Tag: pasta

Corn

Despite a very busy week at work, I wanted to try preparing some nice food, simple but nice… and because we haven’t been to the country, I still had to adjust to what I could find in Tokyo’s supermarkets. One thing I found that was nice was fresh corn… something I don’t cook to often because I totally lack of imagination when it comes to cooking corn. Luckily I was browsing a cooking magazine in the train and found a nice recipe of a creamy corn soup (one of the classic use of corn), with rolled asparagus in bacon. I had corn, I had asparagus, I had bacon, I didn’t want to prepare a creamy soup… but the combination inspired me for a new recipe of pasta.

Orecchiette with corn and asparagus (for 2 people, main dish)

– 120g of orecchiette

– 1 fresh corn

– 4 slices of bacon

– 2~4 green asparagus

– olive oil

– paprika powder

– chili powder

– salt and pepper

I boiled one corn and then I shuck it. In a pan I simply grilled some bacon cut in pieces, added the corn and when the bacon was golden added some chopped asparagus, a tsp of paprika, a bit of chili powder, salt and pepper.
Then I boiled the pasta, drained them, added them to the sauce and stirred well, adding a bit of olive oil, and served to eat right away!

Cresson pasta

To continue my frenzy with watercress…

This week is the beginning of the new term, I’m back to teaching which I enjoy really and very excited with the students new research projects. Work is quite busy, but I really stocked a lot of watercress last weekend and I use it little by little. It is very easy and rapid to prepare, much faster than spinach I find, so perfect for late dinners and rapid cooking. This time I want to share my recipe to prepare the sauce for some simple fresh linguine.

Linguine with watercress

– a bundle of watercress

– olive oil

– pepper

– long pasta of your choice, I used fresh linguine

– Parmigiano (optional)

I simply washed and cut a bundle of watercress, then while still wet I through then in a pan and cook under cover at medium heat. Once soft I add olive oil and stop cooking. Then I boil the pasta, drain them and add them to the pan with the watercress, cook for 2min at high heat while stirring. Add pepper and serve. For those who like, add grated Parmigiano.

Late night dinner

There are days (quite many recently) like that… when I start cooking past 23:00 for our dinner. We’re obviously starving after a long day at work, but nonetheless we want something fresh and tasty. I found that’s often when I get the most creative, in particular when the ingredients are limited as in winter (in summer tomato-eggplant-zucchini would just work fine…), I focus on herbs and flavors. Pasta would often be the base, while they boil I would of course prepare the topping. Last night I add a great inspiration and the result was sooooo great that I really want to share my recipe with you!

Celery pasta  (for 2 people)

– 125g of pasta (I used whole wheat penne)

– 3 branches of celery

– 1 or 2 mizuna bundles

– 3 branches of fresh dill

– olive oil, salt and pepper  

Boil water for the pasta and boil them while you prepare the vegetables. Wash and chop the celery, up to the leaves. Wash and chop the mizuna, same for the dill. In a heated pan add some olive oil, toss the celery, and stir  a bit. Then add the dill and finally the mizuna, salt and pepper. The vegetables don’t actually need to be cooked, so the time they spend in the pan shouldn’t exceed 7-8 minutes. They need to be just warm and rolled over in olive oil. Drain the pasta when cooked and serve. Top with the vegetables. Add a final olive oil touch, and ground pepper. Actually you can add some gratted Parmigiano, it is the perfect final touch!

How do you like your pasta?? I’ll be happy to try new ideas and recipes!

Quick pasta!

What’s worst than being super hungry at past 23:00 after a busy day at work? At the moment the business from work goes down and I’m on my way home, my stomach is crying for something to eat, quick!!!! And A. is in a no different mood! In that case dry pasta are a great help. Boiling them while preparing something to eat them with takes not much than 15min, that’s one of the fastest and simplest meal I can cook! Of course, I always have some fresh vegetables in the fridge, whether it’s mushrooms, spinach, squash in winter, or zucchini, tomatoes, eggplants in summer…

For this time I had broccoli and spinach. Perfectly simple, green and tasty! And I have a beautiful piece of Parmigiano Reggiano that I bought in Rome, to make the final touch. 

Broccoli and spinach pasta (for 2): 

– 125g of dry pasta of your choice

– a large handful of broccoli  

– 1 bundle of spinach

– olive oil

– salt and pepper 

Boil the water for the pasta, in the meantime wash the spinach and broccoli and chop them. In an olive oil greased pan start cooking them, add just a bit of water and cover. By then the pasta should be boiled, drain them and add them to the vegetables, add some more olive oil, salt and pepper, stir and serve. Top if you like with gratted Parmigiano. Serve and eat immediately!!!

Be careful not to overcook the veggies, the broccoli must stay slightly crispy. 

Leftover Italian cooking

Since we’ve arrived in Florence, everyday I’ve been cooking something different for dinner: simple vegetables and salad, pasta, risotto, cereals… I’ve tried them all. And I’ve been using as much as possible things I don’t usually find in Japan, and that I love extremely: artichokes, fennels, lamb lettuce and a great variety of cheeses. And what I’ve been doing is make sure that each time I would have some leftover for my lunch the next day. Indeed, what’s better than working all morning, going for a walk at noon, coming back at two cold and starving, and having already the lunch half prepared? And what’s better than olive oil pan roasted pasta or risotto when them become all crispy and golden? For me leftovers are a real treat! And top them with some new sort of cheese everyday and it’s pure happiness, and pure energy for working the rest of the day!

Here are my two favorites from this week: leftover pasta with newly added artichokes, and fennel risotto with newly added plenty of tomme cheese. For the first one (top picture), simple pasta leftover is good. Then boil one or two artichokes remove the leaves and keep the hearts, slice or chop them. In a heated pan generously add olive oil, the pasta, the artichokes. Stir once in a while until the pasta are golden crispy. Top with a bit of parmigiano and eat right away!

The second one (bottom picture) is even simpler. I actually made some fennel risotto with some pork roast, so I just cooked it again in a pan with a lot of olive oil and didn’t stir until it got really crispy on the edges, then I served it with plenty of some tomme cheese I bought at the market, a much softer cheese than parmigiano but not less fragrant.

Life in Florence

So, it’s been four days we’ve been in Florence, except for Sunday that we spent walking around the city as described here, it’s been a rather studious time. A. leaves early in the morning while it’s all dark and comes back late at night, and this gives me more than plenty of time to work, write and spend a little hour or two outside walking around the city in the cold and shopping for lunches and dinners.

I’ve now explored both the San’Ambroggio market and the San Lorenzo market, got to see everything twice or thrice to decide what to buy choosing between all the delicious cheeses, fresh pasta and all the fruits and vegetables that are alien to Japan. I must say that I passed on fish, not being fully satisfied with the stands and on meat as there was too many options and I am not good with meat too much… but I guess that I will have to try some for A.. For the moment I’m sticking to speck and San Daniele and it’s been perfect. I also got my tea from La Via del Te as recommended by Giula from the beautiful Juls’ kitchen. And really I am more than happy with my little kitchen and the simple cooking I can do!

So far the things I have really been enjoying are the greens: I packed on lamb’s lettuce, rucola, zucchini, fennel and artichokes and I have been using them in many various preparation. My best being this delicious dish of pasta with olive oil roasted fennels and zucchini and topped with rucola. It is so simple and so fresh, and so easy to make, that here is my recipe:

Pasta with zucchini, fennel and rucola (for 2)

– 125g of pasta

– 1 zucchini

– 1/2 fennel

-1 handful of rucola

– olive oil, salt and pepper

– additionally some fresh parmigiano or some other cheese

Boil the water for the pasta and the pasta. In the mean time, wash and cut the fennel and the zucchini, and in an olive oil greased frypan cook them, but not overcook them! Add the drained pasta, salt, pepper, and olive oil, top with rucola and stir, serve immediately. Add cheese if you like!

And have a great Wednesday! 

3 days without cooking!

I was in France for work for the last 3 days and I didn’t have a chance to cook while away, so I was very excited to go to the country right after getting of the plane. A. came to pick me at the airport and we drove straight to Ohara. Even if it was already late, there is a family mart shop on the way that sells additionally some local fresh vegetables and fruits, very handy because all the other shops close between 20:00 and 21:00. So we stopped to pack on a few staples for dinner: spinach, tomatoes, bacon. And the dinner was all decided: pasta. I first cook the bacon in a fry pan, then add the washed and chopped spinach with still some water in it, and finally add the cherry tomatoes cut in quarters and a bit of olive oil. I then boil the pasta and afrer draining them I add them to the bacon-spinach-tomatoes, add a little of olive oil if needed, salt and pepper. And serve.

I wish you a great Sunday! For me there is nothing better than being outdoor all day to recover from jetlag.

Butternut squash and pasta

I’ve been posting a lot about butternut squash these days, indeed it’s the pick season now before shifting to kabocha which taste is very different. And since I’ve been living alone in the past weeks, one butternut squash is a lot of food for one, so I’ve cooked it one way, an other, and an other… and tried to find new ones… Last night I came back late from work but at last the rain had stopped so I could walk home using a detour to enjoy being out. But it was really cold. I almost regretted not having a beanie. So I arrived home craving for something hot to eat. And I was pleased to find some leftover butternut squash soup in the fridge. Yet I was starving and it was not enough. So after browsing my cupboard and the fridge I opted for short pasta that I simply threw in the soup that was already boiling and I cooked 10-12 minutes until the pasta were soft and the soup has almost reduced to puree. I generously gratted fresh parmigiano on top and added black pepper. And I was very happy with it!!!

Vegan butternut squash soup (2 or 3 servings)

– 1/2 or 1/3 butternut squash

– 1 cup of soya milk

– salt and pepper

Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Cut in pieces. Boil in 1L of water. Once soft enough, blend everything with the soya milk, salt and pepper. That’s it!  It’s basically the same recipe as the cauliflower soup!

Then you can add the short pasta. I chose stelline. And cook them together in the soup. For a better result use fewer water to cook the butternut squash or as I did, use left over soup.

Minestrone inspiration

A plate of pasta with vegetables is always good and easy to prepare. But rather than pasta with sauce or vegetables I wanted vegetables with pasta. I took the inspiration from the minestrone recipe but at the time of adding the tomatoes I found that the all green dish was a perfect match with the green outside in the garden now that most of the azaleas flowers have fallen and left only the green leaves. So it gave a beautiful plate with Sicilian ring pasta, celery, zucchini, green beans and basil, olive oil and that’s it. I boiled the pasta. And in a wok I simply cooked (briefly) the vegetables in olive oil, added the pasta, stirred well and served. So simple so delicious!

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