When I get home and have short time to prepare lunch, the quickest dish is always pasta. You can easily have a complete meal in 10 minutes (plus the time to boil the water).
Pasta is a genuine food, that mostly of the times contain only water and wheat flour, being safe for people of all ages. The difference is how we dress it. But following the rules of Mediterranean Diet, that combines vegetables with carbohydrates, if the right quantity of fat (good fat) is used, it can really be considered a high quality meal for all ages.
The number of calories of a pasta dish (not considering the dressing) is around 300 kcal. Plus the dressing it makes a complete meal for about 600kcal, that matches perfectly with a balanced and healthy diet.
There are many industrialized dressings that may contain chemicals, but as seen along the following recipes, it is really easy and simple to cook a good and genuine meal with easy-to-find fresh ingredients.
Tasty Pasta with Tuna
This recipe is one of the favorite ones for my children. It’s a complete meal as you have pasta (carbohydtares), extra virgin olive oil (good unsatured fat), grated parmesan and tuna (proteins).
You’ll need for 4 people:
400gr of pasta (500gr if you want a unique and complete dish)
3 cans of tuna with olive oil (I use the 160gr each cans)
5 anchovies fillets
4 pieces of garlic (chopped)
3 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 or 5 spoons of grated parmesan
1 lemon juice
How to do it:
Put the pasta into the salted boiling water and set your timer for the cooking time (part of the goodness of a pasta dish is its correct cook – a too much cooked pasta loses taste).
Then put the extra virgin olive oil inside a frying pan and add the chopped garlic, the minced anchovies fillets and soon after the tuna. Mix it all, add a small piece of peperoncino (optional) and right before turning the gas off, add the lemon juice.
When the pasta is done, drain it with a colander and put it back inside the pan. Add the tuna mix and the grated parmesan. Mix it all well and…it’s ready.
Tagliatelle Alfredo
I got this recipe from a waiter of Alfredo’s restaurant at Epcot Center, many years ago.
You’ll need (for 4 people):
400gr of tagliatelle (fresh fettuccine would be great)
250gr cream
120gr of a good quality grated parmesan
1 spoon of butter
How to do it:
After putting the pasta inside the boiling salted water (tip: add a thread of oil to the water. It avoids fresh pasta to attach one with another), take a pan and put the butter, the cream and the grated parmesan together. Take it to low gas and mix it until it gets hot, but not boiling. When the pasta is done, drain it with a colander and add the warm cream and mix it all. It’s done.
Pasta with bottarga and cherry tomatoes
Here you need to have grated bottarga, but it worths the expense.
You’ll need (for 4 people):
400 gr of spaghetti
4 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
4 or 5 pieces of garlic, chopped
Minced parsley
500gr of cherry tomatoes
Grated bottarga
How to do it:
After putting the spaghetti into the boiling salted water, put the extra virgin olive oil inside a pan, add the chopped garlic and parsley and let it color a little. Then add the cherry tomatoes cut in halfs, mix it with the rest for a while and then turn off the gas. When the pasta is done, add this mix adding the grated bottarga. Perfect with a glass of good white wine. Enjoy!
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15Apr
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01Apr
Items list for the Basil Pesto: 2 cups fresh basil leaves, 4 cloves garlic, crushed , 3/4 – 1 cup of pine nuts, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese shredded, 3/4 Romano cheese shredded, 1 cup of good quality olive oil, pinch of salt and black pepper, T/T. You will also need one pound of your favorite pasta, penne pasta, farfalle pasta (bow tie) or fettuccine if you wish. 1/4 cup of heavy cream optional.
1. I start my water at this point to get ahead of the game, and I use a generous amount of salt in the water for the pasta. Depending on the pasta you use it would be best to follow the directions on the box. Just make sure you add salt the water, it is important.
2. Get out your food processor or blender at this point. Add your washed basil, garlic and pine nuts at this time and blend.
3. While blending you need to start incorporating the olive oil at this point, in a slow but steady stream.
4. Stop the food processor and add cheese, salt and pepper. Blend again and then taste for seasonings. Add more salt an pepper if it is needed. I remember while attending Culinary school, I was asked by one of my chef instructors: Did you forgot your salt extractor today? You can always add more of any ingredient, but you can not take it out!
5. Remove all of the pesto from the food processor, and hold until you are finished. I will put it into a container that I can keep in the refrigerator, so I will have it for a week or two. And that way you are not continually transferring to many bowls to clean.
6. I would add my pasta to the boiling water at this point and prep the rest of my ingredients at this point. If I were going to add a salad with this dish I would get if made at this point. It will not take long to wash your lettuce and get ingredients ready for dinner with your family.
7. I like to add artichokes, bacon and sun-dried tomatoes to this dish just to give it some flare. I also take some extra pine nuts, and roast them to add them to the finished dish as well. To roast your pine nuts you can do it in a over or over a stove top burner. You just have to watch them to make sure they do not get too much color. They will taste very bitter, or burned if this happens. You can add any ingredient to your pasta dish that you prefer. I am sure some Kalamata black olives would be tasty on this dish as well. This is what makes it your dish, every ones taste buds are a little different. If you are wanting to have a special dinner for loved ones or guests. You can offer them a wide variety of ingredients to add to there own dish in the center of the table. It will make them feel very special, and offer them the ingredients to make it their own dish.
8. The pasta is probably ready to be drained at this point. Do not wash the pasta, and return it to the same pan. I would start to add in some of the pesto starting with 2-3 tablespoons and turn the pasta with tongs if you have them to mix in the pesto. Continue until the desired amount of pesto is on the pasta. Add salt and pepper to taste and then serve.
9. If you are not concerned about the fat content: Then go from step 7 to step 9 In a separate bowl add a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to the the 1/4 cup of heavy cream to the, add the 2 Tbsp of pesto and mix. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse. Put the pasta back into the same pan and pour the cream pesto mixture into the pot and turn with a wooden spoon of tongs. Make sure there is a good covering of the mixture on the desired pasta. You can also add more cheese at this point if you so desire.
10. Set the table and get ready to dig in. After I put the portion on to my plate I would then add my artichokes, bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, and pine nuts. Or you can put yours on a nice serving platter in the middle of the table with a piece of basil garnish and everyone can serve themselves.
I hope that you enjoy this dish. Making a basil pesto sauce is very easy and it taste great. I hope that you will find those ingredients that you really love and incorporate them into this dish to call it you own.
Chef Shelley Pogue, a Cum Laude, Le Cordon Blue graduate and research and development chef for Vertical Sales and Marketing, San Ramon, CA.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shelley_Pogue -
30Mar
Having to eat gluten free food all of the time is a pain in the rear end. Anyone who has a gluten intolerance knows how difficult it can be to find your favorite food, or any food for that matter that is gluten free.
Any condition, comes with its setbacks, but you need to stay positive and upbeat as there are ways for gluten intorlerant people to get just as much joy out of life as anyone else. Things like pasta can be found without gluten if you take your time and do your research to find wheat food alternatives.
Not All Pasta Is Alike
Some gluten intolerant people are not bothered by certain types of pasta and others find pasta so indigestible that they cannot eat a bowl of spaghetti that is being offered to them. Such a delicious meal yet it can feel out of reach when you live with the food restrictions of a gluten intolerance.
Maybe you cannot eat any regular pastas and that is okay because there are alternative gluten free pastas that you can enjoy with your gluten free pasta sauces. The ingredient types that are used to make pasta free of gluten include:
* Amaranth
* Corn
* Millet
* Quinoa
* Rice
* Buckwheat
* Legume
You can still enjoy your favorite pasta sauces because instead of choosing a pasta sauce thickened with a wheat flour or other gluten forming flour, you can make or choose a pasta sauce that have been thickened with potato starch or other starches or flours such as, amaranth, buckwheat, corn, arrowroot,
cornstarch, flax, legume, millet, quinoa, rice, sago, sorghum, soy, sweet potato flou, teff and tapioca.
You can still enjoy pasta when you have the restrictions of a diet free of gluten because there are delicious gluten free pasta dishes you can make that are suitable for any menu type. You will have to try the different types of gluten free pasta so that you can find your favorite brand that provides the flavor and texture that you want from your pasta alternative. You can also find sauces and sauce mixes to add to your sauces that don’t contain gluten if you do not have the time to make your own pasta sauce.
Yes, living off of a gluten free diet can be frustrating, but if you do your homework and know what to look for you can still find ways to make or buy your favorite foods.
