Salmon Chard Pasta Bake

This recipe is great.  I am definitely going to make it again.  

The original recipe requires chicken but I had canned salmon on hand and thought it would be better, and it was.  

Recipe Inspiration
Salmon and Swiss Chard Pasta Bake
1 pound whole wheat penne
2 bunches Swiss chard
1 bunch kale
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 oz) can of Salmon
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 cups good-quality ricotta cheese
Splash dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko crumbs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 375°. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente, or according to package directions. Strain and set aside (toss with a bit of olive oil if you'd like).
Rinse the swiss chard well and pull the leaves off the thick stalks, discarding the stems. Tear leaves into large chunks and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium heat. Cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Add the swiss chard to the pot and season generously with salt and pepper. Stir a few times to wilt the greens. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook until greens are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add the cooked noodles, salmon, tomatoes, ricotta, and a generous splash of white wine to the greens, and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish. Combine Parmesan, panko, and remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle the Parm mixture over the top of the casserole and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.


 

Rigatoni with Sausage, Peas and Fresh Ricotta

Jeff claims this is one of the best pasta dishes we have ever made.
I think it is up there. But I have become a huge fennel fan, meaning I love sausage.

Serves 6

2 large cans whole San Marzano tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf (pref fresh)
1 cup diced fresh fennel (reserve the fronds for garnish)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 pound sweet or hot (or both) Italian sausage with fennel seeds
1/2 cup defrosted petit pois (small peas)
1 pound rigatoni (large ridges)
1 pint fresh ricotta
1/4 pound ricotta salata

Run the tomatoes through a food mill and discard the peels and seeds. (You can puree them in a blender or food processor if you don't have a mill.)

Heat the olive oil gently in a large heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Add the bay leaf, fennel, garlic and red pepper flakes (for a milder sauce, you can add these at the end). Season with salt and pepper and saute until the fennel is soft and ever so slightly brown at the edges.

Add the tomatoes, stir, and lower the heat to low. Cook gently, stirring every so often, for 2 hours. Ask a question about this step.

If you have a grill or grill pan, grill the sausages whole, then slice into 1/2-inch rounds. Alternatively, you can rub them with a bit of olive oil and roast in the oven on a sheet tray at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes, and then slice into rounds.

When the sauce is reduced, cook the pasta according to the package directions (but probably you should add the pasta to rapidly boiling, highly salted water; then once it comes back up to a boil, cook for 8 to 10 minutes). Retain 1 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta.

Pour two-thirds of the sauce into a large saute pan, add the sausage and heat through over medium heat.

Add the warm pasta to the sauce, plus about 1/2 cup of pasta water (more if you think you need it). Saute, turning with tongs and shaking the pan until the sauce has been absorbed into the pasta. Add the peas at the last minute.

Serve with a HEAPING dollop of cold ricotta cheese and shavings of ricotta salata. Garnish with fennel fronds.

CSA and Pesto

I have been behind on updating our CSA share every week and what we do with the vegetables we receive.  Really we have been receiving a lot of veggies and sometimes we don't know what to do with it all.  Like lettuce, how many salads can one person eat?  Or cabbage, we have two heads of cabbage in the fridge right now.  I need to make some sauerkraut before it gets old. 

We have also been receiving tons of peas, dill, cilantro, carrots, lettuce, spinach, garlic scapes, basil, green onions, turnips, fennel, peppers, squash, and it goes on and on.  I broke down and gave away a lot of dill and cilantro.  I can only do so much with dill and cilantro is repulsive to me anymore. 

With a lot of our veggies we have been making stir frys. 

This one had rice noodles, garlic scapes, green onions, peas and bok choy, along with our normal seasonings. 

The other night Jeff was nice enough to make a wonderful dinner, the best in a while.  He made pesto with all of our basil we have received, plus some pine nuts and jalapenos.  He also sauteed some peppers and zucchini to add to the pesto and pasta.  He also made a wonderful balsamic reduction and made bruschetta with it.  It was amazing.

Sorry I don't have recipes for these, we just kind of made these dishes from our heads and knowing the basics of these dishes. 

Walnut Pesto

Okay that is not what the recipe is really called, but that is basically what you are making.

I took this recipe from The Complete Pasta Cookbook.

Spaghetti with Walnut Sauce   Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup walnut pieces or halves
3 Tbls plain bread crumbs
3 Tbls olive oil
3 Tbls chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
2 Tbls heavy cream
14 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Drop the walnuts into a small pan of boiling water, and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Drain, then skin if needed.  Dry on a towel.  Coarsely chop and set aside about a quarter.  
2. Place the remaining nuts, the bread crumbs, oil, parsley and garlic into a food processor.  Process to a paste.
3. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water, according the the package, until al dente. ( Tip: if following package time reduce this by a couple of minutes, otherwise it will most likely be overcooked.)  Drain, the toss with butter.  Once butter is fully melted add walnut sauce, then cream.  Add salt, pepper and cheese to taste.  Sprinkle with the reserved nuts and add more Parmesan cheese if desired.

Enjoy.