Pappardelle with Beef

This a simple take on delicious pappardelle with braised meat that I have had eating out.

I have no time to braise anything on a weeknight but this dish was pretty fast, simple and delicious. And most importantly, had a very very similar taste profile.

It also resulted in some tasty leftovers for the next day.

I served mine over arugula and topped with roasted tomatoes but that’s optional.

Ingredients:

1 pound of grown beef  I used lean)

2 shallots or one onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon of grape oil

Garlic powder to taste

Salt to taste

1 small can of tomato paste (or sauce)

1 pack of pappardelle or another pasta

Cooking water reserved

Grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, heat oil. Add shallots or onion and cook till begin to soften, about 5 -7 minutes.

Add ground beef and break up the chunks while incorporating the shallot. When the meat is almost cooked through (about 10 minutes), add the tomato paste or sauce, garlic powder and salt.

Cook another 3-5 minutes. Cover and set aside.

Cook pasta to direction till al dente. Mine was good in about 10 minutes. Drain, reserve about a ¼ cup of water. Add pasta to your meat mixture and the water stir till pasta is coated with sauce for about a minute or 2.

Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan.

I also topped mine with roasted cherry tomatoes that I needed to use up (optional).  Coat with oil and roast at 350 for about 30 minutes,  shaking to toss occasionally.

Enjoy! This was a big hit at my house.

Whole Wheat Pappardelle with Ramps and Roasted Butternut Squash

This was such a lovely and easy weeknight dinner. Ramps are only available for a short period of time so it’s always a treat to snatch them up.
I think you can probably achieve similar results with regular leeks but it’s obviously better with ramps.

Ingredients
Whole Wheat Pappardelle (if you can find whole wheat, feel free to substitute)
1 bunch ramps—leaves and bulbs washed and separated.
4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
½ of organic low sodium chicken broth
Shaved aged parmesan
4 cups of butternut squash
Oil (I used grape)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat oven proof dish in the oven at highest possible temperature. I recently learned that this achieves best roasting results and have been doing this ever since. It works. My highest temperature is 450.
Cube butternut squash and toss with 2 tablespoons of oil. Once oven is preheated together with your tray, reduce temperature to 425. Roast for about 30-40 minutes tossing occasionally.

Wash and dry your ramps. Separate leaves from bulbs. Roughly chop the leaves and set aside. Slice the bulbs across, you will cook them before the leaves.

Heat oil in a skillet, add garlic. Cook till starts to get golden, add bulbs and a splash of broth. Cook about 8 minutes, mixing frequently. Add leaves and another splash of broth. Cook till leaves start to shrink and broth is absorbed. Add salt and pepper to taste.

While all is happening with the ramps, boil salted water and cook pappardelle per package direction. Drain, reserve some of the water.
Add pasta and the water to your skillet, cook for about a minute or two till hot.

Serve topper with shaved parmesan. I use a veggie peeler to slice mine into very thin strips.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Lemon Basil Lasagna Roll Ups

Lasagna Roll Ups. A pice got snatched up before it even cooled off

Saw this yumminess written up in People Magazine recently and something about it really appeal to me.  I am usually not a lasagna person, particularly the kind with meat but this one just sounded so light and delish that I could not pass it up. It did not disappoint. I made a few small changes but it's mostly based on Candice Kumai's recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
16 lasagna noodles ( I used whole wheat by Bionaturae)
2 1/2-3 cups of marinara sauce ( I used Amy's Organic Basil Marinara)
15 ounces of part skim ricotta (small container)
1 tbsp fresh oregano ( I used dry as did not have fresh)
1 cup fresh basil chopped plus more for garshish
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons 
Salt to taste

1) Preheat oven to 350. 
2) Cook lasagna noodes per package directions till al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water. 
I actually cooked them 4 at a time. It took longer but resulted in no ripped or broken lasagna noodes.
3) Cover bottom on 9x13 inch baking dish with about 1 1/4 cup of marinara sauce.
4) Mix ricotta, basil , lemon zest, oregano and salt in a large bowl. 

5) Spread 2 tbsp of mixture onto each noodle. Roll tightly, place into baking dish. Repeat till done.
6) Cover with remaining sauce. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. 
7) Top with fresh basil.

Ricotta, lemon zest, basil, oregano and salt. This will be inside.

All rolled up. Add sauce on top and stick in the oven.

Finished product.  

I am going to serve this with roasted eggplant. A yummy meatless dinner.

By the way, are wondering what to do with your poor skinless zestless lemons? I was. Did a little research and found a great idea. I squeezed the juice out,  removed seeds and froze in and ice cube tray.
Storing in a ziploc bag for future use. And feeling so very resourceful.

Whole Wheat Penne with Chestnuts, Mushrooms and Shallots

WHOLE WHEAT PENNE WITH CHESTNUTS, PORCINIS AND SHALLOTS

All the Thanksgiving cooking left me with about a cup and a half of roasted chestnuts that I needed to use. And all the leftover turkey eating left me craving pasta big time. Turns out, Mark Bittman had a similar idea in 2007. So this is a modified version of his recipe published in the NY Times in December  2007.

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat pasta (penne or ziti) I like De Cecco Whole Wheat Penne
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of chestnuts (I used Roland brand in a glass gar that I had left over from thanksgiving)
• Dried Mushrooms (I used porcinis)
• 1 cup of shallots (about 4) peeled and sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbs oil (I used grape)
• 1 tbs butter
• grated cheese to taste
• Fresh sage leaves divided(optional)

Soak mushrooms in very hot water. 

For the pasta, bring water to boil in large pot. Salt generously.

Heat a skillet on medium high, add oil. Add shallots, salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, chop chestnuts into 1/4 inch chunks. Add them to the skillet. Cook for another 5 minutes. 

Remove mushrooms from water, strain and RESEVE liquid. Wash the mushrooms. Chop and add to skillet with a bit more salt and pepper. Add a few sage leaves as well if using. Reserve the rest of sage.

Strain liquid from mushrooms through a seeve or a paper towel, add liquid to your skillet. Cook another 5-7 minutes.

Your mixture will look like this:

CHESTNUTS, SHALLOTS AND MUSHROOMS

Cook pasta till tender but not mushy. Drain pasta, reserve a little water. Combine pasta with the chestnuts/shallot/mushroom mix. Add butter, heat till melted. If needed, add a little reserved water.

Serve immediately topped with grated cheese.

If you are using sage, heat some oil in a small skilled till very hot and fry the sage leaves. I am currently obsessed with doing this. About 2 minutes per side and drain on paper towel. They immediately make a simple pasta look gourmet.

I served this with a side of roasted zucchini. Recipe here:

How to Roast Zucchini

Enjoy! Hope to see you soon!