pasta | COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE

penne con pancetta e crema

January 13, 2014 § 64 Comments

Penne with bacon and cream. This is what we had for dinner the other night instead of macaroni and cheese. On a freezing late afternoon my teenage son mentioned how “cozy” it was in the house and he wanted a bowl of macaroni and cheese. We checked the refrigerator and did not have enough of the right type of cheese. However, what we did find was a bag of cremini mushrooms, bacon and some heavy whipping cream. I know, it’s the New Year and we are suppose to be eating light. How do you tell that to a 15 year old young man who eats constantly?! He agreed with the prospect of this combination and I was happily pulling the pots out as well as the chopping block.

Perhaps the combination and texture of this sauce would be better with another pasta shape. I only had penne on hand so finely chopping the mushrooms helped the bits find their way into the pasta tubes. This is another recipe inspired by the late Marcella Hazen.

If you are craving a comforting carbonara type sauce this is it. Eggless and wonderful.

I n g r e d i e n t s

3/4 pound fresh mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 or 4 good quality bacon slices, finely chopped
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound good quality pasta

F o r t o s s i n g t h e p a s t a

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
reserved pasta liquid (if needed)

Wash, dry and finely chop mushrooms and set aside. Place a large skillet on medium heat and add the butter and finely chopped shallots, cook until soft. Turn up the heat and add the mushrooms. Stir thoroughly to coat well. Add salt and a few grindings of pepper, turn up the heat to allow the liquid from the mushrooms to boil away, stirring frequently. Turn the heat back down to medium, add the bacon and stir while it cook for about a minute or two. Add the cream and cook just long enough for the cream to become reduced and slightly thickened. Taste and correct for salt and pepper. Turn off the heat. Set aside.

Choose an enameled cast-iron or other flameproof serving pan that can later contain all the pasta without piling it high. Put in the 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup cream for tossing the pasta, and turn on the heat to low. When the butter melts, stir to amalgamate it with the cream, then turn off the heat.

Drain the pasta when done, reserving one cup of the liquid. Transfer the pasta to the serving pan containing butter and cream. Turn on the heat to low, toss the noodles, turning them thoroughly to coat them well. Add half of the mushroom sauce, tossing it with the noodles. Add the 1/2 cup parmesan, toss again, and turn off the heat. Pour the remainder of the mushroom sauce over the pasta. Check for dryness and add a bit of the cooking liquid if necessary. Serve at once right out of the pan, with additional parmesan on the side.

Serves 4-6

strozzapreti carbonara with charred brussels sprouts

September 23, 2013 § 54 Comments

Spaghetti carbonara is one of my favorite pasta dishes. I love the flavors of bacon, egg and grana padano cheese combined with a good quality spaghetti. Also, having “breakfast for dinner” in spaghetti form is always a pleasure. This is a nice spin on the basic carbonara. The brussels sprout leaves are cooked until crispy and charred before tossing in the pasta.

This recipe was featured in the latest issue of Bon Appétit. It was stated “the key to this dish is getting a good char on the brussels sprouts, which helps balance the richness of the porky, eggy sauce. Salt draws moisture out of the leaves, which might make them soggy, so do not season them” (while charring in the skillet).

I found by removing the outer leaves first then carving out the core a little I was able to easily separate most of the leaves from each sprout.

Using a good quality pasta will made a difference in the outcome of your recipe.

I n g r e d i e n t s

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed, leaves separated
12 ounces good quality strozzapreti or small pasta
2 ounces of guanicale (salt-cured pork jowl) or pancetta, finely chopped
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/3 cup Pecorino, plus more for serving
2 large egg yolks, beaten to blend

M e t h o d

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Working in batches , add brussels sprout leaves and cook, tossing occasionally, until charred in spots and crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Cook pasta in a large pot until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add guanciale or pancetta and cook, stirring often, until slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Add pepper and cook, stirring until fragrant. Immediately add 1/2 cup pasta water, reduce heat to low and gradually add butter, swirling skillet and adding more pasta water as needed, until a tick glossy sauce forms.

Add pasta to skillet and toss to coat. Add Pecorino, toss to combine. Remove from heat, mix in egg yolks. Add brussels sprouts leaves and toss. You may need to add a little more pasta water to thin sauce. Serve pasta with more Pecorino.

Serves 4.

risotto with sun gold tomato sauce

September 11, 2013 § 65 Comments

We are experiencing an interesting tomato season here in Seattle. I planted five varietals late June (once our temperatures stayed above 50°F overnight) and we are just now reaping the rewards of our harvest. Four months! Is that normal? All the saplings I put into the ground were approximately 12″ in height. The Sun Gold continued to grow until it reached at least 8 feet tall! I was staking, tying and propping every other day. The Sweet 100’s did not get quite as tall, however it’s circumference is at least 4 feet. I also planted 3 heirloom varietals and they seem to be a bit more “normal” and are presently crowded with green tomatoes (and they are not a green varietal). We are suppose to have temperatures in the low 90’s this week so hopefully we’ll get some color tomatoes.

I brought in a fair amount of Sun Gold’s and a few Sweet 100’s today and decided to make a risotto for dinner. This was sensational. The tomatoes along with the red wine vinegar gave the dish a subtle tang and the Grana Padano cheese was a perfect match for bringing out the flavor and adding a bit of creaminess to it’s texture. A very lovely Tuesday night dinner.

I n g r e d i e n t s

For the sauce:

1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic clove, finely chopped
6 cups Sun Gold or Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
2 basil sprigs (I used Greek basil) + a little extra for garnish
1 thyme sprigs
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

For the risotto:

1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups risotto
6 cups of vegetable or chicken stock, on a steady simmer
1/4 cup Grana Padano cheese or Parmesan, freshly grated

M e t h o d

The sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, stirring often, until soft and translucent, 6-8 minutes. Add garlic, basil and thyme sprigs and cook stirring often, until fragrant. Add tomatoes and vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes release their juices and a sauce forms, approximately 15 minutes. Discard the basil and thyme sprigs. Add a sprinkling of salt to taste (and do taste it) set aside.

The risotto. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for two minutes until soft. Add the risotto and stir for one minute making sure all of the grains are well coated. Begin to add the hot stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition of stock is almost absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Reserve 1/4 cup of stock to add at the end. After approximately 25-30 minutes, when the risotto is tender but not soft, add the reserved stock, tomato sauce and Grana Padano. Serve right away with an additional sprinkling of Grana Padano and basil.

Serves 4.

penne regate with garden fresh parsley pesto and tomato sauce

August 13, 2013 § 56 Comments

We all have a “go to” dish we have perfected to our liking over time and repetition. Perhaps if you have been checking in with this blog you would guess mine would involve pasta. Cottage Grove House is still very new and there is already sixteen pasta recipes posted. Today’s recipe is my “go to” pasta sauce. When it seems as though there is nothing to eat or prepare in the kitchen I always find some parsley in the crisper (or in this occasion the garden) and a large can of tomatoes in the pantry, perfect to make both pesto and tomato sauce pasta.

Our parsley plant needed a trim so I decided to make a pesto for lunch. I discovered cutting parsley off the plant and promptly using it certainly intensifies the flavor of the pesto. The freshly cut parsley really gave a distinctive flavor to the sauce, as though the herb was still very much alive. For no particular reason I chose to leave out any type of nut for this pesto. And using penne regate pasta was a very good idea seeing that the sauce found it way deep into the hollow center, as well as holding to the exterior ridges.

I n g r e d i e n t s

1 pound of good quality penne regate

tomato sauce

2 cups whole, peeled, canned San Marzano (if possible) plum tomatoes, with their juices (one 28-oz. can)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

pesto

handful fresh parsley (about 1 cup once it is finely chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt (about 1/2 teaspoon)

m e t h o d

Put a large pot of water on the stove over high heat and bring to a boil. In the meantime, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the crushed garlic and cook until aromatic. Carefully add the tomatoes, and break them up with the back of a wooden spoon. Bring to a gentle boil, turn heat to lowest setting and simmer, stirring occasionally.

Put the parsley, parmesan, garlic, and salt in a food processor and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then pulse again. Drizzle in the olive oil while the machine is running just long enough to incorporate the oil. Set aside while waiting for the pasta to cook.

Once your water is at a roaring boil add a tablespoon of coarse grain salt and drop your pasta in. Cook until al dente, penne regate cooking time is approximately 9 minutes. Drain the penne and return to the pot. Toss with the pesto sauce until well coated, then pour in the tomato sauce and continue to gently toss until well combined.

Serves 4.

orecchiette with potatoes and arugula

August 2, 2013 § 33 Comments

I could not be happier about this pasta recipe. Years ago, on a number of occasions I frequented an Italian restaurant called La Vecchia Verace and was so enamored by this particular pasta dish. I ordered it every time I visited. Occasionally I think about this pasta and living hundreds of miles away from La Vecchia Verace showing up is not an option. Having said that, the other day I was thumbing through a pasta cookbook “Four Seasons Pasta” by Janet Fletcher and there it was, a recipe for my favorite pasta dish served at La Vecchia Verace restaurant!

This sauce is garden fresh and the end result is a texturally thick somewhat starchy bowl of summer comfort. Potatoes are boiled in with the pasta until al dente and gently tossed in a fresh tomato sauce with wilted arugula. The potatoes break up just enough to nicely coat the orecchiette. In this cookbook I learned how to use fresh grated roma tomatoes to create a thick, tasty sauce. Roma’s are used because of their high proportion of flesh to juice and they are grated to produce a skinless, seedless pulp. A considerable alternative using fresh tomatoes while in season, rather than open a can of puréed tomatoes.

To grate tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds and juice with your fingers. Holding the cut side of a tomato half against the grater’s holes, grate until only the thin skin remains in your palm.

Here is a bit of useful information. I read this recently in a Bon Appetit article: “Don’t dump the pasta water. Starchy, salty pasta water is the secret ingredient in most sauces. Scoop out some of the cloudy water (it’s supposed to look like that) with a coffee mug or measuring cup, and pour a few splashes into the sauce. Save the rest; you might need more than you’d expect. Then simmer until the water and oil emulsify and begin to form a slightly creamy sauce. It’s a little like deglazing a pan with stock or wine, a simple step that gives a dish body and flavor.”

For this recipe reserve a cup or two of the pasta water before draining and use it after tossing with the sauce to help the sauce adhere to the pasta. It brings the flavors together and helps moisten the pasta without adding more oil.

I n g r e d i e n t s

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
tablespoon hot pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds ripe roma tomatoes, grated
salt
6 ounces (large handful) arugula, coarsely chopped
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled, 1/2 inch diced
1 pound orecchiettte
freshly grated grana padano or parmesan

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the garlic and hot pepper flakes and cook for about 1 minute to release the garlic fragrance. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes soften and become sauce-like, 15 to 20 minutes, adding water if the tomatoes threaten to cook dry. Stir the arugula into the sauce and cook just until it wilts, about one minute (once the pasta is al dente).

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente. Set aside at least one cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta and potatoes and return them to the warm pot over low heat. Add the sauce and stir gently to avoid breaking up the potatoes. Moisten with some of the reserved pasta water as needed. Divide among warm bowls, top with freshly grated grana padano and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

conchiglie with yogurt, peas and chile

July 10, 2013 § 60 Comments

I love visiting food blogs specifically looking for something to prepare for dinner…”tonight”! The other day I visited one of my favorite blogs (I have too many to count) and found this recipe. I am a huge fan of Molly’s blog and I took heed to her urgency about cooking this pasta. I ran out and pick up what I needed, came home that late afternoon and made one of the most delicious pasta dishes we have ever had. I never imagined pasta prepared with yogurt sauce. This was so creamy, yet light, a bit spicy from the chile, yet a little sweet from the peas, nutty from the pine nuts and lightly salty from the feta. All melty hot and delicious.

I have yet to pick up my copy of Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. Convincingly after making this recipe I am heading out today to do so.

I could never in my wildest dreams come up with this so I am giving you Molly’s posted recipe “verbatim”. And if you haven’t read Molly’s book A Homemade Life it is quite charming and features some incredible recipes.

A s w r i t t e n o n O r a n g e t t e . . . .

Pasta with Yogurt, Peas, and Chile

Adapted slightly from Jerusalem, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

The original version of this recipe calls for conchiglie, or shell-shaped pasta, but you could use any small pasta shape you like: orecchiette, penne, farfalle, and so on.

If you have some exotic type of dried chile, like Urfa chile, Aleppo chile, or Kirmizi biber, you lucky lucky dog, this is a great place to use it. If not, you can use regular red pepper flakes. I happened to have some Aleppo chile, and though it was ground, not in flakes, and probably a few years old, it worked beautifully. Oh, and if you’re worried about the amount of heat, consider starting with a little less of the chile than what is called for – or just don’t put much chile oil on your pasta.

2 ½ cups (500 g) whole-milk Greek yogurt
2/3 cup (150 ml) olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, crushed or pressed
1 pound (500 g) fresh or thawed frozen peas
Kosher salt
1 pound (500 g) pasta shapes of your liking
Scant ½ cup (60 g) pine nuts
2 teaspoons Turkish or Syrian chile flakes, or red pepper flakes
1 2/3 cups (40 g) basil leaves, coarsely torn
8 ounces (240 g) feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the yogurt, 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of the olive oil, the garlic, and 2/3 cup (100 g) of the peas. Process to a uniform pale green sauce, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and salt it until tastes like pleasantly salty seawater. Add the pasta, and cook until it is al dente. While the pasta cooks, warm the remaining olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the pine nuts and chile flakes, and cook for 4 minutes, or until the pine nuts are golden and the oil is deep red. Also, warm the remaining peas in some boiling water (you could scoop out a bit of the pasta water for this); then drain.

Drain the cooked pasta into a colander, and shake it well to get rid of excess water that may have settled into the pasta’s crevices. Add the pasta gradually to the yogurt sauce; adding it all at once may cause the yogurt to separate. Add the warm peas, the basil, feta, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss gently. Serve immediately, with pine nuts and chile oil spooned over each serving.

Yield: about 6 servings

orecchiette pasta with cilantro pesto

July 1, 2013 § 32 Comments

We are finally having HOT sunny days here in Seattle. Thank goodness for the tomato plants who have been very patiently waiting for the sun during the past three weeks. Seattle can be a unkind to tomatoes. Typically my plants are late bloomers and by the time their skins should turn red a blanket of clouds cover the sun once again leaving them an orange hue rather than red and a good supply of green ones too. I have learned it is best to plant “little” tomatoes such as cherry, grape, sun gold and/or a medium size roma varietal for our short lived tomato growing season. However, it could just be me and my lack of tomato growing knowledge.

s u g a r p l u m g r a p e t o m a t o e s

I have a pasta recipe here which requires only one burner on your stove for boiling the orecchiette. A summery fresh pasta while keeping the heat out of the kitchen!

I n g r e d i e n t s

1 pound good quality orecchiette
2 bunches cilantro, washing and thick stems removed
3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste
sugar plum grape tomatoes

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until it is al dente. While the pasta cooks prepare the pesto.

f l o w e r i n g c i l a n t r o

Place cilantro in food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients and whizz until it is a well mixed pesto.

Slice sugar plum grape tomatoes into small bits and set aside.

Drain the cooked pasta without shaking the colander too much leaving a trace amount of the cooking water. Return to the pot and stir in the pesto. Taste to see if you need to salt. Place in serving bowls topped with sliced sugar plum tomatoes and a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan.

orecchiette pasta with cilantro pesto and a page in my son’s drawing journal

Serves 4

buon appetite.

spaghetti carbonara

June 17, 2013 § 36 Comments

And yet, another pasta recipe. You see I have a thing about pasta. I would eat it everyday if I wasn’t thinking too hard about all the carbs I don’t need. After an extra long commute home the other day, I arrived, said my hello’s and headed to the kitchen. I didn’t have a dinner plan whatsoever. Looking through the refrigerator I found a little log of chavrie goat cheese, a little pancetta, a handful of parsley, a shallot and by this time a pasta sauce was formulating in my mind. I thought if I had Parmesan instead of goat cheese I could make Carbonara. Then I remembered I do have some Grana Padano! Realizing I have never made carbonara I took my copy of Marcella Hazen’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking off the shelf.

Now let just say when I was “with child” spaghetti carbonara was “my dish”. I craved it everyday and dined on it at least once a week for a good six months! And to imagine I have never made carbonara is quite nonsensical. I left it up to the chef at my favorite trattoria. I didn’t even want to try to prepare it because I knew I could never match the quality of La Trattoria’s carbonara. Well…Eureka! Success in the kitchen. Here it is, in my humble opinion, a most delicious carbonara. Of course in the spirit of improv I made a few very minor adjustments to Marcella’s recipe due to not having all of her listed ingredients. In place of the Grana Padana you could use a good quality Parmesan.

I n g r e d i e n t s

4 ounces of diced pancetta
1 shallot, finely diced
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly grated Grana Padano cheese
Black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3/4 pound spaghetti

M e t h o d

Place a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Once your water is at a roaring boil add a tablespoon of coarse grain salt and drop your pasta in. Cook until al dente, spaghetti cooking time is approximately 9 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile…

Put the garlic and olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté until the garlic is golden. Remove and discard garlic. Add the pancetta to the pan and cook until crispy, then add the shallot. Continue to cook until shallots are soft and turn off the heat.

Using a fork lightly beat two eggs in a medium size bowl. Add 1/2 cup grated Grana Padano, a grinding of black pepper and the chopped parsley. Once the spaghetti is cooked, slowly drizzle in reserved pasta water until smooth. Mix thoroughly, using something like these!

Briefly reheat the pancetta over medium high heat, turn off the pan and add spaghetti, toss to combine well. Add the egg mixture and continue to toss to combine and allow the egg to set without scrambling. Serve right away with freshly grated Grana Padano cheese.

Serves 4.

buon appetite.

linguine with chicken sausage (linguine con salsiccia di pollo)

June 4, 2013 § 40 Comments

Pasta with a parsley pesto is sufficient for a midweek dinner. However, with a strapping young lad at the dinner table I decided to add chicken sausage to give it a little substance. Dinner does not get any easier than this. Dinner is ready in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta. For us, a one dish meal.

I n g r e d i e n t s

1 pound of good quality linguine
1 pound of italian chicken sausage
1 large bunch of parsley
4 scallions
5 cloves of garlic
3/4 cup of freshly grated pecorino romano
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
a shake or two of red pepper flakes

Place a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Cook the sausage and prepare the pesto while you are waiting for the water to boil.

If the sausage is in casings, remove the casing and break up the ground chicken in a skillet over medium high heat. Add 3 smashed garlic cloves to the skillet. Continue to cook until nice and brown. Lower heat to keep warm.

For the parsley pesto, place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until blended. If you are not using a food processor, finely chop the parsley, scallions and garlic, place in a bowl with pecorino, olive oil and pepper flakes and stir well.

Once your water is at a roaring boil add a tablespoon of coarse grain salt and drop your pasta in. Cook until al dente, linguine cooking time is approximately 9 minutes.

Drain pasta, return it to the pan (off the heat) and toss with pesto and sausage.

Divide into serving bowls and serve with freshly grated pecorino.

Serves 4

buon appetite.

linguine pesto and roasted tomatoes (linguine e pomodori arrostiti)

May 18, 2013 § 26 Comments

I wish I had more time to spend in the kitchen in the middle of the week. I am so content when I am able to chop by hand instead of using a food processor. Normally midweek I return home just before 6pm. I am usually very hungry and you can only imagine how ravenous my 15 year old athletic son feels. I do not like to purchase convenient pre-made packaged foods, and for this reason I keep my Tuesday to Thursday dinners simple. Two or three ingredients, nothing too fancy, wholesome and satisfying. With all that said, this dinner fits well into a midweek menu. I understand the best pesto is hand made, not using a food processor. If you have the time it is well worth chopping this by hand. Otherwise, it is a very nice mid week “whirled in the food processor” dinner!

For an extra creamy texture I added 4 ounces of soft goat’s cheese to this pesto.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Put a large pot of water on the stove over high heat. Prepare tomatoes for roasting and make the pesto while you are waiting for the water to boil.

r o a s t e d c h e r r y t o m a t o e s

24 cherry tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt

Toss tomatoes with olive oil and a pinch or two of salt. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in oven for approximately 20 minutes, depending on what size you are using. Once the skins are wrinkly and they look roasted remove from oven and set aside.

p e s t o

1 large bunch of basil, leaves only
3 cloves of garlic
small handful of raw pine nuts
4 ounces soft goat’s milk cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated good quality parmesan
approximately 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until blended.

Once your water is at a roaring boil add a tablespoon of coarse grain salt and drop your pasta in. I used one pound of linguine. Cook until al dente, linguine cooking time is approximately 9 minutes.

Drain pasta, return it to the pan (off the heat) and toss with pesto.

Divide into serving bowls and serve with roasted tomatoes and freshly grated parmesan on top.

Serves 4

buon appetite!

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