Bow Tie Pasta with Spinach and Salmon in White Wine Sauce

Heavy winds, nasty rain and a bit of Sunday laziness kept me from my usual summer grilling this past weekend. The trade-off was that I was able to spend some quality time in the kitchen preparing a couple of meals for the week. We were in the mood for fish, but I wanted to get a little pasta going as well. I decided to saute some spinach and salmon in white wine sauce, and mix it with bow tie pasta. The dish was quick and delicious…the perfect cure for a blah-zy Sunday afternoon!

Bow Tie Pasta with Salmon And Spinach in White Wine Sauce

1 lb bow tie pasta
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and strained
2 6-oz salmon fillets
4 tablespoons butter
2 shallots, chopped
1/4 cup white wine
olive oil (to drizzle on salmon)
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
reserved pasta water (about a half cup or so)
breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese for topping

1. Season the salmon with some salt. pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Place salmon in a foil-lined baking dish, bake at 375º for about 30-35 minutes, until flaky. Remove from oven, flake and set aside.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Just before you’re ready to add the pasta to the boiling water, melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pasta to the boiling water.

3. Add the shallots to the butter, stir. Let simmer until translucent, for about a minute. Next, add the wine to the butter and shallots, stir. Let simmer for a few minutes, to allow the alcohol to burn off.

4. Add the chopped spinach and flaked salmon to the wine sauce, mix well. Most of the wine sauce will be absorbed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm in pan until pasta is al dente.

5. Remove pasta from water, reserving about a half cup or so of pasta water. In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the salmon and spinach mixture. Slowly add a bit of the pasta water, one ladle at a time, to your liking.

6. Plate the pasta, top with some breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

Serve with crusty Italian bread and white wine!

Lemon Carbonara with Asparagus

Carbonara is a delicate, yet filling pasta dish that incorporates raw eggs and pecorino romano cheese as a sauce. Pancetta (Italian bacon) is also usually part of the mix, allowing the rendered fat to flavor both the sauce and the pasta. Vegetables, such as peas, mushrooms or asparagus (which I prefer) are very complimentary to this dish. Although this is a cream sauce, it is much lighter than the more traditional alfredo cream sauce. Also, the goal is to just coat the pasta rather than have it swim in the sauce. Long flat pasta, such as linguine or fettuccine, work best with this sauce. Noodles also work well and can be easier to manage if you’re like me and are not a big fan of long pasta.

What I particularly like about Carbonara is its overall ease and flexibility. With just a few ingredients, you have total control over how much sauce you make and how flavorful you want it. Both pancetta and pecorino romano are quite salty, so there is no real need for any other herbs or spices. However, I like to add lemon zest to my sauce. It gives a fresh and welcoming zing. You can also substitute bacon for the pancetta for a more smokey flavor. Or you could do half pancetta and half bacon for a nice smokey/salty balance! This is not a dish that you want to make in excess. Since it is an egg-based sauce, it would be tricky to reheat and keep the intended texture. I suggest making between 2-4 servings, at least until you find an egg/cheese ratio that you are happy with. The recipe below serves two people, but feel free to adjust the cheese and egg measurements to your liking!

LEMON CARBONARA WITH ASPARAGUS

2 eggs
1/4 cup pecorino romano, plus more for serving
1/4 cup pancetta, chopped into 1″ cubes
1/4 cup asparagus, chopped
1/2 lb pasta
2 tbspn EVOO
Zest of one lemon
Black pepper to taste

Heat the EVOO in a frying pan, add the chopped pancetta. Cook 3-4 minutes, until the pancetta is slightly crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove from pan, set aside. Do a quick wipe-down of the pan to remove any gristle and excessive oil. Set pan aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the asparagus, cook until crisp-tender. Remove asparagus from water and place it into a bowl filled with ice water to shock the asparagus (meaning it will bring the cooking process to a complete stop and will keep the asparagus crispy and bright green). Drain and set aside.

Bring another pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Because the pancetta is salty, there is no real need to salt the pasta water. As the pasta is boiling, you will mix the egg, pecorino romano, pepper and lemon zest in a bowl (as if you were preparing an egg omelette batter). Add the pancetta and asparagus, stir in, set aside.

When the pasta is done, remove from water (reserving the water). Place the pasta into the pan used for the pancetta. Quickly toss the pasta in the pan to coat it in the pancetta fat. Immediately after this, pour the egg batter over the pasta. Make sure that the pan is not on the heat, as this will cook the egg, which you do not want to do. The hot pasta will supply enough heat to properly cook the egg mixture. Whisk the batter into the pasta until it starts to thicken up a bit and all of the pasta is coated (again, you DO NOT want a scrambled egg texture, but rather a creamy sauce). You can add some pasta water to the pan a little at a time, until you get a consistency that you like.

Place the pasta on a dish, top with some more pecorino romano. Enjoy!

Julianna’s Pasta with Garlic Cream Sauce

This week we’re going back to the basics with a simple pasta dish that is my daughter Julianna’s favorite meal. It’s a simple dish that’s very easy to make, and works great for an easy weekday meal. It’s also a nice alternative to alfredo sauce – not as heavy, and with more of a garlic kick.

Since Julianna asked that I share this recipe with you, I thought it would be best that she tells you all the great things about this dish!

So where did you learn about this pasta dish?
My  kindergarten aftercare teacher told me and my friend Maggie about it. But now I am in first grade.

What kind of pasta do you think works best with the sauce?
The bowtie  pasta that my kindergarten teacher used. I think the wheel pasta will work too.

What do you like about the sauce?
The cream and the butter. Yummy! … Continue Reading

The Trials of Timbale: An Elaborate Eggplant Experience

Last week we hosted a family dinner to celebrate my Mom’s birthday. As with previous family dinners, I planned on making a special dish that was equal parts taste and presentation. This year I really wanted to wow my Mom with one of her favorite foods, eggplant. I decided to make an Eggplant Timbale, which is made of of an outer shell of eggplant strips, stuffed with a pasta-based filling, then baked into a mold using a spring form pan. I remember first seeing this recipe done by Giada De Laurentiis, and knew that someday I would have to try out this amazing meal!

I’ve been fortunate to have most of the recipes that I experiment with turn out the way that I had hoped, without any major fiascos. This time, not so much. Let me start from the beginning…..