Pasta

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup extra-virgin olive oil (Lemon and garlic olive oils both work nicely!)
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint small tomatoes
¹⁄₂ cup fresh chives or garlic chives, chopped
20 fresh basil or lemon basil leaves, finely shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti

Instructions
1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt.

2. In a large skillet (12 to 14-inch), heat the olive oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add the garlic, tomatoes, chives, and basil and cook over high heat until the tomatoes are just beginning to burst. Season with salt and pepper.  

3. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in the boiling water according to package directions. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the tomatoes. Toss over high heat for 1 minute and serve immediately.  

Comments
I received Lemon Basil in my CSA box this week and, having never had it before, I had no idea what to do with it.  I found the recipe this is based upon at epicurious.com and it, in turn, is from Mario Batali’s Babbo Cookbook.  I’ve tried many of Batali’s (recipes and have always had great results.  I’m pleased to say that this was no different and absolutely fantastic.  I’m not sure I noticed a huge difference between lemon basil and regular basil, so I might try this again in the future with regular basil, but it was delicious regardless.  It was also extremely easy to toss together and that is always a plus!

Shown here with Baked Pesto Chicken.

Babbo

Ingredients
1 pound orzo pasta (Orzo is little rice-shaped pasta)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium zucchini (I used the Zucchini pictured in this week’s CSA post) 1 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1-2 teaspoons fresh oregano
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions
1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook orzo as instructed on package, about 7 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Shred zucchini using a cheese grater, mandolin, or food processor. Sauté zucchini with onion and garlic until lightly golden.

3. Add thyme and oregano to zucchini mixture and stir thoroughly, then remove from heat and combine with orzo and parmesan cheese. Salt to taste and serve cool or at room temperature.  

Comments
I am currently reading an amazing book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  It’s by the wondering Barbara Kingsolver and talks about moving her family from Tucson, Arizona to the Appalachians in order to farm and feed her family from local food.  Of course, the book addresses zucchini, because there always seems to be an over-abundance of it if you grow your own vegetables.  This recipe was included in that section and I knew that I had to try it.  

Both the zucchini in the dish and the dish itself certainly do disappear!

Shown here with Filet Mignon with Fresh Herb and Garlic Rub.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons butter
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons flour
3 cups half and half, divided
1 pound short pasta
1 ¹⁄₂ limes, juiced
1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup onion, diced (I used green onion from the CSA)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 yellow pepper, diced
¹⁄₂ cup white wine
8 ounces smoked salmon, chopped
4 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed very well
Salt and pepper

Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta as directed on the package.  Drain and toss with dill and lime juice.  Set aside.  

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.  Add flour and stir or whisk until smooth.  Gradually stir in 2 cups half and half.  Increase heat to high and continue stirring until boiling.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You’ve just made béchamel!

3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, then sauté the onions and yellow peppers until tender.  Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Pour the wine into the pan, scrapping the bottom of the skillet to loosen any bits that have stuck on. 
Simmer until wine has reduced by half.

4. Combine vegetables with béchamel, remaining cup of half and half, smoked salmon, and capers.  Slowly bring to a boil.  

5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add sauce to pasta and toss well to coat.  Serve and enjoy.  

Comments
This was inspired by a recipe I found on foodtv.com.  Sadly, the recipe was lacking a lot of direction, so the recipe you see here is my interpretation of what the recipe I found was asking me to do.  This had a lot of interesting flavors in it that are all fairly strong on their own, but surprisingly enough everything worked very well once brought together in the dish.   It makes 6 good-sized portions, so I’ll be enjoying this later during the week for lunches.  It’s quite a bit lighter tasting that 3 cups of half and half would lead you to believe.

Internet - Food TV

Ingredients
¹⁄₄ cup olive oil
2-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (Start with 2 teaspoons and add more based on your preference and the ripeness of the tomatoes)
1 small clove garlic, minced (About ¹⁄₂ teaspoon)
1 small shallot, minced (About 2 tablespoons)
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 ¹⁄₂ pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into ¹⁄₂-inch dice (I love tomatoes, I tend to use 2-3 nice big beefsteak tomatoes.  This is around 3-3 ¹⁄₂ cups once diced.)
12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ¹⁄₂-inch cubes
1 pound penne pasta, or other short pasta
¹⁄₄ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar (To be added at the end if the dish is not sweet enough.  I’ve never had to add extra sugar when I make this in the summer)

Instructions
1. Whisk oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, garlic, shallot, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Add tomatoes and gently toss to combine; set aside. Do not marinate tomatoes longer than 45 minutes.

2. While tomatoes are marinating, place mozzarella on plate and freeze until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. (If you freeze the mozzarella for longer than this, you might have a hard time separating it from the plate.  This step is crucial as it prevents the mozzarella from becoming a melted and gummy mess when added to the pasta.)  

3. Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in stockpot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain well.  

4. Add pasta and mozzarella to tomato mixture and gently toss to combine. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in basil; adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice or sugar, if desired, and serve immediately.

Comments
Sometimes I feel like I imagined the Cook’s Illustrated podcast, but it did exist, briefly, in 2008!  This recipe was from that podcast and it came right when I was trying to figure out new ways to use all the gorgeous tomatoes I was buying every week at the market.  It’s meant to be served warm, not hot, and is scrumptious.  

If you use tomatoes that are wetter, you might want to consider seeding them first in order to keep the dish from being too watery.

Shown here with Baked Chicken Breasts with Parmesan-Garlic Crust.

Cook’s Illustrated 2007

Ingredients
1 pound penne
Cooking spray
1 pound sweet Italian sausage (turkey or pork, depending on your preference)
1 large bell pepper, finely chopped (I used red)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¹⁄₄ teaspoon black pepper
Dash salt
20 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces garlic and herb tomato sauce, or similar tomato product
1 bunch arugula or spinach, chopped (optional)
1 ¹⁄₂ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 cup goat cheese, crumbled
¹⁄₂ cup Parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

3. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add bell pepper and next 6 ingredients to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until bell pepper is tender. Stir in tomato sauce. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta to pan, tossing gently to coat. Stir in arugula.  Spoon pasta mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Stir in mozzarella and goat cheese; sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake at 350*F for 7 minutes or until bubbly and top is browned.

Note: If you’d like to save your dishwasher, make everything in an ovensafe skillet, skip transferring it to a casserole dish, and bake the casserole in the skillet.

Comments
This is adapted from a Cooking Light recipe.  I had some arugula from my CSA box and decided to toss that in at the end; I imagine that spinach would be an equally tasty addition as well.  I also used a jar of tomatoes that I’d gotten from the farmer’s market last year instead of the tomato sauce the recipe calls for.  

This was really scrumptious and the flavor of the goat cheese shone through nicely.  I can see making this in the future and experimenting with different types of sausage, or perhaps even using cubed chicken.

Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni
1 pound lean ham, chopped
1 ¹⁄₂ cups frozen peas
Cooking spray
¹⁄₂ cup onion finely, chopped
3 cups milk (I used 1%.)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (I used 2%.)
1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded (I used 2%.)
³⁄₄ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground red pepper
2 slices bread (I used whole wheat.)
2 tablespoon butter, melted

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Cook pasta in boiling water 6 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. Combine pasta, ham, and peas in a large bowl.

3. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add milk; bring to simmer. Remove from heat; stir in cheeses, salt, and peppers. Pour cheese mixture over pasta mixture; stir to coat. Spoon pasta mixture into a 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1¼ cups. Combine bread crumbs and butter in a bowl. Arrange bread crumb mixture evenly over pasta mixture. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Creamier Version: If you want this to be creamier, add in three tablespoons of butter with the onion in step 3.  After the onion softens, add three tablespoons of flour and stir for a few minutes until the butter is absorbed.  Proceed with the rest of the recipe as written. 

Comments
This is a recipe from Cooking Light’s 2009 Annual and yields a very wet macaroni and cheese.  It’s almost more of pasta with a thin sauce instead of my mental picture of how macaroni and cheese usually is.  Still, it’s scrumptious and has a lovely flavor that isn’t drowning in cheese.

Cooking Light 2009