Cooking from Cans: Pasta with Butter, Onions and Caviar

Pasta with Butter, Onions and Caviar, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Technically, the caviar - not Beluga, just capelin from the corner store - came out of a jar, but the basic idea of a pantry-only dish applies. This super-easy dish will become a staple, I'm sure - it's filling, quick and luxurious without being heavy. I used good Amish butter for this, and may add a bit of sour cream next time. The measurements aren't hard and fast - I could see myself doubling them if I wanted something even richer.

• 1 dry cup pasta (whole-wheat rotini in this case)
• 1-2 T unsalted butter (used 1.3 T in this case)
• 1/4 c onion, chopped
• 2 T caviar

Cook the pasta in salted water. When it's ready, drain and set aside.

Melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions and cook till they're softened, 5-7 minutes.

Mix the pasta with the butter and onions. Add the caviar and stir till fully incorporated. Serve.

Cooking from Cans: Pasta with Tomato-Clam Sauce

[insert disclaimer regarding lack of updates and backlog of posts]

One of the things I enjoy most about at-home comp days is making a quick lunch. This one consists primarily of stuff in boxes, bottles and cans, but benefits from the addition of a generous handful of fresh parsley. Our two plants have not only survived the admittedly gentle winter, but have managed to reproduce. The larger one produced several offspring, which are almost big enough to use themselves. Makes me even more hopeful than usual for spring.

• 1 c whole wheat pasta of your choice (used rigatoni this time)
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped (about 1/3 c)
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped (about 1.5 T)
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 6.5 can minced clams, drained (reserve some juice if you like)
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 T parsley, chopped

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in sit till al dente. Drain pasta and reserve.

Meanwhile, put olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook till translucent, 3-5 minutes.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook till garlic begins to turn gold, 2-5 minutes.

Add clams and stir well. Add tomatoes and some of the clam or tomato juice, whichever suits you. Turn heat to medium-high and cook till tomatoes begin to break down and become saucy, 10-15 minutes.

Taste and adjust seasoning. When done, mix pasta into sauce. Serve garnished with parsley.

Oregano Tomato Sauce

Flowerful Lunch, originally uploaded by essgee51.

An embarrassment of riches led to this delicious, simple thing: we let our herbs flower for too long. Though we will have to get new seedlings, at least our meals in the near future will be flavorful and pretty. This makes enough sauce for two hearty servings of pasta (about 1/2 box of whole wheat).

• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 c onion,minced (1/2 onion)
• 1 T garlic, minced (about 3 cloves)
• 1/8-1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 T minced oregano, plus 1-2T blossoms (or just more leaves)

Put oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, then cook till softening, about 2-3 minutes.

Add garlic and red pepper flakes; saute till fragrant (1-2 min).

Add tomatoes and liquid from can; bring to a healthy simmer and cook till the mixture reaches desired, saucy consistency (anywhere from 10-25 minutes, depending on your tastes - I tend to like some body left in the tomatoes). Add salt and pepper.

Add herbs, then cook a minute or two more. Serve over pasta with additional herbs for garnish and some oil/pasta water if needed for extra body.

Pasta with Garlic and Olive Oil

Garlic and Red Pepper Flakes Sauteeing, originally uploaded by essgee51.

The usual "after" picture was nice, but I figured this one was more interesting. This dish, again courtesy of Signore Bittman, was quick, strong and delicious with sausages and a chopped scallion on the side. Thanks to John's family for the fancy extra-virgin olive oil! My take on the recipe below.

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2-1/2 tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 14-oz. package pasta - spaghetti in this case (original calls for 1 lb. fettucini, but all I had was the smaller packages of whole wheat)
• lots of salt and pepper to taste
• parsley for garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, then cook the pasta in it according to directions.

Meanwhile, put the olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt in a small pot over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, till the garlic is golden - about 3-7 minutes, depending on your burner. Turn off the heat if the pasta isn't ready yet.

When pasta is done, drain it and reserve a bit of the cooking water in case. If necessary, reheat the garlic and olive oil - mix it with the pasta, seasoning with salt and pepper and garnishing with the parsley if you like.

Mirepoix Tuna-Tomato Sauce

Mirepoix Tuna-Tomato Sauce, originally uploaded by essgee51.

Testing out Flickr's blogging functionality and documenting this variant of this tuna-tomato sauce staple. Basically added a mirepoix for more vegetal goodness, a dash of cayenne pepper for zing, and a can of tomato sauce for added liquidity.

• 8-10 oz. pasta (used whole wheat penne)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped (about 1 cup in picture)
• 1/4 cup celery, diced (about 1/2 cup in picture)
• 1/4 cup carrot, diced (about 1/2 cup in picture)
• 1 5 oz. can chunk tuna, drained
• 1 12 oz. can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
• 1 6 oz. can tomato sauce, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne powder, to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh herbs for garnish

Prepare pasta according to instructions.

Meanwhile, saute onion, celery and carrot in oil over medium heat till onion begins to soften, 3-5 minutes.

Add tuna and stir to mix thoroughly. Add tomatoes, turn heat to medium-high, then cook till mixture begins to become saucy (10-15 minutes), or less if you're impatient. If it gets dry, add some tomato sauce.

Season with cayenne powder, salt and pepper. When sauce is at desired consistency, remove from heat, adjust seasoning, garnish and serve over pasta.

Pasta with Tuna-Tomato Sauce

[insert usual "It's been a while..." + applicable excuses/commentary] Whether I catch up with old recipes or not, onwards.

The pleasures of being at home on a winter weekday and cooking for myself were redoubled by a handful of fresh parsley and chives from the garden. This simple, loose recipe is perfect for such days; next time (perhaps even tomorrow) I'll add some carrots and celery, maybe some red pepper flakes or cayenne powder.

• some pasta (I used enough penne to make 2 or so cups, cooked)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 small onion, diced (about 1/3 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 heaping tbsp.)
• 1 five oz. can of tuna, drained
• 1 12 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with their liquid.
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring salted water to a boil. Cook pasta till done; drain and reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water, just in case.

Meanwhile, saute the onion in oil over medium heat till soft. Add the garlic; cook for a minute or so, till it's fragrant.

Add the tuna. Stir to mix, then add the tomatoes. Cool several minutes more, till the sauce is to your liking (I was too impatient to wait for the tomatoes to break down, which was fine - it was sharper than it would have otherwise been). Season to taste.

Add pasta and stir to combine, adding some pasta water if needed. Garnish with herbs (in this case chopped parsley and chives).

Pasta with Sausage, Cream and Cheese

I was ready to have leftover  split pea soup (made with ham hocks, naturally) for dinner before I came across this recipe. John kindly bought ingredients, and we had a rich, flavorful dinner. Next time: more blue cheese (we could hardly taste it, even after tripling the amount in the recipe). This would also be a good one-pot meal with a bunch of spinach or other leafy greens added. Tweaked version below.

• 8 oz. pasta
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 8 oz. sweet Italian sausage, cut into 1 in. lengths (6 oz. in original)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup loosely packed basil, chopped (oregano in the original)
• 1-1/2 oz. blue cheese (1/2 oz in the original)
• 1/4 cup half and half (cream in the original)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, for garnish  (a treat, as we didn't have Parmesan handy)

Bring lots of salted water to a boil and cook pasta till done. Reserve a half cup or so of pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown, about 5-10 minutes.

Add wine, turn to high, and reduce for about 2 minutes. Add herbs, blue cheese and cream, cooking till the cheese is melted and the liquid has begun to thicken.

Mix with the pasta, adding pasta water or additional cheese till a nice, saucy consistency has been reached. Serve, passing around Parmigiano-Reggiano/Parmesan to garnish.

Mirepoix Tomato Sauce

Alright, not quite, since the proportions of onion, celery and carrot are equal. But it's a quick, simple sauce, straight out of Bittman, and its aromatic sweetness was the perfect counterpoint to the chicken breasts in ancho chile sauce that John made to go with it.

• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 cup onions, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup carrots, diced
• 1 28 oz. can tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook till tender, 5-10 minutes.

Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pot, with salt and pepper to taste. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook till the tomatoes break down and the mixture is saucy, about 10-25 minutes.

Serve over pasta or meat.

Dinner: Pasta with Butter and Chives + Peas with Olive Oil and Mint

A quick, light dinner, made even tastier with the addition of fresh herbs from the garden. John made the peas (from this recipe), while I made the pasta - they were ready at about the same time. The dish was one of my grad school go-tos, but having fresh chives instead of dried makes a lovely difference.

Pasta with Butter and Chives

• 12 oz. pasta (used a box of tricolor rotini)
• 2 tbsp. butter, or more to taste
• about 1/3 cup chopped chives (a healthy handful from our flourishing plant)
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta till al dente. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Add butter, chives and salt and pepper to taste (be generous!). Mix well and enjoy.

From the Garden: Pasta with Wild Onions and Chives

So simple and yet so good. Cut a fat handful of wild onions from the garden, added 10-12 chive stalks from John's plant (raw materials pictured here), sauteed them in butter, added some leftover pasta, then seasoned with salt and pepper. Next time, I'll saute them more - till they're meltingly tender versus a bit al dente. Nonetheless, the dish made a yummy and satisfying afternoon snack for two.

Today's Lunch: Tuna Mac and Cheese

Now that I'm home from the holidays, the staycation begins in earnest! Used a box of whole wheat Annie's Organics as a base. While the pasta was cooking, I diced 1/2 medium onion and 1 celery stalk, sauteed them with a bit of olive oil, then added a can of tuna. Nothing fancy, and not nearly as rich as the bacon mac my sister made on Christmas eve, but nonetheless nourishing (and a good excuse to pull out the camera again). The learning curve re: phoodtography is pretty steep, but at least I have a nicely-colored bowl that showcases my noms. Would have taken more photos, but the perfect is the enemy of the good -- and the hungry.

Pasta and Pictures

I've got a miniature secret camera - well, more like a Canon Elph. Thanks, Tita Tessie and Uncle Dave! Now this blog will also be subject to my occasional clumsy attempts to learn how to photograph my food. While I obviously won't have a setup as fancy as Michael Ruhlman's, digital cameras are wonderfully forgiving, and it will be fun - for me, at least.

And now to the food. Last night I made a riff on this pasta with leek sauce recipe - olive oil instead of butter, added a minced anchovy and about 1/3 tsp. red pepper flakes with the garlic, skipped the cream and served with grated Parmesan. Below, an action shot!

The pasta was good, if a tad dry - John's mustardy carrots (not pictured) on the side helped, but in retrospect I should have used some of the pasta water and perhaps a bit more cheese. This morning, for breakfast, I fried some thin slices of Spam, reheated some pasta in the resulting oil, diced the meat and added it to the dish. Breakfast of - well, if not champions, stay-cationers, at least. It was more nutritious than my usual morning convenience fare: instant ramen, one of my longest-reigning comfort foods and guilty pleasures.

(Yes, I had some of it before remembering to take the picture.) Note that I least tried to health it up with a handful of greens, in addition to the usual scallions.

Pasta With Leek Sauce

Mr. Bento bears two helpings of this treat today (accompanied by John's delicious parsnip and Parmesan soup -- recipe courtesy of one version of the New Covent Garden Soup Co. Book of Soups -- and 5 oz. of sardines in tomato sauce). It's a riff on a recipe from Chowhound, which in turn riffs on a recipe from Marcella Hazan. While I initially balked at the amount of butter and the lengthy cooking time, this turned out wonderfully -- this and the soup made for sweet, earthy dinner on a near-winter night (and of course, there were leftovers for today). My version below:

5 medium-sized leeks, white and light-green parts cut into 1/4" rounds (will use 1-2 more next time)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 tbsp. butter
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup half and half (original recipe called for 1/2 cup heavy cream)
1 (13.2 oz) box whole wheat pasta (used penne this time)
salt and freshly-ground pepper
2-4 oz. (or more to taste) freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Clean leeks by soaking in a bowl of water or using a salad spinner. Remove excess water, but don't dry them too thoroughly.

Put oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic till it's just starting to brown. Remove garlic (I saved mine for roasting and having separately, but may try leaving it in next time).

Add leeks to the skillet. Sprinkle them with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, till they're extremely soft and almost meltingly tender (about 45 minutes - 1 hour). If they start looking dry, add 2-3 tablespoons of water at a time, then stir. Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water till al dente.

NOTE: Since my leeks were already turning brown and we were getting hungry, I skipped this step. Turn the heat to high and cook the leeks till they're a pale nut color, flipping them occasionally.

Add half-and-half to the skillet and reduce for about a minute. Season liberally with pepper. Add cooked pasta to skillet (or transfer sauce mixture into pasta pot, whichever you prefer) and mix everything together; then, add a generous amount of grated cheese (enough to ensure a clingy, non-liquidy sauce) and mix again. Correct seasoning and serve.

P-p-p-pasta with Pancetta, Pecorino...and Peas

Modded der Bittman's "Pasta with Pancetta and Pecorino" (from the 2nd edition of How to Cook Everything) - where we diverge, the original proportions are in parentheses.

• salt
• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 4 oz. pancetta
• 13.8 oz. whole wheat spaghettini or other long pasta (1 lb.)
• about 1-2/3 cup frozen peas
  
• about 3/4 cup grated Pecorino-Romano (1/2 cup)
• freshly-ground black pepper

Salt a large pot of water and bring it to a boil.

Put the oil and pancetta in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, till the meat's crisp and nicely browned, about 10 mins. Turn off the heat.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water till tender. Drain, reserving a bit of the cooking water (I always forget to do this - fortunately, there wasn't any need this time).

Prepare the peas (mine were frozen, so I just followed the directions on the package).

Toss the pasta with the pancetta and its juices; stir in the cheese and the peas (these dudes were a pain - alternately congregating at the bottom of the pot and hopping out when I tried to distribute them evenly. In the end, I sort of gave up and scooped the recalcitrant ones out to make a sort of topping). Adjust the seasoning, then add the black pepper (a lot of it!) and serve (or pack into Tupperware for tomorrow, in my case).

Tonight's Dinner

Whole-wheat spaghettini with a variant on my sardine and tomato sauce: added 4 minced anchovies with the onion and garlic. Yum!

Pasta with Sardine and Tomato Sauce

This is for tomorrow's Mr. Bento. While I do value my protein, it was sad to open and use an entire tin of sardines unmolested, sans little paws batting at my calves and loud demands for compliance with the household fish tax.

While Bittman, whose basic tomato sauce recipe this is very loosely based on, claims that this is enough for a pound of pasta, I like a lot of sauce, and so figure it's good for about 1/2-3/4 lb.

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 4-5 fat garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 4.25 oz. can of sardines in tomato sauce
• 1 28-oz. can of tomatoes (San Marzano in this case)
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• salt to taste

Salt a pot of water, bring it to a boil and cook anywhere from 1/2-1 lb. of your favorite pasta (I used whole wheat rotini). Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp. of the oil, the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes in a large pan or skillet over medium heat till the onions are translucent and the garlic's golden (3-5 minutes).

Mash up the sardines and add them to the pan. Raise the heat to medium and cook for 2-5 minutes, till they dry up a bit and release their smell.

Crush the tomatoes (I use my hands) and add them to the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes break down and become saucy (10-15 minutes or so). Add some of the liquid from the can of tomatoes if the mixture starts to seem too dry.

Correct seasoning and remove from heat. Stir in the last tbsp. of olive oil, then toss with your pasta.

Spaghetti with Leeks and Tomatoes

Behold - a spare bunch of leeks! At first I considered a riff on spaghetti with ramps, but realized the leeks would have to cook significantly longer. Ended up making a delicious variant on this Bittman recipe. Major changes: halved the amount of pasta (because I never seem to have enough veggies when I follow these types of recipes), added a shallot (because I have scads available) and omitted the parsley (didn't have any). Yum nonetheless - even cold, when I brought some leftovers for lunch and was too lazy and hungry to heat them. May add pancetta (as in this recipe) next time, too - it'll probably contrast nicely with the sweet vegetables.

• 3 large leeks - trimmed, cleaned, halved and chopped (not too finely)
• 4 tbsp. olive oil or butter (used the former this time)
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
• 1 shallot, coarsely chopped
• about 1 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 heaping tsp. red pepper flakes
• salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• 6 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

Put 2 tbsp. olive oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Saute the garlic for about a minute (just till it begins to brown), then remove it. Add the leeks and red pepper flakes; saute the leeks, stirring now and then, till they wilt (about 7-10 minutes).

Lower the heat to medium and add tomatoes. Cook another 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, till leeks begin to brown. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook pasta till tender then drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta liquid. Toss the pasta, leek mixture and remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil, adding some of the pasta water if the sauce seems too dry (mine didn't need any). Correct seasoning and serve.

Bolognese-Style Meat Sauce

Way too many of my recent recipes have been inspired partially by the need to use up a gigantic bunch of celery. This one (actually cooked last week, but I got lazy and didn't bother typing it up till now) is based on the one in the first edition of Bittman; my changes are in italics (note too that my stove seems to heat up more slowly than his - cooking times have been amended accordingly).

• 1 carrot, peeled and minced
• 1 large onion, peeled and minced
• 1 celery stalk, minced
• 3 oz. pancetta (alt. 1/4 cup), minced
• 1 lb. ground beef (alt. 1/2 lb. beef, 1/2 lb. veal)
• 1 28-oz. can tomatoes, juice reserved
• 3/4 cup juice from tomatoes (alt. white wine)
• 1 cup beef or chicken stock
  
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup milk
• grated Parmesan

Put olive oil in large pot. Turn heat to medium-low. After a minute, add the onion, carrot, celery and pancetta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender (about 10-15 minutes).

Add the ground meat. Cook, stirring and breaking up any clumps, till all traces of red are gone (about 5-10 minutes).

Raise the heat a little. Add the tomato juice and cook, stirring occasionally, till most of the liquid's evaporated (about 5-10 minutes).

Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pot; stir, then add the stock. Turn the heat to low and cook at a slow simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking up clumps. After an hour or so, season with salt and pepper.

Cook for at least another hour (more like 1-1/2 or 2 hours more in my case), till much of the liquid has evaporated. At this point, you can take the sauce off the heat and freeze or refrigerate for a while. If you're doing this, reheat it before going to the next step.

Add the milk and cook for another 15-30 minutes (didn't actually do this, as the sauce was rich and milky enough without - and well, more to the point, as I wanted to maximize storage time), stirring occasionally. Correct seasoning. Serve with pasta (or rice!) and grated Parmesan to taste.

Linguini with Spinach, Butter and Cream

I had yet another 10 oz. bag of spinach to use up, so I decided to try this recipe (only in the first edition of Bittman). Came out pretty well, but why am I so resistant to learning that 1 lb. of pasta is a TON (figuratively, for sure) of food? Next time, I'll probably add more spinach or decrease the amount of pasta - just as I said I would in the last similar recipe I posted. Ah well.

• 10 oz. fresh spinach, washed, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp. butter
• salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, light cream or half-and-half (used the latter)
• 1 lb. linguini (Bittman also recommends fettucini or spaghetti; I used whole wheat, though he didn't specify one way or another)
• 2-3 tbsp. pasta cooking water, reserved
• 1 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for passing around (Bittman sticks with 1 cup total)
  

In a pasta pot-type piece of cookware, salt water and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta and cook till it's tender but firm.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp. of the butter in a large skillet that can be covered. Add the spinach, along with salt and pepper to taste. Cover, reduce the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, till the spinach is very tender - about 10 min. Uncover, add the cream and cook gently for 5 minutes.

When the pasta's just about done, put the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter in a large, warm bowl. Add a couple of tbsp. of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and toss it with the butter and half the cheese.

Add the spinach sauce (After the step above, I tossed the pasta in the pan with the other half of the cheese - Bittman prefers reserving the extra 1/2 cup to pass at the table) and serve, passing around even more grated cheese.

Pasta with Spinach and Pancetta

I had a 10 oz. bag of spinach that needed to be used up, but was neither in moo-mode enough for Bittman's "Fettucini with Spinach, Butter and Cream," nor feeling sufficiently salt-licky for "Pasta with Spinach, Garlic and Capers" (courtesy of Aaron, who taught me how to make it during a cook-for-Obama event - recipe coming at some future point). So, clearly, this called for a bipartisan compromise that would hopefully combine the richness of the first with the stimulative properties of the second.

NOTE (24 Feb.): Dish tastes fine, but seems a bit thin. Next time, I may either increase the amount of spinach to 1 lb. or decrease the amount of pasta to 3/4 lb. And there's always the more pancetta route.

• 1 lb. pasta (I used whole wheat linguini this time)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil, more if needed
• 1.5 oz pancetta (wanted 3-4 oz, but that's all I had easy access to)
• about 1/4 cup garlic (half a head or so), cut into dimes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 10 oz. spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus more to pass around

In a large skillet or pot, render pancetta in a small amount of olive oil over medium-low heat till brown and crispy (around 10 mins.). Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Augment pancetta juice with olive oil if needed. Add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Saute over medium heat till onion is soft but not translucent, about 2-4 min.

Add spinach. Lower heat, cover and cook till spinach is tender (about 10 min).

Meanwhile, generously salt a pot of water and bring it to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions, then drain.

Add pasta to spinach mixture along with grated cheese and a bit more olive oil, if necessary; mix and correct seasoning. Garnish with pancetta and serve with more grated Parmesan.