids have a low heat tolerance. My workaround is to simply spice up my own serving with a few dashes of hot sauce. As always, I encourage you to adjust the flavor to your liking. Although it may be traditional to serve Sloppy Joes as a sandwich, we actually enjoy this meal topped with shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream, and a plate full of tortilla chips for dipping!

1lb ground turkey (93/7 mixture)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bell pepper (red or green), finely chopped (you can also use a hotter variety of pepper if you like)
salt and pepper to taste 
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground chili pepper (my preference is ancho chili pepper)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
(you can add additional seasonings or flavoring of your choice) 

Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add the diced onion, sauté until onions start to soften. Add garlic and chopped bell pepper, stir together. Once the mixture starts to become fragrant, add the ground turkey. Stir together, let cook until the ground turkey browns. Drain liquid from the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Next, add the ground cumin, ground chili pepper and smoked paprika. Add the tomato sauce, stir together. Once the sauce starts to heat, stir in the barbecue sauce. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, until the sauce starts to thicken.

You can serve it as a sandwich, as a dip with tortilla chips, or even over pasta!

Smoked Paprika Vs. Paprika: PepperScale Showdown

Carrot Pecan Pesto

Pesto is traditionally thought of as a pasta sauce that is made of fresh blended herbs, garlic, olive oil, grated cheese and pine nuts. Its most common ingredient is fresh basil. However, there are a number of creative variations that have popped up over the years. I like to do a half and half blend of basil and mint, and my sister-in-law makes a delicious pea pesto. This carrot and pecan version of pesto makes for a fantastic addition to your Thanksgiving menu. It would work well as an appetizer with fresh veggies or crackers. If pasta is part of your Thanksgiving dinner, it would be a nice alternative to a traditional marinara sauce/red gravy. And you can bet that slathering it on top of a turkey sandwich would be heavenly!

Before you break out your food processor or food chopper, you’ll want to first roast the carrots and pecans in the oven for 15 minutes. This will soften the carrots for easier chopping and will enhance the flavor of both the carrots and pecans. I decided to use pecans in this recipe because I feel that their taste is very complementary to carrots. You can use walnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, or any holiday nut combination of your liking.

Carrot Pecan Pesto

1/2 lb baby carrots (1/2 of a small bag)
1/2 cup pecans
vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
dash of ground ginger
1 tspn fresh thyme, plus additional for garnish
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375˚. Lightly coat the carrots with a small bit of vegetable or canola oil. Place the carrots and pecans onto a baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven.

Place the roasted carrots and pecans, parmesan cheese, ginger and thyme into a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Keeping the machine running, slowly add the olive oil until fully incorporated. You may need to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl a few times. Season to taste with salt and pepper, garnish with additional sprigs of fresh thyme.