What do people do with leftover pumpkin from Thanksgiving (yeah ok I’m lagging on some of my leftover ingredients)? I toyed with the ideas of pumpkin biscuits, pumpkin pajeon, and pumpkin dumplings of sorts, but settled on gooey baked penne pasta.
5-6 ounces whole wheat penne
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
salt and black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
a few sprigs of fresh thyme (or a pinch of dried thyme)
a few sprigs of fresh oregano (or a pinch of the dried stuff)
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (or turkey, if that’s still an issue)
3-4 ounces fontina cheese (or more if you really wanna go nuts), sliced or shredded
toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped scallions, chopped parsley, and grated Parmesan cheese to garnish
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 2/3 of the cooking time listed on the package.
While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 7 or 8 minutes. Add pumpkin, paprika, and herbs. Heat through for a few minutes, then add broth and milk, stirring to mix evenly.
Mix pumpkin sauce with drained pasta and shredded chicken. Pour in a baking dish and top with fontina cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until cheese is lightly browned. Garnish with all the other stuff.
This is something I’ve found myself making a few times over the past week in some form or another. A few nights ago I found myself bumbling around the kitchen at 9:30 pm, wondering what to eat. I tossed some pasta with leftover cooked vegetables, chickpeas, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and cream. On a more recent weekday afternoon, I found myself wearing my “house clothes” (you know, old t-shirts and sweatpants), bumbling around the kitchen yet again thanks to a canceled meeting. So I made the same pasta again, this time with some prosciutto that I was going to save for pizza later in the week. Minimal cooking, chopping, and vegetable-washing are involved, thanks to the convenience of cured meat and pre-washed baby greens.
To make it: Cook pasta (I used whole wheat linguine) in boiling salted water. Drain and set aside. Using the same water-less pot the pasta was cooked in, add a little knob of butter, some chopped garlic, and a big splash of cream. Season with a little bit of salt and a lot of black pepper. Let it heat through for a couple minutes. Add chopped sundried tomatoes, torn prosciutto, and pasta. Toss everything together to coat the pasta well. Turn the heat off and add baby arugula or spinach, tossing until greens are wilted. Finish with grated cheese.
I had a whole bunch of fresh CSA herbs piling up, and a garlicky buttery cream sauce was the perfect repository for them. These noodles were lightly slick with cream, not creamy in the gloppy, mouth-coating, fettucine Alfredo kind of way. Basically, they’re not so heavy that you’ll need to unbutton your pants and take a sweaty nap afterwards, which is great because there is sunshine to be enjoyed outside, dammit. They are, however, just rich enough to go with a glass of crisp white wine and/or a crisp green salad.
[Updated on July 14 because I forgot to include cream in the recipe. Oops. Thanks to Cho for the heads up.]
(serves 1)
3 oz spaghetti, linguine, fettucine, or other dried noodle-shaped pasta
1/2 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons heavy cream
as much minced garlic (and/or garlic scapes, since it’s that time of year) as you’d like
a scant 1/4 cup whatever leafy fresh herbs you have, minced (I used sage, oregano, parsley, and summer savory)
a couple shaves of lemon zest (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
Cook pasta in boiling salted water. Drain and set aside.
Heat butter and garlic in a small pan over medium-low heat until the butter is foamy but not brown. Add cream, herbs, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Heat gently until sauce is slightly thickened. Add pasta and toss it around in the pan with the cream sauce. Top with grated cheese if you’d like.
I usually eat fresh fruit with nothing more than a good rinse under cold water. Good for my reputation as a Healthy Person (stop snickering, those of you who have ever watched me exercise) and nutritionist, but if that was all I ever did it would make for a pretty boring food blog. So sometimes I combine very photogenic seasonal fruit with things like alcohol, fat, and sugar.
Strawberry Ginger Fizzy Drink
If you’re not the most super-careful person (like me), a few strawberries are bound to tumble out of the basket (ok fine, or maybe the whole basket will turn upside down because you couldn’t tell where the bottom of the reusable bag was) in transit. Simple fix: when you get home, take these and other smooshed berries, slice them, lightly muddle them in a glass, then pour vodka and ginger ale over them. You’ll feel better about the red stains on everything in no time. Another excellent option: pour beer over the muddled strawberries.
Strawberry Shortcake
For breakfast, not dessert. I mean, it’s biscuits with fruit… why not? All you have to do is whip out your favorite biscuit recipe and spoon macerated strawberries (cut-up berries that have been softened by a sprinkling of sugar) and whipped cream, crème fraiche, or Greek yogurt (like I did for breakfast) on top. If you’re going the dessert route, you can also top it off with ice cream or make a dessert sandwich.
Sfoglia’s Strawberry Spaghetti
Strawberry pasta sauce sounds strange, I know, but there’s a reason this thing has become a signature dish at a reputable New York City Italian restaurant. The recipe is here. I can see little kids liking it too. Good ingredients go a long way in this simple dish, so use the best stuff you can get your hands on. I busted out the expensive olive oil to finish it.
Despite what the greatest hits on this blog may have you believe, the best tasting stuff from my kitchen does not require a lot of time and labor. Case in point: the old standby of pasta with beans and greens. No advance preparation is required, and you only need one pot and one pan. I love crinkly dinosaur kale an awful lot, but any kind of kale would work in this.
In a pot of boiling salted water: Cook pasta (I used whole wheat penne) and frozen baby lima beans together until both are tender.
In a saute pan: Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and stir it around. Add red pepper flakes. After a minute or so (don’t let the garlic get all burnt) add chopped dinosaur kale (aka Lacinato kale, Tuscan kale, cavolo nero) and saute for a few minutes. Add lemon zest, salt, and pepper. I also added chopped kalamata olives because I had some. Drain pasta-bean mixture and add to pan, along with a bit of the pasta cooking water. Toss everything together and top with a drizzle of olive oil and grated Parmigiano cheese (optional).
date: Sat, Jan 22, 2011 at 12:28 PM
subject: Chat with Mike
Mike: meanwhile in sweden
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d-qENAaNbM
their food network is different
gets good about 50 secs in
me: hahah korean subtitles?
Mike: just for that one food
those bacon pieces actually look really good
me: yeah they do
is the joke just that this guy is so aggro
Mike: i believe so
shit that made me hungry
me: ok, i’m gonna go do some reading
Mike: ok
what are you doing later?
me: dunno!
i was about to ask you
should we get crunk?
Mike: maybe
if i can get myself back to that point
me: or we could just eat
Mike: yes!
FOOD
me: eating is always good
cool
dinner then?
Mike: yes
bacon and macaroni?
me: HAHAHA
sure!
Mike and I were roommates (and then building-mates) during the second half of college and the year after graduation. Some of the best times we had were over cured meats and alcoholic beverages; one time we polished off about a dozen sausages from Top Dog and a few bottles of wine over the course of two consecutive dinners while watching pirated Sex and the City DVDs. Seven years later, we’ve done it again, this time with inspiration from a YouTube video I found barely watchable. We made our pasta even better by using some beautiful thick-cut bacon from Mike’s local butcher, adding caramelized onions and a sharp cheddar cheese sauce, then baking it in the oven with breadcrumbs on top.
Fall! Time to check out the leaves, bust out the gourds, and roast a shitload of winter squash. Not surprisingly, I am most committed to the squash part of these autumn rituals. When I have enough acorn, buttercup, carnival, etc. squash (and pumpkins) I simply cut them in half, fill up a baking sheet, roast them, then scoop out all the sweet orange flesh. Mashed squash then finds its way into soups, stews, breads, pancakes, pizzas, and pastas.
My first thought when I looked at this finished dish: baby food. And the first thing I noticed as I ate it was a marginally unappealing mushing sound (you know, wet-food-noise). Regardless, it’s a nice pasta for cold weather. A tip for meat-eaters: crumbled pancetta or bacon on top.
(serves 2-ish)
about 1 tablespoon olive oil and/or butter
1 large garlic clove, minced
4-5 sage leaves
about 1 cup winter squash puree
about 1 1/2 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
salt and pepper
nutmeg (I have whole nutmeg that I grate fresh, and I’m never going back)
2 tablespoons heavy cream (or creme fraiche or half and half)
grated Parmesan cheese
about 6 oz dry pasta, cooked
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add butter and let it melt. Add garlic and sage, stirring to keep garlic from burning. After a minute or so, add squash and heat through. Stir in broth 1/2 cup at a time. Thin it out to whatever consistency you like; you may need more or less than 1 1/2 cups. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Lower heat and bring to a simmer. Stir in cream. Add pasta to sauce and toss to coat. Add cheese.
