quick

Pasta salad with a side of prosciutto on a swampy-hot night. Here’s the recipe and back story.

What to do when it’s nearly 7:00 and you haven’t even begun to think about dinner? Peanut sauce, that’s what.

I’ve had this peanut sauce recipe on my Recipes to Try board for a while. The thing that appealed most about it was the addition of sriracha. It’s going to be my new go-to recipe for peanut sauce from now on.

The main ingredients were rice lightly seasoned with cumin and a dab of Better Than Bouillon, a cilantro-laden salad dressed with lime juice and olive oil, and simple grilled chicken. I assembled the plates based on personal preferences, and the peanut sauce tied it all together.

It’s that time of the CSA season again, when we are inundated with fresh, delicious, organic greens. Each day I consume salad by the mixing bowl-full. Yet somehow, I still seem to have more greens than I can make my way through in a week.

Tonight’s recipe made a dent in the spinach and kale, and I feel somewhat relieved. I love the high ratio of greens to pasta in this dish, and though it looks very similar to the pasta we did with mustard greens last week, it is actually very different. This one uses a combo of spinach and kale, but is so un-kale like that it can (and did) pass for a spinach-only, non-kale dish.

• Pasta with Spinach, Kale & Goat Cheese •
from fork, knife, swoon

1/2 lb dry pasta
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, finely sliced
1 medium yellow or sweet onion, minced
3 cups (packed) kale leaves, rough stems removed and chopped
3 cups (packed) spinach leaves
3 oz goat cheese (I used the whole 4oz log)
3 oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated or powdered (about 1/2 to 2/3 of a cup)
kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-heat, until the butter is melted and the oil just begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 2-3 minutes.

When the pasta has about two minutes to go, add the kale and cook for a bit, then add the spinach, and stir constantly until the greens just begin to wilt. The greens will continue to cook from the heat of the pasta, so be careful not to overcook.

Drain the pasta, then return the pasta to the pot (off of the heat). Pour the greens mixture over the pasta, add the goat cheese and Parmesan, and stir to combine. Serve warm.

Where have we been? Sorry for this epic lull in posting. I can’t seem to find that daily sweet spot during which to post.

Hopefully I’m getting this pasta recipe to you before you’ve used up all of that Mustard Braising Mix from last week’s CSA box.

The pasta recipe is below. We also had Weekday Grilled Chicken, and an avocado, chick pea and cilantro salad with lime.

• Pasta with Baby Mustard Greens, Lemon and Cream •

1/2 lb of your favorite shape of pasta (we used mezze rigatoni)
2 tablespoons butter
a couple of glugs of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
5 big handfuls (about a salad spinner full) of baby mustard greens (or mustard braising mix) washed and dried
a few pinches of lemon zest
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
parmesan for sprinkling

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. While the pasta cooks, melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic to the skillet and sautée until soft. Add the mustard greens and stir frequently until they are wilted but still bright green. Add the lemon zest and cream and simmer until thickened slightly. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. 

When the pasta is al dente, drain and add it to the skillet with the greens. If you have a sieve-spoon you can scoop the pasta directly into the skillet, a bit of pasta water enhances the dish. Dribble a bit more olive oil over the pasta and invert the contents of the skillet into a bowl or serving dish, so that the greens and sauce (more or less) top the pasta. Serve right away with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

This is a Jamie Oliver dish which we hadn’t had in years. I was googling around, wondering what to do with left over mascarpone, when I happened upon it again.

Jamie’s version calls for tagliatelle or spaghetti. We’ve made it with fresh linguini, which is a real treat. Tonight, being a weeknight and all, we used bucatini because that’s what there was in the long pasta department.

If you use pre-washed spinach, the dish takes only as long as it takes you to boil up a pot of water and cook the pasta.

• Tagliatelle with Spinach and Mascarpone •
Original recipe from Jamie Oliver here
translated from metric measurements below

1 lb tagliatelle or spaghetti
olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
½ nutmeg, freshly grated (or 1/4 tsp ground)
14 oz fresh spinach, washed thoroughly and finely sliced (or pre-washed baby spinach, not chopped or anything)
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 oz mascarpone cheese
2 handfuls Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile get a frying pan or wok warm, add a drizzle of olive oil, the butter, garlic and nutmeg. When the butter melts, add the spinach. After 5 minutes it will have wilted down and will be nice and dark. If using baby spinach, cook for only 2-3 minutes, until just wilted, you don’t want it to overcook. A lot of the liquid will have cooked away and you’ll have wonderful intensely flavored spinach. At this point season with salt and pepper until it tastes good, then add the cream, mascarpone and a little ladle of cooking water from the pasta. Let this come to a simmer and then season again.

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water, then stir it into the spinach sauce. Add the Parmesan and toss everything together. Loosen to a nice silky consistency with some of the reserved cooking water, so it doesn’t become too claggy*. Check once more for seasoning and serve straight away.

*Claggy is a funny British word, just mix it till it’s smooth and creamy and not too thick or pasty.

What was I just saying about Penne alla Vodka? Yup. Here it is again.

I have a feeling I’m pushing the envelope with this one. One day this dish will be greeted with either: “Hey Nina, would you mind if I made the pasta tonight?” or the less subtle “Mom, why we always have the same pasta every single time!!!???”

But until then, I will continue to serve Penne (or Fusili) alla Vodka, at least weekly. My usual recipe makes enough sauce for two dinners. Considering that the sauce only takes a few minutes to make, this is a win-win in my book.

Also. Roasted golden beets with fresh cilantro is heavenly.

It’s been hard to find time to post lately, but you haven’t missed much. Things have been a bit repetitive (dinner-wise) around here. If you stopped by our apartment around 7:30 on any given night, you’d likely find us eating either Penne alla Vodka or Freestyle Quesadillas (pictured above).

Freestyle Quesadillas, you say? Is that some kind of newfangled X-Games event?

No, it’s simply quesadillas with whatever toppings I can scrape together with a baby in one arm, and a 6 year old talking to me non-stop from two rooms away.

We call it “Freestyle” because Rose seems to embrace any meal with a DIY aspect. Essentially, you put a bunch of stuff in little bowls with spoons and she eats it up, literally.

Speaking of making dinner with a baby in one arm. Here’s an invaluable trick: Buy sliced cheese for quesadillas.* We usually have a bunch of leftover sliced mozzarella in the fridge, from when Shane makes pizza. That works great, so does sliced cheddar. Just bung a few slices between your tortillas and you’re golden. One-handed quesadillas!

*I’m not a fan of packaged grated cheese. It seems to have too much surface area to remain fresh for any length of time.

This recipe comes from the May 2014 issue of Martha Stewart Living. It’s such a hit that we’ve already had it twice, and it’s not even May yet!

It’s kind of like a combo between Pasta alla Carbonara (without the carbonara) and macaroni and cheese. A great, quick alternative to the big-deal baked mac & cheese we all love so much.

This recipe is delicious, relatively quick, and nearly perfect for a weeknight. I say nearly perfect because it requires that you make your own breadcrumbs by trimming the crusts off of a ciabatta and then pulsing it in the food processor. I don’t like to haul out my food processor on weeknights.

Maybe that sounds silly, but the removing it from the shelf and then washing the parts is just too much for a weeknight in my book.

Because we liked this dish so much, I decided to make a bunch of bread crumbs at once and freeze them. That way, next time I make it, the breadcrumb-making step is already taken care of.

A couple of other notes: You could probably save some time by buying pre-grated cheddar cheese, if you’re into that. It seems like 1 cup is going to be way too much pasta cooking water, but it’s not, the sauce continues to thicken as it sits. I make my cheese measurements a bit generous.

• Stove-Top Macaroni & Cheese •
from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

2-3 slices rustic bread (such as ciabatta), trimmed of crusts and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter (recipe calls for unsalted, but salted is just fine)
1 lb fusilli or cavatappi (the recipe calls for spaghetti but I prefer a curly pasta)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard (this is essential)

Pulse the bread in a food processor until coarsely ground, or use breadcrumbs you’ve made previously. Toast breadcrumbs in a large skillet over medium heat, tossing until golden and crisp. Turn off the heat and add the butter, stirring to coat the bread crumbs. Set aside.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water then drain pasta.

While pasta is cooking, whisk together the eggs, cream, cheeses and mustard in a bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. 

Return pasta to pot and add cheese mixture, cook over low heat, stirring until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add reserved pasta cooking water 1/4 cup at a time, stirring to make a creamy sauce. Top with bread crumbs and serve immediately.

This was a great, quick, last-minute, post-travel meal. Simple grilled chicken breasts (aka Weekday Chicken) and a Niçoise-inspired salad.

For the salad, I used a mixture of arugula and baby spinach, topped with slivered yellow pepper, radish slices, hard-boiled egg rounds (it is Easter Sunday after all), kalamata olives, and boiled new potatoes tossed in leftover pesto. The dressing was a simple dijon vinaigrette.

Baby Sid has officially lost interest the behemoth baby swing, and made his table-top debut in the Bumbo seat tonight. He’s not ready for solids yet, but we gave him a spoon so he wouldn’t feel left out.