Monthly Archives: July 2011

Chickpeas, Spinach and Bacon pasta

Posted on July 31, 2011 | Leave a comment

This is a relatively quick cooking pasta dish, perfect for a weeknight meal. The bacon gives it a nice flavor, but it’s also pretty healthy with the mixture of beans and greens. I adjusted the recipe to use frozen instead of fresh spinach, and bacon instead of pancetta – because both of those are easier to get at any grocery store. It also called for pecorino cheese, which I don’t really like, so I used Parmesan instead. My friends know that I LOVE me some chickpeas/garbanzos/ceci whatever you want to call them! This dish is definitely a ‘keeper’ – leftovers were even good cold from the fridge, like a pasta salad.

Chickpeas, Spinach and Bacon Pasta
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 can chickpeas, drained
5 oz. chopped frozen spinach
6 oz. dried pasta (shells, macaroni, bowties)
Parmesan

Bring a pot of salted water to boil, and cook pasta. In the meantime, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a non-stick skillet, and brown the garlic slices for a couple of minutes. Then add bacon and saute for a few minutes to release the fat and brown slightly. Add pepper flakes and stir briefly, then add chickpeas and spinach. Stir and simmer for a few minutes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, then add 1/4 c. of the pasta water and simmer for a few minutes more. When the pasta is finished, drain it and add to the pan with the chickpea sauce.  Sprinkle with Parmesan or other favorite cheese. Serves 2.

Adapted from: Lidia’s Italy, by Lidia Bastianich

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Posted in Italy, Main dish

Limoncello delights

Posted on July 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

Some of you may know that I don’t like coffee or even coffee-flavored items <gasp!> so tiramisu is a dessert that I don’t eat.  I came across a recipe for limoncello tiramisu and decided to give it a try – a tiramisu I could actually enjoy!  It’s fairly easy to make, you boil a limoncello flavored syrup for a few minutes, and you make a lemon custard. Once everything is cool, ladyfingers are dipped in the syrup and layered with the custard.

The recipe I used was from the cookbook Lidia’s Italy – and is actually available from her website:  http://www.lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/871   It packs a punch, as my co-workers and I found out when I brought this dessert to our lunch together :)  I was starting to wonder if I might get in trouble for bringing this dessert to work!

Limoncello is a lemon-flavored liqueur from Italy. Now that I have a partial bottle remaining, I have to figure out what else I can do with the stuff ;)  Last night, I tried this limoncello cosmopolitan with cran-raspberry juice, vodka and limoncello that turned out pretty good.

I’m thinking of trying a Limoncello Raspberry Float tonight - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/danny-boome/limoncello-raspberry-float-recipe/index.html  It seems “meant to be”, since I already have both vanilla ice cream and raspberry gelato in my freezer at the moment. Something to look forward to at the end of another hot hot day (104 degrees) in Raleigh!

 

 

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Posted in Beverage, Dessert, Italy

Butternut Squash Strudel

Posted on July 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

Strudel is typically a dessert, but in this case it’s filled with butternut squash and leeks as a side dish. The whole wheat pastry is fall-apart crumbly, but easy to make and flavorful. Because the pastry is so tender, it’s a little difficult to handle or move it, so I recommend that you line the baking pan with parchment paper so that you can easily lift it after baking and transfer to a serving dish. This will minimize breakage. But any unsightly cracks in the strudel will be easily overcome by the deliciousness of this dish!  This is the second installment of recipes that I made for my co-workers, and they all loved this one.

Butternut Squash Strudel
Dough:
2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks (1/2 lb.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 c. ice water

Filling:
1 butternut squash
2 Tbsp. butter
3 leeks, sliced thinly
1/4 c. parsley, chopped
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

In an electric mixer, whisk together flour and salt. Add pieces of butter and mix until crumbs are about the size of peanuts. Add water gradually and blend until the dough starts to come together. Knead together to form a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or more.

Cut the squash in half, remove seeds, and rub the cut surfaces with olive oil. Place flesh side down on a baking sheet and roast at 425F for 40 minutes. Set aside to cool, then scoop out flesh and mash it up in a bowl. Saute the leeks in butter until translucent. Mix in with butternut squash, and add other filling ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Roll out the dough (may need to thaw it a bit first) until slightly less than 1/4-inch thick, in a rectangle. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper before filling. Spread the filling down the middle and wrap up either side and pinch to close together. Pinch the ends closed too. The filling is pretty dry, so it doesn’t matter if there are a few cracks or it doesn’t seal completely.

Lifting with the parchment paper, place the strudel on a baking pan, and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes. Let cool, then slice and serve at room temperature.

Adapted from: The Italian Farmer’s Table

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Posted in Italy

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