Cheesy Eggplant Pasta Bake

Adventures in eggplant are always interesting. Mostly because I usually feel like I don’t know what I’m doing so every time I cook it it feels like an experiment. I didn’t grow up eating it…ever. Even now I don’t eat it all that often. But with my weekly surprise farm boxes, sometimes they come my way and I’m hate throwing away food so you can bet I will find a way to cook it! I’m still teaching myself to cook it, and to love it. I’m not quite there yet, but we have reached an accord, the eggplant and I.

I would call this particular eggplant experiment a success. I mean, really, when you add sauce and cheese and pasta, you can pretty much throw anything in there and it will be good, am I right? The ricotta and marinara sauce mingle into a wonderful creamy coating for the noodles and the eggplant adds great texture (and a few vitamins, yay!). If you want a little less texture, I would recommend peeling the eggplant. I left the peel on and didn’t mind it a bit.

Don’t be intimidated by all the steps. While there are several components, they are all individually easy to make and the finished dish is pretty, hearty and great for serving a crowd, or sticking in your fridge to eat all week, or gifting it to friends or family who have had a busy day.

Cheesy Eggplant Pasta Bake

Sauce:
28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped olives
Handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped or torn
Salt & pepper to taste

Crumb:
1/2 cup chopped kale, spinach or herbs
1 clove garlic
2 slices of sourdough bread (stale is best!)
Pinch of sea salt

For the bake:
2 cups diced eggplant (bite size dice) – 1 large eggplant or 2 little ones
1 tsp. sea salt
1 package penne pasta
16 oz. ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan
8 oz. mozzarella

Heat oven to 375˚. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray or rub with olive oil. Set aside.

Put eggplant in a colander and toss with sea salt. Let it sit in the sink for 10 minutes while you make the sauce, pasta and crumb topping. The salt will help draw out the extra moisture so it isn’t mushy in your casserole.

In a medium sauce pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Add garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook a minute or so until fragrant but not browned. Add tomatoes and olives. Bring to a boil and then turn down and let simmer. Add basil. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Cook pasta according to package directions, removing about a minute earlier than usual so it’s still a little al dente. It will continue to cook in the oven so this will keep it from getting too soft. Drain and rinse with cool water. Set aside.

Combine kale, garlic, sourdough bread and sea salt in a food processor. Pulse to get a crumb mixture. Sauté in a large dry skillet until it’s slightly brown and crunchy. (You can also do this step in the oven, but keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.) Set aside.

Spread paper towels on your counter top and put the eggplant on top of them. Press down on top with another layer of paper towels to remove the moisture that has accumulated. Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium high heat. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Spread out eggplant evenly in one layer. Cook a few minutes on each side until slightly browned and tender but not mushy.

Build your casserole. Start with half the sauce in the bottom of the dish. Top with the pasta. Then the ricotta in dollops all around and then smear them around to form a layer. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Add eggplant. Then the other half of the sauce. Top with mozzarella, just torn into chunks. Finish with breadcrumb topping.

Bake at 375˚ for 25 minutes, or until top is crunchy and cheese is melty. Serves 6.

Right out of the oven. Mmmm.

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CSA Week 3: Creamy Kale Fusilli (with Bacon!)

Got my third farm box and it was a doozy! The head of lettuce was almost 2 feet in diameter and when washed and stowed, took up two large storage containers. I don’t know what they feed this stuff, but I will be eating lots of salad this week.

CSA Box #3. Enormous leaf lettuce, kale, parsley, kohlrabi, sweet onions, zucchini, a weird squash, blueberries, fava beans, and a purple basil plant.

Since I had so much lettuce for salads, I decided to get more creative with the kale (I still have some kale left from last week too, yikes!). For this recipe I took some inspiration from creamed spinach. I’ve always loved the rich creamy flavor and how the cream and garlic and onions mellowed the flavor of the greens, but I’ve never liked the mushy texture. But hey, grind that stuff up like a pesto and toss with some springy pasta and now you’re talking! My daughter actually hates creamed spinach and she’s not such a big kale fan either, but she really liked this. Of course, you toss bacon into just about anything and she’ll eat it.

Creamy Kale Fusilli

Creamy Kale Fusilli (with Bacon!)

5-6 strips of bacon
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 bunch kale, ribs removed and coarsely chopped (I used the flat leaf “dinosaur” kale)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Crushed red pepper, just a pinch
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper
1 package fusilli or rotini

Chop bacon and cook it in a pan until crisp. Drain on paper towels and wipe pan clean.

Cook pasta until al dente.

While pasta is cooking, heat large skillet over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and toss in the onion. Cook for a minute or two and then add the kale, garlic and crushed red pepper. Sauté until veggies are soft. Add cream and heat through. Put mixture into a food processor or blender and process until it’s creamy, sort of similar to a pesto consistency (if you like your pasta a little more chunky and rustic you can skip this step).

Drain pasta (reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water). Combine pasta, bacon, parmesan and kale mixture and toss to combine. If needed, add some pasta water a little at a time until it’s the consistency you like. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

CSA Week 1: Bowties with Fava Beans, Morels and Mascarpone

We loved this recipe from this week’s CSA box (see this post for this week’s box contents). The morels were not in the box, but I bought them at farmer’s market the same day. I had never tried them, and they are not always available, so I thought it would be a fun treat. Yeah, I’m a little strange that way. If you don’t have morels, you can substitute shiitakes or crimini mushrooms instead. Although there is no meat in this one, the mushrooms really gave it a meaty quality and using the beef broth (feel free to sub veggie if you are not into beefiness) lended an almost beef stroganoff flavor when combined with the mascarpone. Thumbs up all around.

One thing I’m fairly competent at growing is herbs. I have a nice little start to an herb garden in my back yard. For this recipe you could use whatever fresh herbs you like or have. I happen to love thyme with mushrooms, the earthiness of both just go so nicely together. I also threw in a little basil and chives, because hey, why not?

If you haven’t worked with fava beans, they can be a little more labor intensive than some veggies. They come in big giant pods, so you shell them like peas. Then you blanche them in boiling water for a minute, rinse them with cold water, and then each bean (mine were about the size of nickel) needs to be peeled. It doesn’t take long (the skins come right off due to the blanching), but if you’re in a hurry, feel free to substitute shelled edamame or green peas.

Bowties with Fava Beans, Morels and Mascarpone

Bowties with Fava Beans, Morels and Mascarpone

1 small onion, diced
1 1/2 cup fresh or rehydrated morel mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup fava beans (after shelling)
3/4 cup beef broth
1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. fresh basil, sliced in ribbons
1 tsp. fresh chives, snipped
1/2 cup mascarpone
Salt & pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fava beans and cook for 1 minute. Drain and rinse with cold water. Remove outer skins from beans. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Add a bit of olive oil and add onions. Saute for 3-4 minutes until tender. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add fava beans, beef broth and herbs. Turn down heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until liquid is reduced but not gone. If it dries up add a bit more broth or water so there is 1/4-1/2 cup of liquid in the pan.

Add mascarpone, salt and pepper to pan. Drain noodles and add to pan. Gently toss until everything is combined and mascarpone is melted.

Serve with parmesan to sprinkle on top.

 

Pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes and Basil

Heirloom tomatoes are pretty cool.  All sorts of varieties that you never see in the store.  Normally I only find them at farmer’s markets and they are just about irresistible.  But this time I spied some heirloom cherry tomatoes at Trader Joe’s and just had to snatch them up.  What didn’t go directly into my mouth ended up in this delicious pasta dish.

I make about a million versions of this particular dish depending on what’s in season and what’s in my fridge at any given moment.  This version included a double bump of basil since I had leftover pesto I had made a day or two before and then I also threw in some freshly picked pesto leaves from my garden as well.  The veggies are barely cooked, just warmed really to release the juices and get warm.  It’s absolutely bursting with summer flavors.

Pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes and Basil

Pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes and Basil

2-3 tbsp. olive oil
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes (or the regular ones will do), halved
1/2 cup black olives, halved
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup basil pesto (click here for my recipe or use your favorite)
2-3 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes or strips
Handful of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped or torn
1 pound pasta (I really like some sort of corkscrew shape for this to catch all the little yummy bits)

Get everything chopped before you start cooking, because this all comes together very quickly.

All ready to meet their destiny! Love the pretty colors.

Boil pasta until tender.  While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook about a minute until fragrant but not browned.  Add onion and saute a bit until slightly tender.  When the pasta is just about done, add tomatoes, olives and pesto.  Cook and stir just a couple of minutes to heat through.  I prefer the veggies barely cooked so they still have that garden fresh flavor.  Toss in some fresh basil, mozzarella and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Drain pasta and add to pan with veggies and cheese.  Toss to combine and serve immediately.  Top with a sprinkle of parmesan if desired.

Brussels Sprouts, Breadcrumbs and Bacon

My desk is somewhat of an archeological dig.  There are layers and layers of things that I have every intention of addressing at some point.  Last night a pile was dislodged and a page ripped from a magazine floated down to my feet.  As I picked it up, I realized I held the solution for dinner in my hands.  And there was the added bonus that I was sufficiently distracted by my discovery that I completely forgot whatever I was digging for in the first place.  Who says a messy desk is a bad thing?

At first I thought these ingredients sounded like a strange combination, but the flavors work together perfectly and it’s incredibly flavorful.  My daughter is still talking about how good it was!  For a vegetarian option, just eliminate the bacon.

Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, Breadcrumbs and Bacon

Pasta with Brussels Sprouts, Breadcrumbs & Bacon
(adapted from Cooking Light)

8 ounces rigatoni pasta (or whatever shape you like)
4-5 strips bacon (optional, leave out for a vegetarian meal)
2 tsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup panko
12 oz. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced lengthwise into 3 or 4 slices each
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 – 1 tsp. grated lemon rind
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 ounces fresh parmesan cheese, coarsely grated or shaved
2 tsp. pine nuts, toasted

Cook pasta until tender.  Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.  Keep warm.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add panko to pan.  Cook  3 minutes until browned, stirring frequently.  Set aside.  Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Discard bacon grease.  (I usually keep about a tablespoon in there to cook with but if you want to be a little healthier, or if you aren’t using the bacon, wipe out grease and use olive oil instead).

Add Brussels sprouts to pan.  Cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Yum! I love Brussels Sprouts.

Add onion and garlic and continue to cook 3 more minutes or until onion is tender. and the Brussels sprouts are lightly browned.  Add broth, lemon rind, lemon juice, thyme leaves, salt & pepper.  Cover and cook 2 minutes or until sprouts are crisp-tender.  Add mixture. to pasta and toss well.  Sprinkle with cheese, pine nuts, breadcrumbs and crumbled bacon.  Serve immediately.

Amazing Spaghetti Sauce

Summer has officially come to an end, but tomatoes are still coming off the vines and making their way into my kitchen.  Thanks to gifts from my mom and my aunt, I had a huge pile of tomatoes that needed to be used right away.  I decided to take a cue from my friend Valerie and cook these babies down into spaghetti sauce.

I have no idea what kind of tomatoes these were; there were several different varieties.  I started with a huge bowl, I would guess at least three or four pounds of tomatoes total and was hoping to end up with enough sauce for a couple of dinners. Alas…it only made enough for one amazing batch because it was so good we all had to have another helping!  Turns out tomatoes reduce in volume quite a bit when you cook them for an hour or two.

Seriously some of the best spaghetti I have ever made.

Amazing Spaghetti Sauce

3-4 pounds garden tomatoes, mixed variety
1 onion, chopped
8-10 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 pound hot Italian sausage
Salt & pepper
1 pound spaghetti

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Score the bottom of each tomato with a knife.  Put the tomatoes in the pot of water (you may have to do this in two or three batches).  Cook for 1 minute until skin starts to peel.  Remove tomatoes and rinse with cool water, or submerge in a bowl of cool water.  When cool enough to handle, remove skin and stems.  Cut into large chunks and put in a large pot (I used the same one I used for blanching the tomatoes).

Tomatoes all ready to fulfill their destiny.

Add onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, olive oil and water.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium or medium low.  Simmer uncovered for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have reduced down and sauce has thickened to the consistency you like.  In a separate skillet, cook Italian sausage.  Add to sauce.  Let it cook and mingle with the tomatoes for 15-20 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and add salt & pepper as needed.  I added about two teaspoons of salt and a teaspoon of pepper to mine.  Do not add salt until after you add the sausage and taste the sauce, since most sausage has some salt in it already.

Amazing Spaghetti Sauce. Ready to mingle with some pasta.  You can see on the sides of the pan how much the sauce has cooked down.  Yummy concentrated flavor.

Cook pasta until tender.  Drain and smother with sauce.  Prepare yourself for many yummy noises.

Twisted Tomato Corkscrews

Tomato season is upon us!  If you are a more successful gardener than I am, you very well may be covered up in tomatoes coming off the vines about now.  Unfortunately my measly handful of tomatoes will not suffice for this recipe but my friendly neighborhood farmer’s market helped me out this time.  I am also available to take any and all unwanted excess produce that my gardening friends don’t know what to do with.

You could probably use canned tomatoes to make this, but honestly, I’ve never tried it.  Why would you? This is one recipe that I hold in reserve for summertime only.  And it is worth every minute of the wait.  The taste of fresh garden tomatoes simply can’t be matched.  Prepping the tomatoes is a little bit of work, but it’s not difficult and well worth the effort, I promise!

Mouthwatering Tomato Corkscrews

Twisted Tomato Corkscrews

2-3 pounds Roma tomatoes (or other small, firm tomato, like Early Girl)
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp. lime juice
1 1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
2-3 tsp. chili powder
12 oz. rotini or fusilli pasta
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Set aside a large bowl of ice water.  Slice a shallow “x” in the bottom of each tomato.

Cut a shallow “x” in the bottom of each tomato. This will make the peeling part really easy!

Drop tomatoes into boiling water in two or three batches.  Let them cook about one minute, until skin starts to peel.  Remove with tongs and put directly into the bowl of ice water to cool.  The peels should then slide right off easily.  Peel, cut in half and squeeze out the seeds.  Coarsely chop tomatoes.  Stir in salt and set aside.

Oh now isn’t that lovely.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet or sauce pan.  Add onion, jalapeno and garlic and cook over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes, until fragrant.  Pour over tomatoes.  Add cilantro, lime juice, tomato paste and chili powder and mix well to combine.

Where’s my spoon?

Add pasta to boiling water (I use the same water I used to blanch the tomatoes) and cook 8-10 minutes until tender.  Rinse with cool water and let drain.  Add to tomato mixture.  Add cheese and toss well to combine.  Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed.

Time to dive in! Yum!

Creamy Shrimp Fettuccine

I always think it’s neat when I see people who have a little “Friends”-like gang of people they’ve known forever, and who know them.  A group that no matter what happens in their lives are there for each other.  I was never really a part of a group like that, unless you count my motley group of very cool cousins.

I’ve noticed in cooking there are groups of ingredients that are like groups of old friends.  Always there for each other, complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  In my book, if you take fettuccine, shrimp, cream, basil and lemon, you have the Fab Five of tastiness.  Any of them on their own is pretty good, but together…absolutely fabulous.

Creamy Shrimp Fettuccine

Creamy Shrimp Fettuccine

8 oz. fettuccine
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled & deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup shallots, finely chopped
1 cup whipping cream
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook fettuccine 8-10 minutes, until just tender.  Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add shallots, garlic and crushed red pepper.  Cook and stir a minute or so.  Add shrimp and saute until no longer translucent, but don’t overcook.  Turn down heat to medium low and add cream, lemon juice and basil.  Simmer until noodles are done.

Drain pasta and add to pan with shrimp and cream.  Add parmesan cheese and salt & pepper to taste.  Toss well to combine.  Serve with lemon wedges and if you’re feeling healthy, a little salad on the side.

Creamy Shrimp Fettuccine. You need to eat this.

Pasta with Roasted Beets, Spinach & Goat Cheese

Beets are one of those things about which nobody has a mild opinion.  You either love them or you hate them.  Me? I love them.  They are actually one of the few vegetables I will buy in a can.  I like them pickled and not pickled. But the best way to eat them is of course to buy them fresh when they are in season and roast them in the oven.

In case you’re wondering, beets are terrific for cardiovascular health, contain significant levels of Vitamin C, potassium and B vitamins, among other vitamins and minerals.  Some people even believe they are an aphrodisiac.  The greens are also very nutritious.  And incidentally, if you have small children, this is a great veggie to introduce while the kiddos are young because it’s sweet and they love it.  At least, my daughter used to love it.  Now not so much.  But Luke and I are big fans.

One of the most fun (and sometimes annoying) things about beets is that they turn everything pink.  Never cook beets while wearing white.  Of course, I don’t cook anything while wearing white.  But especially not these.  In this pasta, the more you stir it up, the more pink the sauce gets.  I just barely tossed it so it was more of a pink swirl.  And I chose campanelle pasta because it looks like a flower so it would be pretty when it’s pink. 🙂

Pasta with Roasted Beets, Spinach and Goat Cheese

Pasta with Roasted Beets, Spinach & Goat Cheese

8 oz. Campanelle (or other smallish-shaped pasta)
1 cup sliced roasted beets
3-4 cups fresh baby spinach
5 oz. goat cheese (1 small package)
Salt & pepper

To roast beets, I leave them whole, with the skin on (less juice everywhere when you do it this way).  Trim the greens (some people eat those too), drizzle with a little olive oil and roast in the oven at 400˚ for about 30 minutes until tender when stabbed with a fork.  Let cool, peel and slice.

Cook pasta until tender but not overcooked.  In a large serving bowl (or you can do individual servings if you have some beet haters) place spinach.  Scatter sliced beets over the top along with dollops of goat cheese scattered about.  Drain pasta (reserving a bit of the pasta water).  Add pasta to serving bowl along with 1/4 – 1/2 cup of pasta water.  Toss lightly to combine.  Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Broiled Red Snapper

I arrived at Farmer’s Market Saturday just in time to snatch up the very last piece of fresh Red Snapper from the fish vendor.  It pays to go a little early!  Caught the day before, this was as fresh as you can get without going out and catching it yourself.  Absolutely beautiful.  I always like red snapper because it’s so mild, and easy to cook.  A simple sprinkle of a few ingredients and a short stay under my broiler yielded a delicious dinner in about 10 minutes.  Perfect for a sunny spring day.

Since I also scored some fresh goat cheese at the goat farmer’s booth, I paired Mr. Snapper with Pasta with Spinach and Goat Cheese.  It was a match made in heaven.

Broiled Red Snapper

Broiled Red Snapper

1-2 Red Snapper filets
Bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Lemon zest
Salt & pepper
Olive oil
Lemon juice & wedges

Preheat your broiler.  Lay out the fish on a cookie sheet.  Top with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs, parmesan, some zest from the lemon, and salt & pepper.  I didn’t measure these ingredients, just did a light sprinkle to cover the surface of the fish.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and squeeze a wedge or two of lemon on top.  Place under the broiler for about 8-10 minutes until brown on top.  When you stick a fork in the middle the fish should separate easily when done.

Pasta with Spinach & Goat Cheese. Perfect side dish with the fish or by itself!