Category Archives: noodles, pastas etc

Handkerchief pasta with pesto

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Nebraska has a 2-3 month growing season and when the basil grows high- it is time to make pesto! I  like a mixture of basil and parsley in my pesto- I like the “greener” taste that parsley gives to the pesto.

Nothing goes better with pesto than fresh pasta. Today we made handkerchief pasta (Fazzoletti) -simple,silky and delicious. It is essentially ravioli sheets cut into squares. My pasta machine makes this very very  easy but here Mark Bittman shows how you can use a rolling pin to achieve the same effect (https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/dining/12mini.html)

Pesto: 2 cups basil leaves, 1 cup parsley leaves, 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 cup Parmesan reggiano, 1/2 cup olive oil: Use food processor to make a fine paste. Stores in the refrigerator for 3-4 days

Pasta: 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 eggs, 3 egg yolks, 1 tsp salt. Make a fairly dry dough using the absolute minimum amount of water needed ( I used 2 tbsp today). It takes me 4-5 minutes using my kitchen aid stand mixer

Rolling pasta: I used the pasta attachment to my kitchen aid. Start on the first setting- run the dough through thrice (folding into an envelope each time). Decrease the setting by 1 in each subsequent run all the way to the thinnest setting (8). Use flour liberally to prevent the pasta sticking. Cut into large 4 inch squares. Cook in salted boiling water for 3 minutes or so (add the squares one at a time- they tend to stick)

Thin pesto with pasta cooking water, toss with pasta and enjoy the taste of spring.

 

 

Hot and Sour Vegan Ramen

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Hot and Sour Ramen (Tofu and Shiitake mushroom ramen from ATK vegetarian cookbook)
This is a great ramen recipe. The original calls for ramen packets (discarding the flavoring sachets). I’ve made this with the cheap ramen and the expensive dried Japanese ramen and it is as good with both. I might try baking the tofu the next time
 
1 14 oz pack of firm tofu – cubed into inch squares and dried on paper towels
8 oz shiitake mushroom caps – sliced
Seasoning 1: 1 tbsp ginger, 1 tbsp garlic both finely chopped and 2 tsp sriracha
Base : 3.5 cups vegetable stock
Seasoning 2: 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 tsp sugar
Ramen noodles from 4 packets (3 oz each)
6 oz spinach
 
Heat 1- 2 tbsp oil in a non stick skillet – brown the tofu on all sides (10 min). Remove tofu, add the mushrooms and brown (5 minutes). Add seasoning 1 and 30 seconds later, add the broth. Add the ramen- bring to a simmer and toss noodles around for 2-3 min till cooked. Add spinach and toss till just wilted. Add seasoning 2. Serve immediately! The ramen should be slippery and slightly brothy.

Green Persian Pilaf

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Persian Pilaf is a delicious  Middle Eastern combination of vermicelli and rice, sometimes with add-ons like garlic or fried onions. The textural contrasts between the rice and the browned nutty vermicelli make this dish sing. I combined the pilaf with raw greens and herbs and raw garlic inspired by a Sarah Copeland recipe for the NYT that I have written about before. The trick is to brown the vermicelli (but not burn it) and make sure the rice and vermicelli is hot before adding the garlic. The steam gently cooks the garlic and the greens for a delicious fresh flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice and 1 cup wheat vermicelli

5 oz spinach shredded in the food processor (pulse it, stop before it becomes a paste)

1 cup parsley and cilantro (I used half and half) also shredded in the food processor (pulsed 5-6 times)

3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped and 1-2 jalapenos finely chopped

2-3 tbsp brown butter or ghee

Methods:

Add 1 tbsp of butter to your rice cooker insert on the stove or on the saute setting if you have it. Brown the vermicelli (less than 2-3 min, this burns very fast). Add rice and 3 cups of water. Press cook on your rice cooker or cook rice on stovetop.

Once rice is done, mix the greens, the ghee and as much garlic and jalapenos as you wish. Salt generously (1 tbsp or so)

Serve with a fried egg or a soft boiled egg.

 

Amti (Dal) and Dumplings

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I’ve lived in the South for a long time and despite all the many many problems I faced there, I do love Southern food. Chicken and dumplings used to be a favorite. Here is my attempt to “vegetarianize”  this dish. In doing so, I have also “Indianized” it.

Dal Dhokli is a Gujarati dish with spiced dal and peanuts and noodle like dumplings (besan or gram flour and whole wheat flour and spices without any leavening). It is delicious but fluffy biscuit like dumplings work so much better with the dal than the traditional dhokli. This dish is my version of Dal Dhokli.

The base is a Maharashtrian Amti  which uses goda masala (a Maharashtrian blend – I’ll post the recipe as soon as my  mother sends it to me).  Maharashtrian food is always a blend of salt/sugar (jaggery), fat, spices(goda masala, ginger) and acid (tamarind). This is common knowledge and it may be the reason that I am the only person in the world unimpressed by Samin Nosrat (who missed the spice and the sugar entirely).

The flavored spicy dal, the pillowy biscuit like dumplings and the ghee on top- this was such a comforting dish on the coldest day in the Midwest in a generation.

Amti:

Dal : Toor Dal-  cook 1 cup of Dal with 2 cups of water and 1 tsp of salt for 10 minutes on high pressure ( I use my electric Cuisinart pressure cooker)

Tempering: Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, heat till they sputter- then add 2 pinches of asafetida, 1 tsp of turmeric, 2 large red dried chillies and 4-5 curry leaves.

Add Dal and 2 cups of vegetable broth ( I use better than bouillon) and 1/2 cup of uncooked peanuts.

Add the flavorings: 1-2 tbsp of crushed or finely chopped ginger, 4-6 tbsp of tamarind paste (the quantity will depend on your tamarind paste consistency and dilution),  4-6 tbsp of grated jaggery (use dark brown sugar if you don’t have jaggery) and 1 tbsp of goda masala.

Taste for salt and spice (add chilli powder for additional heat) and boil for 10 minutes

Dumplings:

I used an Alton Brown recipe for chicken and dumplings (From his brilliant book I’ll be Here for more food ) with some modifications. This uses a “biscuit method”. Handle the dough as little as possible.

Dry ingredients: 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp goda masala, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/8 tsp baking soda

Cut 2 tbsp of very cold butter into the flour till butter is at pea sized pieces

Add 1/2 cup of buttermilk (or 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 tsp of vinegar) and mix till dough just barely comes together. Use a bench scraper to section dough into 12 parts. Roll gently into balls

Drop dumplings into dal and cook on a gentle simmer for 15 minutes giving the dumplings an occasional stir every 5 minutes

Serving: This is important! Serve with 1 tsp of ghee (heat unsalted butter till the frothing subsides and you have ghee) and cilantro.

 

Another spinach and artichoke pasta

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I do like the spinach and artichoke combination and I specially like it in all kinds of pasta sauces. I normally make this a cream based sauce, but I had no cream so I added butter and  tomato paste- cooked it, deglazed it with vermouth and added pasta water to make it a silky but light pan sauce. Total prep time: 5 minutes, cook time 10 minutes. It literally takes longer to cook the pasta than to make this complex and delicious sauce

This aromatics were inspired by Italian sausage seasonings

Vegetables: 6 oz of grilled artichoke hearts (shrink wrapped or frozen), 1 small bag of baby spinach

Aromatics: 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp capers, 1/2 a preserved lime, 3 cloves garlic, 1 red chilly dried

Other ingredients: 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1-2 splashes of white wine (I used vermouth)

Fat: 2 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp butter

Heat 1-2 tbsp oil, add the aromatics, cook for 1-2 minutes, add the artichokes- heat through, wilt the spinach.

Add the tomato paste and butter, deglaze with 1-2 splashes of wine. Add some pasta water, add pasta and top with parmesan.

Delicious, smoky with a lot of complex flavors.

Sausage (Beyond Sausage) and Spinach Pasta

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I have a complicated relationship with Beyond Meat– I like the way it tastes and I love the way it marries with all kinds of flavorings but it feels, handles and cooks so much like meat that I get a little squeamish handling it. I do like the sausages though- I used the regular one for this recipe, the hot Italian sausage is even better.

This is a pasta sauce based on Italian seasonings- rosemary, capers, oregano, fennel, tomatoes, red chillies (kind of like a cioppino without the seafood of course). This is one of my no-recipe recipes- I just keep the flavor profile similar each time.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil, add 1 tsp of fennel seeds, 1-2 dried red chillies (or red pepper flakes), 1 tsp of chopped rosemary, half a diced red onion, 1 diced jalapeno pepper ( I didn’t have any sweet peppers),  sliced Beyond Sausage. Cook for 5 minutes till the sausage is browned. Add 1 small can of tomatoes (pureed), scrape up any brown bits. Add 3 chopped cloves of garlic, 1-2 tsp of capers and 1 tsp of oregano flakes. Cook for 10 minutes. In the meanwhile, boil water, salt and cook pasta. About 2 minutes before the pasta is finally done, add 2 handfuls of spinach and wilt the spinach. Add the pasta, 1-2 tbsp of butter and 1-2 ladlefuls of pasta water (to make the pasta silky). The butter is optional, good olive oil works just as well. Serve with some parmesan grated on top.

 

Roasted pepper soup

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This is my vegetarian version of chicken noodle soup. I make it when someone is sick. It’s got lots of garlic and black pepper and it’s warm and comforting.

Ingredients:

1 red pepper, 1 medium red onion, 1 14 oz can of tomatoes, 10 large cloves of garlic, 2 cups vegetable broth, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1-2 tbsp butter, 3-4 tbsp heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 1 tsp oregano

Chop the onions and peppers into 3 inch pieces, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast either on a grill or in a 450F oven for 20-30 min till soft and charred

Heat butter, add the garlic and fry till lightly golden brown. Add the tomatoes, vegetable stock, roasted onions, peppers and tomatoes and the spices. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

Blend. Garnish with a tbsp of cream and a drizzle of olive oil

Serve over spaghetti

    Note about vegetable stock- I’ve been using Better than Bouillon lately and the flavor of their vegetable base is extremely good. I suspect it’s the MSG or whatever equivalent they’ve called it. It’s delicious

Puttanesca sauce

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The story goes that the prostitutes of Naples attracted customers because this sauce was so fragrant. I really like that story. The kids in Lemony Snicket (which is a very sly book) cook this for their guardian. My version doesn’t have anchovies, I’ve added gochuang, miso, shitake mushrooms, tamari and other ingredients to my puttanesca at different times. Today- I just skipped the anchovies.

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can of San Marzano tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped olives ( I used green, but oil cured would be fantastic here)

1-2 tbsp capers

4-5 large cloves of garlic (about 1-2 tbsp)

2 tbsp extravirgin olive oil

1/2-1 tsp dried red pepper flakes, 1 tsp dried oregano and 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Heat the oil, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes (don’t brown). Add the capers and olives and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes and the oregano and the red pepper flakes. Cover the sauce and cook  this low and slow for 20-30 minutes.

Cook pasta, add to sauce, thin with some pasta water. Traditionally this pasta is served with parsley and without cheese but honestly, every pasta tastes better with some parmesan.

Ragi noodles – 2 ways

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I was introduced to Ragi vermicelli by a Tamilian friend of mine in the USA. Ragi is a millet, rich in calcium and gluten free (but don’t quote me on that). It is also easily available as flour and vermicelli in the Indian store and is delicious. It is important to prepare the ragi noodles according to the instructions on the packet to avoid the vermicelli clump from hell. This particular brand wanted me to soak the noodles for 3 minutes in salted water and steam for 5 minutes.

I prepare these 2 ways:

Coconut and ghee- For my American non-spice loving kid, I roast some frozen coconut in ghee and add some frozen corn and 1-2 tsp of sugar. Add the ragi noodles, cover and steam on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Serve.

Spiced ragi noodles: Start as you would with a poha recipe- for me that is 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds- heat till they sputter, add a pinch of asafetida, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 1 dried chilly, 3-4 chopped curry leaves, 1/2 a chopped preserved lemon (can be omitted) and 2-3 crushed stuffed dried chillies (also found in Indian store but can also be omitted). Add one onion finely chopped and cook till golden brown with some salt, pepper and a tsp of sugar. Add frozen corn, frozen coconut and the cooked ragi noodles. Cover and steam for 5-10 minutes till everything is heated through and the corn is cooked. Add chopped cilantro. Serve with a squeeze of lime.

Vegetarian puttanesca with homemade pasta

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Fresh pasta at home with vegetarian puttanesca

Fresh Homemade Pasta with Vegetarian puttanesca

 

It’s easier than it sounds and tremendous fun! You do need a pasta maker. I make it enough that I have a kitchen aid attachment but a hand cranked pasta maker is available for less than a $100. My kid did well in her piano recital and I asked her what she wanted for dinner and the answer is always “let’s make pasta”

 

Recipe: I use Michael Ruhlman’s recipe – 3 parts flour to 2 parts egg. It’s easy – I crack the eggs required (1 for each portion of pasta), weigh them and add 1.5 times the amount of all purpose flour and a tsp of salt. A large egg is approximately 50 g.

I use the dough hook of my stand mixer to knead – it will look tacky but have faith in the recipe and keep at it for 5 min- it will come together. Now let it rest for at least 30 min ! This is vital- I’ve skipped this step once to my great regret and never done it again.

 

Divide the dough into manageable quarters or eights. Start at the largest setting on your pasta machine- pass the dough through. I flour the dough frequently. Fold into thirds, turn it and pass through it again. Do this 3 times and then consecutively pass through thinner settings. For fettuccine, which I made today – the 2nd or 3rd last setting is good. For ravioli, I go to the thinnest. Switch the attachments for the cutting attachment – cut the sheets to manageable lengths and pass the pass through. Flour liberally – you have a nest of pasta. Cook in salted boiling water for 3 min !

 

Puttanesca

My daughter is reading Lemony Snicket and wanted a vegetarian puttanesca. Here is my version

3 tbsp butter, add 5 chopped garlic cloves, about ¼ cup chopped olives, 2-3 tbsp capers. Cook for a minute. Add 2 small cans of crushed San Marzano tomatoes (28 oz) and 1 tbsp of gochuang (to replace the umami of the anchovies). Simmer for the 30 minutes you are making the pasta.

 

Toss pasta with warm sauce, top with some good olive oil and Parmesan. Well worthy of a 9 year old piano maestro 🙂