PASTA - OR 'NOT'?

 

                                        Pasta – or ‘not’?

           Pasta is one of those kitchen staples that comes to the aid of all cooks looking for a quick and tasty meal from the home pantry.  It easily adapts itself to many ingredients in the kitchen and can be as elaborate as the imagination of the cook. Like soup, established favorite pasta dishes can accept ingredients not originally meant for this purpose and thus deliver new and delightful flavor combinations.

          Chinese cuisine has favored noodles in their cooking for 5000 years, but the pasta we associate primarily with Italian cooking are dated back to the Etruscans. The simple mixture of flour and water, sometimes enriched with eggs, was a simple way to process wheat flour and when dried preserve such food. Rice has been long substituted for wheat in many Orienta noodles and health-conscious cooks find bean and other legume pasta a source of different flavors. 

                                                                   Farfalle pie

Cook ½ lb. farfalle (bow tie pasta) in salted water for 12 minutes and drain.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1)    In a bowl mix 2 cups cut or shredded chicken, pork-but, browned ground turkey or beef, with ½ cup flavorful spaghetti sauce.

2)    In another bowl blend 1 ½ cups cottage cheese with 1 egg, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. oregano, 2 tbslp. chopped parsley (optional), ¼ cup parmesan cheese.

3)    Spray a 10-inch pie plate with baking spray and spread with 2-3 tablespoons spaghetti sauce.

4)    Spread out ½ of the cooked pasta in the plate, cover with the meat sauce and then spread the rest on the pasta on top. Cover all with the cottage cheese blend and sprinkle with another ¼ cup parmesan cheese.

5)    Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to set for 10 minutes before cutting in wedges to serve.

As indicated in the last recipe, pasta dishes adapt easily to different kinds of meat and as I found recently, even adapt by substitutions of pasta itself. 

                                                              Pita-torta-lasagna

This is a lasagna like torta, easily adapted for a smaller number of diners, that uses pita bread (white or whole wheat) instead of the traditional lasagna noodles.

1)    Refresh 3 pita if stored in refrigerator with a sprinkling of water and 20 seconds in microwave. Slice 1 linguine in very thin rounds.

2)    In a bowl beat 1 egg with 16 oz. flavorful pasta sauce, ¼ cup chopped parsley, 1 tsp. oregano and ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes (optional).

3)    Spray a pie plate with baking spray or olive oil and spread with 2 tblsp. of the sauce mix.

4)    Layer the torta starting with 1 pita, spread with: 3 tblsp. sauce, ¼ cup cottage cheese, ½ sliced linguine, ¼ cup shredded mozzarella.  Repeat with another pita and the rest of the first layer. Place the last pita bread on top and spread with the remaining sauce.

5)    Top with 4 overlapping sliced rounds of provolone and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool slightly and serve the torta in wedges with a crisp salad for lunch or dinner. Any leftover torta reheats well in the microwave, with improved blended flavors.

Its spring, time for new tastes and textures, so let us innovate with pasta – or other familiar food items. Think of ‘Pasta Primavera’- linguine with a simple sauce of olive oil sautéed shallots, red pepper strips and asparagus spears, just sprinkled with coarsely grated Parmesan. Delicious!

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

 

 

SPRING FOR KALE

 

Spring for Kale

           The popularity of kale has grown by leaps and bounds in the last five to ten years. Mostly touted for its health benefits it also has the talent of adding color and even texture to many dishes. Spring in Maine tends to come slowly and trying to lighten up our meals on the table can be a challenge, but a large bunch of kale from the grocery can sometimes do the trick.

          Many of us have discovered kale relatively recently, but it was grown in the Middle Ages as food for both humans and livestock. Kale is an amazingly colorful vegetable of the cabbage family ranging from shades of green to purple with most common varieties being curly. My favorite is the Toscano variety with deep flavor and long flat leaves that make it easy to wash and de-rib for use.  The low-calorie count of kale, only 33 calories for a cup of raw kale, belies its abundance in vitamins and minerals. Fiber makes it more substantive than spinach or even Swiss chard for many uses. 

                                                 Vegetable soup with kale

          In a large pot sauté in 1 tblsp. olive oil one large onion and 1 stalk of celery, chopped in medium sized pieces for 5 minutes. Add 4 cups chicken broth, a bay leaf, 1 tsp. thyme, 7 cloves and bring to boil.

Add vegetables chopped in ½ to ¾ inch pieces: 1 large carrot, 1 parsnip, and 1 medium potato.  Turn heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes, then stir in 1 small, chopped zucchini, 3-4 Tuscan kale leaves (de-ribbed and torn in pieces), ¾ cups frozen peas, ¼ cup chopped parsley, adjust volume to desired consistency with water and continue cooking for an additional 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and 2 tblsp. white wine vinegar. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Kale makes a wonderful vegetable side dish for most meats or fish and is easy and quick to prepare. You only need a few ingredients and a large pan with a tight-fitting lid since kale will shrink considerably in the cooking process.

          Kale with shallots and dried cranberries

De-rib one or two bunches of Tuscan or other type of kale, tear in large pieces, wash and drain. Thinly slice 2 shallots and finely chop 2 cloves garlic.

In a large pan heat 2 tblsp. olive oil to hot and add kale, tossing in a few handfuls at a time. Continue adding and tossing for 3 minutes, together with the shallots and garlic, until all the kale fits in the pan. Sprinkle with ½ tsp. salt, some red pepper flakes and turn down the heat.

Add ½ cup dried cranberries, 2/3 cup chicken broth, juice of 1 lemon, cover and allow to steam on low heat for 12 minutes.  Uncover, briefly turn up the heat to cook and remove any extra liquid remaining. Serve hot as a vegetable side dish.

This kale dish lends itself well as a briefly heated leftover of can shine on its own  for breakfast or lunch with an egg and some sausage or bacon.

                                       Egg and bacon in kale nests

If you have a couple of small pans, this dish can be served directly in pan.

Crisp fry a slice of thick bacon for each serving and drain on paper towels. Discard the fat. Spread ¾ cup or more of the cooked kale from the recipe with ‘shallots and cranberries’ in a small pan with a couple of tblsp. water, cover and heat. When the kale is very hot, push the kale away from the center of the pan to make a nest and drop a cracked egg in it. Cover and continue to heat on moderate heat until the egg is set. The kale may brown in spots, giving it a deeper flavor. Remove the lid, sprinkle with lemon salt and add the broken bacon pieces. Enjoy with toast or an English muffin.

          Amazing, how such healthy food can taste wonderful and enhance the eye appeal of a meal!

 (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)