The Cookbook » Pasta http://www.osm.net Good food, good wine, friends and family. Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:48:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Pasta with Baby Broccoli and a Ricotta, Spinach Sauce http://www.osm.net/2008/06/pasta-with-baby-broccoli/ http://www.osm.net/2008/06/pasta-with-baby-broccoli/#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:30:05 +0000 Anna Maria Luisa http://www.osm.net/?p=16 This dish is a family favorite – a combination of pasta with a ricotta, spinach and pecorino stir-through sauce, served with steamed baby broccoli tips dressed with butter, garlic and olive oil, accompanied with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes.

The finished dish, pasta with broccoli.

For this dish I prepared a dressing for the broccoli using a small bowl (about 50 mls. in size) and combined a heaped teaspoon of butter (or margarine), one crushed garlic clove, a sprinkle of chopped chives, and a dribble of olive oil. Using the teaspoon I folded the mixture together until smooth. Once the broccoli is ready to serve, pour the mixture over it and toss lightly to distribute evenly.

I’m using an off-the-shelf stir though pasta sauce. In this particular example its Kraft Foods Ricotta, Spinach and Pecorino Sauce available in most supermarkets. When the pasta was cooked, I simply mixed in two heaped tablespoons of the sauce, stirred it though to get a good distribution, and then shared the pasta out on the the plates. After that, just add the dressed brocolli and your ready to serve.

Starting with the broccoli pictured below I cut off the thick stems, leaving just the broccoli flowers on the little stems. I steamed these for about 7 minutes before adding the dressing (see above). Fortunately we have one of those great spaghetti cooker things with a container for the pasta and a steamer above which makes cooking this meal a breeze.

Some pasta.

Fresh baby brocolli and garlic.

Ingredients (2 serves)

  • 1-2 cloves of garlic
  • tsp of butter or margarine
  • a dribble of olive oil
  • a sprinkle of chopped chives
  • 180-240 grams pasta
  • 100 grams baby broccoli
  • Ricotta, Spinach and Pecorino stir-through sauce (Kraft Foods)
  • 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Method

  1. put on the pasta
  2. prepare broccoli dressing by mixing together the butter, crushed garlic cloves, chives and olive oil – set aside
  3. about 7 or 8 minutes before the pasta is done, start steaming the broccoli and preheat two of three tablespoons of the stir-though source
  4. when the pasta and broccoli are done, drain the pasta and mix though the preheated sauce, and pour the prepared dressing over the broccoli
  5. serve the pasta into the individual plates and garnish with the dressed broccoli
  6. serve with grated parmesan cheese in a side dish
]]> http://www.osm.net/2008/06/pasta-with-baby-broccoli/feed/ 0 Lasagna http://www.osm.net/2008/06/lasagna/ http://www.osm.net/2008/06/lasagna/#comments Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:24:18 +0000 Anna Maria Luisa http://www.osm.net/?p=13 Garfield once said (while paraphrasing Will Rogers) “I never met a Lasagna I didn’t like.” This particular Lasagna is easy to prepare and tastes great. It’s basically a combination of meat base (mince meat, chopped onions, and garlic) combined with a jar of tomato based spaghetti sauce, a little oregano, layered in with grated cheese between sheets of lasagna, and topped with a Carbonara sauce and more cheese.

Ingredients (3 serves)

  • 2 tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 300g minced beef
  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1 packet of lasagna sheets
  • 1 jar of a tomato based spaghetti sauce (for example I used a 375g jar of Bolognese Sauce)
  • 450g Carbonara sauce
  • 1 cups of grated cheese for the layers
  • 1/2 cups of grated cheese for the top

Method

  1. start preheating the oven for 180 C
  2. heat oil in frying pan
  3. add onion and garlic and cook for about 5 min.
  4. add mince meat and oregino, mix together and cook for a further 15 min. or so until the mince meat has browned
  5. add the tomato-based sauce to the mix and stir though
  6. let the mixture simmer for a further 10 or 15 minutes stirring occasionally (note: the mixture should be semi-liquid but if your combination looks too dry just add a little water or tomato juice
  7. prepare the lasagna dish by coating the sides and base with butter or margarine
  8. spread about 1/4 of the Carbonara sauce over the bottom of the dish
  9. cover with the first layer of Lasagna sheets
  10. spread 1/4 of the meat sauce mixture over the Lasagna sheets then sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over the top, then layer over more Lasagna sheets
  11. repeat the previous step another three times (bringing the total number of layers to 4)
  12. pour the remaining Carbonara sauce over the top, spreading the mixture evenly
  13. sprinkle the 1/2 cup of grated cheese over the top
  14. place in the oven and cook for 40 min. at 180 C
]]> http://www.osm.net/2008/06/lasagna/feed/ 0 Linguine, Baked Tomatoes and Basil http://www.osm.net/2008/06/linguine/ http://www.osm.net/2008/06/linguine/#comments Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:24:12 +0000 Anna Maria Luisa http://www.osm.net/?p=12 Tomatoes baked in balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, served over linguine, and garnished with fresh basil. The tomatoes are baked whole with the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar for about an hour or more until soft, then quartered and the combination of sweetened vinegar and tomatoes are poured over the linguine. The dish is finalized by mixing in fresh basil leaves and finely sliced chili. Add a little parmesan cheese and you have something that your taste buds will not forget any time soon.

Ingredients (2 serves)

  • The Pasta
    • 180-200 grams of linguine
  • The Sauce
    • 4 medium sized fine ripened tomatoes
    • 150-200 mills of Balsamic Vinegar
    • 2 heaped teaspoons of brown sugar
    • 1 red chili seeds removed and finely chopped
  • The Garnish
    • one cup of fresh basil leaves
    • 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Method

  1. preheat oven to 180C
  2. line a small baking dish with baking paper and place tomatoes in the dish
  3. mix together the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and pour over tomatoes
  4. cook tomatoes in oven until soft (60-90 minutes)
  5. prepare linguine (following directions, probably about 10 min.)
  6. remove baked tomatoes from oven and quarter the tomatoes in the dish
  7. place cooked linguine into a serving dish, add the tomatoes and juice from the baking dish and the fresh basil leaves
  8. serve with the grated parmesan cheese

Source: Personal experience.

]]> http://www.osm.net/2008/06/linguine/feed/ 0 Tuscan Meatballs http://www.osm.net/2008/04/tuscan-meetballs/ http://www.osm.net/2008/04/tuscan-meetballs/#comments Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:16:23 +0000 Anna Maria Luisa http://www.osm.net/recipes/?p=3 Classic Italian spaghetti and meatballs in a recipe that is easy to prepare.

Ingredients (4 serves)

  • 800g beef mince
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • 1 x 400 gram can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 pkt. Tuscan Meatball Recipe Base (Masterfoods)
  • 1 red chili, seeds removed and finely sliced
  • 1 teaspoon of parsley flakes
  • shaved parmesan cheese (garnish)
  • some fresh Italian parsley springs for garnish (optional)

Method

  1. combine the mince, parsley, egg and breadcrumbs
  2. using small spoonfuls of the mixture, make up golf-ball sized meatballs
  3. using the oil in a frying pan, brown the meatballs turning frequently until cooked though
  4. add tomatoes, crushed garlic, chili, and recipe mix, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer
  5. cook on low for a further 15-20 min. while preparing the spaghetti
  6. serve meatballs and sauce over spaghetti
  7. garnish with the shaved parmesan and parsley sprigs

Source: Originally based on the directions on the back of the Masterfoods recipe base and enhanced over time with additions of garlic and chili.

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