This pasta dish is a favorite from Sicily since the finest pistachio's come from the beautiful island of Sicily. The nuts give this dish a salty and crunchy texture while the ricotta, parmigiano and cream bring this pasta dish all together. I enjoy the simplicity of this recipe.
Ricotta Pistachio Pasta
1/2 pound pasta
1 cup whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup pistachio's, shelled
1/2 cup parmigiano cheese, grated
1/4 cup cream
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 sage leaves
salt and pepper
Cook pasta in boiling salted water till al dente. Meanwhile in a large frying pan heat olive oil, with the back of a knife bruise the sage leaves. Add these to the olive oil and cook for a minute, then discard.
Toss in pistachio's cook a minute or two, stirring occasionally. Add ricotta, parmigiano, cream, salt and pepper stir to combine. Add cooked pasta and mix together. Serves 2
A torta made with a flaky buttery crust, blueberry jam, fresh blueberries, and a sweet filling. The sliced almonds on top gave a nice crunch to this dessert.
Blueberry Almond Torta
Dough
1 teaspoon yeast
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups flour
Filling
1/4 cup almonds, finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup flour
1/8 cup sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup blueberry jam
Prepare dough by heating milk to 105 degrees add yeast and sugar, stir and let sit for 10 minutes. In a mixer with a dough hook, or by hand combine yeast mixture along with sifted flour, salt, and butter. Knead dough a few minutes form a ball and wrap in plastic wrap, let rest for 1 hour.
Prepare filling by mixing the finely chopped almonds with 1/4 cup sugar. In a small bowl using a fork mix 1 egg white with 1/8 cup sugar, set aside. In a mixer combine almonds and sugar, vanilla, the egg mixture then add honey and 1/8 cup sugar, gently fold in blueberries.
Roll out dough to fit a buttered 9 inch pie pan, layer dough with blueberry jam then add filling top with 2 tablespoons of sliced almonds and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
An egg pie that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I made a simple crust together with fresh spinach, mozzarella, parmigiano and fresh eggs. Eggs and cheese is always a great combination.
Egg Pie with Spinach
Crust
1 1/4 cups flour
pinch of salt
7 tablespoons cold butter
3-4 tablespoons cold water
Filling
10 eggs
1 cup cream
1 bunch fresh spinach
1 cup mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 cup parmigiano cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients to form crust, roll out place in a pie pan, refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Wash and remove stems from spinach boil for a few minutes, chop and squeeze out excess water. Scramble eggs add cream, cheeses, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add in spinach fill pie shell and place on a baking pan. Preheat oven to 425 degrees for 30 minutes, let sit for 15 minutes before cutting.
Pasta e Fagioli, is a pasta and bean soup that is very popular in Italy. It's a hearty soup full of vegetables, beans and pasta. A simple soup to make for the whole family to enjoy.
Pasta Fagioli
1 can cannellini beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 strips thick bacon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 sprig rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper
4 cups water
1/2 pound pasta
shavings of parmigiana
red hot pepper flakes
In a large pan cook bacon, remove and set aside. Cook tomato paste till it browns then saute onions, carrots and celery for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to lift the paste from the pan. Add olive oil and cook garlic and rosemary for about 1 minute add in bacon. Pour in 4 cups water, salt and pepper and beans simmer for 30 minutes. Cook pasta till al dente, in a separate pot then add to soup. With a hand blender I blended half the soup to make it thicker. Add cheese and pepper flakes.
Lemon Pavlova, is a light sweet meringue dessert
and I chose to fill mine with lemon curd and fresh blackberries. Unlike most
merinque with the addition of cornstarch, the pavlova is crispy on the outside
with a soft inside almost like marshmallows, it melts in your mouth. A perfect
combination to start this Spring season. These are easy to make and can be
served with whip cream and strawberries or any fresh berries or soft fruit.
Lemon Pavlova
6 egg whites ( about 6 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
juice of 1/2 a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
lemon curd
blackberries
Whisk in a mixer egg whites and cream of
tartar on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in sugar and cornstarch slowly and whisk for an additional 2 minutes. Add vanilla and lemon juice whisk on high
speed till stiff peaks appear. Preheat oven to 250 degrees, use a baking sheet
lined with parchment paper and with a pastry bag, I piped out a round form 3
inches by 3 inches. You can make any size and can also use a tablespoon to form
shapes. I used the back of a spoon to make a small well so later I could fill
it. Bake for 30 minutes turn baking sheet and cook another 30 minutes. Turn
oven off and leave pavlova in oven for 1 hour. Remove and carefully place on a
wire rack, they are fragile. These can be filled with lemon curd or whip cream
and any berries will work. Under search on my blog you can find my lemon curd
recipe.
A grilled shrimp sandwich so light and fresh, is a great way to start this Spring season. I combined the shrimp with ripe avocado, grilled onions and a dressing made with mayo, lemon, dill and garlic powder. The optimum component of this creation is the ciabatta roll, bread is so important to construct the perfect sandwich.
Chef Chuck's Grilled Shrimp Sandwich
1 pound medium shrimp
olive oil
salt and pepper
onion, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
2 tablespoons mayo
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dry dill
3 ciabatta rolls
Peel shrimp and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat grill and first grill onion slices then grill shrimp for 2 minutes on each side. Mix mayo, lemon juice, garlic powder, dill, salt and pepper to make dressing. Coat both sides of bread with mayo dressing add shrimp, avocado slices and onion slices.
This stuffed pasta recipe, made with rigatoni would be a delicious appetizer or a main meal. I stuffed these with a mixture of hot Italian sausage, garden fresh zucchini, onions, garlic and parmigiano cheese. You could make these ahead of time and then bake when company arrives.
Stuffed Pasta
1/2 pound rigatoni
2 hot Italian sausages
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
tomato sauce
parmigiano cheese
Heat olive oil and saute zucchini and onions with salt and pepper a few minutes. Add crumbled sausage cook for a minute or two then add garlic and parsley. Transfer to a food processor and pulse to make stuffing. Boil in salted water, rigatoni or similar pasta till al dente. Rinse so you can handle them and stuff using a tiny spoon. Place sauce in bottom of baking pan lay in stuffed rigatoni top with sauce and grated cheese, cover and bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
