Pasta with cheesy sauce and rocket

Jos and I love pasta dishes. I am always experimenting various combinations. We tried this and it has now become a favorite as it is not only tasty but very easy too. 

Pasta with cheesy sauce and rocket

150 gram corkscrew (fusilli) pasta
handful of thinly sliced sweet red pepper
2 large handfuls of rocket (arugula)
3 thin slices of salami, cut in strips
5 mushrooms, sliced
For the cheesy sauce:
75 gram mascarpone cheese
75 gram Parmasan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
around 4 tablespoons pasta water
freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
dash of red chili flakes
drizzle of virgin olive oil

Cook pasta as directed on package. Save a little of the pasta water for later.

Saute the salami, red pepper and mushrooms in olive oil. Add the pasta and mix thoroughly.

In a bowl, mix the mascarpone, lemon juice and seasonings. Now add enough pasta sauce to make a creamy sauce. Crumble Parmasan flakes into the sauce. Drizzle a little olive oil in the sauce.

Pour the cheesy sauce over the pasta and toss in the rocket. Serve immediately.

Eet smakelijk!
Heidi

Pasta with spinach and cream cheese sauce

We eat pasta often in our home. I love how I can test out new combinations or simply use up lots of delicious veggies in the fridge. Making tasty pasta dishes is not difficult or time consuming. This spinach and cream cheese sauce couldn't be easier to whip up when time is short.

Pasta with spinach and cream cheese sauce for two
Pasta of choice - I used fresh fungi tortellini this time but this is good with any pasta!
450 gr (one pound) fresh spinach - this slinks down to just enough for two
about 3 tablespoons fresh cream cheese with chives
2 tablespoons half and half
salt and pepper
handful of pine nuts
Parmesan cheese -flaked
Optional - slices of Parma ham

Cook the pasta according to instructions. Wilt the spinach in a large pan and drain. Add the cream cheese and half and half allowing the cream cheese to melt. Salt and pepper to taste. Toast the pine nuts. Serve your pasta on a plate pouring the spinach sauce on top. Sprinkle pine nuts and Parmesan flakes over the sauce. Top with slices of Parma ham that has been placed under a grill under crispy.

** Be careful to keep a close eye on the Parma ham under the grill as it does burn easily. **

Eet smakelijk!
Heidi

Corn and cauliflower bake/pasta ragout - Part two

With the leftover half of the corn and cauliflower bake you can create a delicious vegetable ragout for pasta. It just means adding a few things to the cold leftovers and a new meal is on the table in no time...

Vegetable ragout for pasta
Half of corn and cauliflower bake (see previous blog post)
1 leek
2 spring onions
1 red chili pepper
6 or 7 mushrooms
1 carrot
1/2 cup creme fraiche
pinch of dill
salt and pepper
Parmasan cheese

Rinse the leek well and slice. Slice the spring onions putting the green tops aside. Fry the leek and spring onion in a little olive oil. I added a finely chopped red chili pepper but this is optional. 

Slice the mushrooms and add to the leeks and onions. Boil sliced carrot to just tender and add to the mix along with a pinch of dill. Add your leftover corn and cauliflower bake and mix well. If some of the cauliflower is too large, just cut through as it cooks. 

Mix in the creme fraiche and green of the spring onions. Add milk as needed. Salt and pepper the vegetable mixture to your own taste.

The vegetable mixture should be wet enough at this point as shown in the photo. Cook your choice of pasta as directed on the package and drain. I use about 1 cup of pasta for two. Add this to the mix and stir in some grated Parmasan cheese. Serve immediately. 

Bon appetit or eet smakelijk!

Heidi

Forgotten vegetables...Tuscan cabbage

Jos and I enjoy going to a farm in the north of Holland called De Cuynder. They sell their own vegetables including forgotten types or old varieties that are slowly disappearing. We bought a cooking pumpkin, two ears of sweet corn (they were only 25 cents which was an amazing price) and a crop of palm cabbage also known as Tuscan or black leaf cabbage. It is similar to kale but has a stronger taste. We tried it yesterday and it was delicious! Luckily, I have enough left to make another recipe which I will share in my next post but this is what I did with some of it for last night's meal.

Spaghetti carbonara with Tuscan cabbage for two

150 gram / 1/3 lb. spaghetti
1/4 lb. bacon, cut in chunks
3 spring onions, chopped roughly
1/3 lb. Tuscan cabbage, remove center vein and chop
3 eggs
1/4 lb. parmasan cheese
olive oil
pine nuts
freshly ground sea salt and pepper

Cook the spaghetti as directed on package. Roast the pine nuts if a dry pan and set aside. Fry the bacon in a little olive oil. Add spring onions and cabbage to the bacon until cooked.

In a bowl, mix the eggs with 3/4 of your parmasan cheese. When spaghetti is cooked, drain and add to the bacon and cabbage mixture. Now stirring constantly, add the eggs and cook until the spaghetti is coated and slightly cooked. Place the pasta onto two plates and add the remaining cheese and pine nuts, salt and pepper. Mix together and serve immediately.

If you are unable to get Tuscan cabbage, you can use kale in its place. It was fun trying a new vegetable and it really had a much better and more intense flavor than regular kale.

Bon appetit or eet smakelijk!
Heidi

German noodles (Spätzle) with spinach

We take a drive to Germany once in a while for a grocery store run. We go to three stores and stock up on things we love in Germany. One of those things is spaetzle (spätzle) which is a type of noodle. Here is a recipe for one of the ways I prepare these tasty noodles...

German spätzle with spinach
approx. 150g / 1/3lb. spaetzle or a thick egg noodle
olive oil
2 onions, roughly chopped
500g / 1lb. fresh spinach
1 teaspoon mixed Italian herbs
1/2 cup grated parmasan cheese
3 tablespoons cream
salt and pepper
parmasan flakes

Cook the noodles according to the package. You can use another egg noodle if you cannot get spaetzle. Chop up the onions and fry them in a little olive oil until they start to turn glassy. Start adding the well rinsed spinach with the onions. Once all the spinach is cooked (wilted) drain the pan well. Spinach releases a great deal of water when cooked. Add the herbs, salt and pepper to the spinach mixture.

Drain the noodles and add to the spinach and onions.  Now add 3 tablespoons of cream (you can use half and half) and add the grated cheese mixing well to be sure the cheese spreads through the dish.

Top with parmasan flakes before serving.

** I served this with a marinated chicken that I buy at our butchers. You could serve this as a vegetarian dish or add any meat you like. Sprinkled with crispy bacon and parmasan is tasty if you do not want a piece of meat with the dinner. **

Bon appitit or eet smakelijk (as we say in Holland)!
Heidi