Penne with cauliflower and fresh basil

Pasta is fun and very simple to prepare. You should cook it "al dente" which is the way Italian people eat it; it is also healthier than overcooked pasta. I often add vegetables to my pasta dishes, I love it. This time, I added cauliflower to penne, according to a recipe from Mario Batali which I made my own.


Serves 3
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: *


Ingredients:
- olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 pound grape vine tomatoes OR cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1/2 pound dry penne
- 1 bunch frech basil, chopped
- freshly grated parmesan
- salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the garlic. cook until soften and lightly golden brown. Add the cauliflower and stir well.
Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down. Note: I try to use organic ingredients so I wash the tomatoes and do not peel them. I either leave the skins or remove them when they detach themselves while cooking.
Add the cauliflower and stir well.
Add the hot water and cook about 20-25 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.

Bring cold water to a boil to cook the penne. Cook according to package instrutions, until tender but al dente. Drain well.
Add the pasta to the cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Toss for 1 minute over high heat.
At the last minute, add the chopped basil. Sprinkle the grated parmesan on top and serve immediately.

Miam miam!

Primavera, Mushroom, Seafood Risotto... Invent your own!

Risotto is an incredibly flexible dish which you can adapt according to your envy. There are some basic principles and techniques to know which I'm going to explain but it is not difficult to prepare.
Depending on the ingredients you use in your risotto, it can be an appetizer or an entree and you can make it with veggies, seafood or meat.


Serves 4
Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: **

Ingredients:
Basic ingredients needed for any type of risotto
- 400g risotto rice (14 ounces)
- 2 liters of stock (6 1/2 cups)
I prefer using chicken stock or vegetable stock. Clam juice can also be used for seafood risottos.
- olive oil or butter to fry the onion at the beginning of the preparation
- 2 tablespoons butter to add at the end of the preparation
- 1 small onion
- 2/3 cup wine or liquor (10 cl)(optional)
Any wine can work with risottos. White wine is the best bet but for more "fancy" dishes, I already used Sake or Ricard to customize my risottos.
- 2 nice handfuls of parmesan cheese (better if freshly grated)

Boil the stock and reserve it aside, keeping it very hot.
Heat the olive oil or butter in a large pan. Slowly fry the onion without coloring them, they should become transparent.
-- You might now add ingredients that need to cook with the rice, like raw vegetables, meat cut in small pieces... --
Turn up the heat and add the rice and stir so that it is coated with butter/oil.
Then add the wine and keep stirring until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
Add salt and pepper.
Turn the head down and add the stock in small batches, stirring and waiting for the liquid to be absorbed before adding more stock.
-- If you are making a seafood risotto, you can add the seafood in the middle of the cooking process here. Since seafood does not need to cook for a long time, do not add them too early. --
After about 30 minutes, the rice should be "al dente" and the texture of the risotto should be creamy. Add more stock if you feel that it's too dry.

Take the risotto out of the heat and check the seasoning: add salt and pepper if needed.
Stir in the butter and the parmesan. If you like, you can top with freshly grated parmesan before serving.

Examples of other ingredients to be used in risottos
1) Risotto Primavera: carrots, celery, green peas, artichokes, asparagus, green beans...
Cut them in cubes and add them to your preparation.

2) Mushroom Risotto: fresh or dried mushrooms like porcinis or chanterelles. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water before using them in this recipe.
For a "Japanese style" mushroom risotto, you can use shitake and/or oyster mushrooms. Sake can be used in this version.

3) Seafood Risotto: bay scallops, shrimps, calamari, ...
It's better to use fresh seafood but if you have a frozen medley for example, you can heat it in a pan first and reserve the juice to cook the rice. As mentioned above, do not add the seafood too early or it will become chewy, especially if you are using frozen seafood.

Enjoy!

Italian Meatballs: … tutto buono!

Last night I decided I was going to make meatballs with fresh ground beef. Back in Massachusetts, my friend Linda showed me her real Italian recipe and I used her tips to make this dish. It is extremely flavorful and really simple. Once you start, you can't have enough! And don't forget to pair it with a good red wine, Italian or not, it is good anyways ;)

Serves 2
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: *

Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 handful breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- salt & pepper
- 1 handful parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp Herbes de Provence (Provençal Herbes - or use a little some thyme, basil and rosemary)
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic clove, crushed

For the tomato sauce:
- olive oil
- 1 big can whole tomatoes (you can use diced tomatoes)
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 10 olives, pitted and chopped - green or black, both are delicious, you can mix
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- salt & pepper

Start preparing the meat balls, mixing beef, egg, breadcrumbs, fennel seeds, parsley, onion and garlic. Use your end, that's better to mix everything well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onion first and when it starts being translucid, add the garlic and the olives. Let cook for a few minutes; it should be brown but not burn. Add the tomato paste and let cook again for 1 minute. Then add the whole tomatoes. [I like using whole tomatoes because it is less liquid than a regular tomato sauce and I also like eating the tomato pieces with the meatballs.]
Wait until it starts boiling gently.

Start rolling the meat balls. Take a small quantity of meat in your hands and roll it to make a ball [2 inch diameter max]. Place the meatballs into the sauce and let simmer for about 45 minutes, turning the meatballs after about 25 minutes.