Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Once again I am thoroughly blown away by the savoury recipes that Ina creates. I know I am constantly commenting on the amount of butter and fat that she adds to her recipes, but once I get over the shock and just lower the amount, I am time after time left with a bold melody of flavours that work perfectly against each other.

This recipe was no exception. Like the couscous we gladly ate two full servings, smiling the whole way though (even though Ian hates uncooked tomatoes).

One thing though, was it just me or were the measurements of the ingredients entirely off? I knew to double the amount of pasta but I had to cut down on the tomatoes, oil (no surprise there), basil, cheese, olives, and completely cut out the large chunks of sun dried tomatoes from the salad.

Either way, we were very happy. Thanks Ina and thanks to Cat of Delta Whiskey for choosing this week’s recipe.

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
adapted from Ina Garten
this is my version of Ina's dish

Pasta
1 pound fusilli pasta
1/2 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
1/2 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
200g fresh boccnchini, torn into pieces
1/2 cup basil leaves, julienned
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Dressing
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1-1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain well and allow to cool till warm. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the dressing with the parmesan. Mix together well. Add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and basil. Toss to mix everything around.
For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Fresh Fennel and Italian Sausage on Casarecce Pasta -- Ian and Christie's Great Fennel Adventure

I Hate Fennel. There, I said it. I asked Ian if he liked it but I forgot, if he hasn't eaten a certain food before his answer is always "No". So, in an attempt to expand our culinary horizons we boldly trekked into the vegetable store and bought a bulb of fennel.

We then picked out this great looking fennel sausage pasta from the Pasta et Cetera a la Di Stasio cookbook that looked delicious. It also looked like it would mask the taste of the fennel. I think it was a good starting point.

Ok, that was the easy part, but cutting the fennel was a little tricky. Seasoned fennel lovers out there will think I'm crazy, "how could she not know how to cut fennel, it's so easy" well, if you have never seen it cut before, how do you know what to save for eating, and what to throw out. Plus I hate liquorice so the smell was annoying.



To get rid of that bitter liquorice taste we sautéed it with crisp red and green peppers, onions, garlic, and Italian sausage until it was soft and caramelized. Take that fennel! Let me tell you, if fennel always tasted like that Ian and I would be big fans. I don't know if I actually like fennel or if Josée Di Stasio is just brilliant at creating wonderful recipes, but this pasta was a winner. I can't believe I just said that.

If you would like the recipe I would be more than happy to post it but I urge you to take out this book from the library, or buy it, or even borrow the book from a friend. Every recipe looks and tastes amazing! I just bought her other book A la Di Stasio because I took it out from the library three months in a row and didn't want to bring it back. Another great pasta recipe that we make every week (seriously) by Josée Di Stasio that is very similar is the Sausage and Spinach Shells.

Ok, by popular demand, here is my version of the recipe, but still go out and get the book!

Fresh Fennel and Italian Sausage on Pasta
adapted from "Pasta et Cetera" by Josee Di Stasio

500g, about 3 Italian Sausages (good quality, go to your butcher!)
1/2 to a full bulb of fennel (depending on if you like fennel), cut into strips
1 of each red and orange pepper, total two peppers, cut into strips
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tsp. fennel seeds
500g dried pasta
3/4 cup low sodium chicken stock
1/4 cup pasta water
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

In a large pan remove skin from the sausage and sauté until no more pink can be seen. Remove the sausage but leave the fat from them in the pan. Sauté the fennel and peppers in the fat for 10 minutes or until the fennel becomes soft and caramelized. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes. In a large pot boil salted water and cook pasta until al dente. During that time add the sausage back to the pan with the fennel and add the chicken stock. Cook until 2/3rds of the chicken stock is gone. When the pasta is done take the ¼ cup of pasta water and add it to the sausage and fennel mix. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and the drained pasta. Mix together and serve.

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna with an Abruzzi Flair - Daring Bakers March 2009 Challenge

I knew this month's Daring Bakers Challenge was going to be a long and tedious one, but I was up to the task. I also figured that if I was going to put so much effort into one meal Ian and I should share it with friends. And just like that, Supper Club was born.

The idea of supper club came from my brother who holds one every 3 weeks in Oshawa. Basically one person or couple cooks, then old and new friends get together for a delicious home cooked meal. Different people host every time so that it doesn’t get too hectic and new people are always popping in.

Of course I had to make this lasagna for the first club, but I changed it up to reflect my background. The Italian side of my family comes from the region of Abruzzi. There the area makes their lasagna with hundreds of teeny tiny meatballs in the tomato sauce instead of a simple meat ragu. My brother and I have all these great memories of our aunts and cousins making this dish for big family dinners. The Abruzzi version is a very simple layering of mini meatball tomato sauce and paper thin strips of fresh pasta. There really isn’t a lot of cheese involved, nor does there need to be.

My version has the hand made fresh spinach egg pasta and the béchamel sauce of the region of Emilia-Romagna, but with a little Abruzzi flair!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Sausage and Spinach Shells

Guess where the cheapest and latest cookbooks are found? The library. I say cheap, not free because I always take the books back late and have to pay a couple cents each time.

That is where I found the book 'à la di Stasio' by Josee di Stasio. I have probably passed the book a hundred times in the Quebec book stores, but until recently it was only in French. Not that I can’t read French, it's just that at the time I didn't know who Josée di Stasio was. I still don’t really know who she is, although I bet all the Quebecois chefs out there would smack me for saying so.

Anyways, the photography in the book is beautiful and I am always a fan of cooking tips from chefs of this Province so I took a chance. Delicious. Just simply delicious. This pasta was so simple, and if you use good quality sausage from a butcher, you can’t lose.

If you are in Montreal, check out the Maitre Boucher on Monkland, we bought one medium Italian and one Toulouse échalote sausage for this dish. Any butcher will do, just don’t buy random sausages from the supermarket (barf).


Sausage and Spinach Shells
adapted from Josee di Stasio's book "a la di Stasio"

1 large sweet onion cut in thin slices
1lb sausage, different types
1-1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
450 g small shell pasta
5 cups baby spinach
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan

In a very large frypan add olive oil and slightly brown onions. Take sausage out of casing and break it up, then add to pan and cook until no longer pink. Pour in 1 cup of the stock and reduce for a couple minutes. Start a pot of boiling salted water and add pasta, cooking until al dente. Strain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the pasta water. Add pasta and baby spinach to frypan along with the ½ cup of stock and reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper then stir in cheese.

Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni

Things I love....
-Pasta
-Ricotta
-Spinach
-Tomato sauce
-Béchamel sauce
-Anthony Sedlak
-yes, you too Ian, the most.

Things that I ate for dinner...
-Pasta
-Ricotta
-Spinach
-Tomato Sauce
... you get the point.

Yes, I took this pic myself, sans Ian so it isn't as nice, but it's getting better. I think.

Ricotta-Spinach Cannelloni
adapted from Anthony Sedlak's book "The Main" 2008
serves 4
Spinach Ricotta filled Cannelloni
4 6x5 inch fresh pasta sheets
8 ounces spinach
1 tbsp butter
2 cups fresh ricotta
1 egg
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper

Béchamel Sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cup milk
bay leaf
salt
freshly ground pepper

Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 x 690 ml jar good quality Italian brand strained tomatoes
1 tbsp Italian dried herbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg white
1 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup grated mozzarella


Spinach Ricotta Filled Cannelloni
Wash and drain spinach. In a pan, melt butter over medium high heat.
Add spinach and cook until leaves are wilted. Season with nutmeg to taste. Drain cooked spinach in a colander, pressing down firmly to remove excess liquid. Finely chop drained spinach with scissors and gently combine with egg and ricotta. Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Béchamel Sauce
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit but does not colour, about 2 minutes. Stream milk in, whisking as sauce thickens. Bring to a low simmer. Add bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and cover with Clingfilm.

Tomato Sauce
Heat olive oil and garlic in a pot over medium heat. Gently fry garlic for a minute; add strained tomatoes and Italian herbs. Simmer gently about 10 minutes. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Preheat oven to 375.

To assemble
Lay pasta sheet on a flat surface. Spoon 2-3 tbsp of spinach filling evenly along bottom edge of each sheet. Brush egg white along top edge of sheet. Gently roll bottom edge up and around to form a tube shape. Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce on the bottom of a medium, oven safe dish. Arrange filled cannelloni on top and pour béchamel sauce over. Spoon remaining tomato sauce just to cover. Sprinkle parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top and bake until tomato sauce is bubbling and hot around edges, about 20-30 minutes.

Tortellini en Brodo

It seems that everyone is sick today, including Ian and my roommate, so what better dinner than tortellini en brodo.

Tortellini en brodo is a classic Italian dish, simple and delicious. My mom always made it for me when I was sick, so I have carried on the tradition here in Montreal.

The first time I made this for Ian he kept passing out on the couch from the flu. Regardless of his narcolepsy, he could not get over the fact that I just stuck a whole bird into a pot, added veggies, covered it with water, and an hour later he was eating home made chicken soup. I told him I was a magician.

Making your own broth is really easy and takes little to no effort. That’s not to say that I don’t use store bought stock for every other dish, but there is something so comforting about the smell and taste of home made chicken soup.

The key to good soup is to add a bunch of vegetables and herbs along with the secret ingredient, a turnip, then once it has simmered for a while, strain the soup through a piece of paper towel to get rid of the molten fat.

Let’s just go ahead and say that this soup was invented by the Italians, all those years ago, solely for those pesky sick days. Enjoy.

Tortellini en Brodo
adapted from Tyler Florence

1 whole chicken (about 2 pounds)
2 carrots, cut in large chunks
3 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
1 large white onions, quartered
1 head of garlic, halved
1 turnip, halved
¼ bunch fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
Salt to taste
1 package of tortellini

Place the chicken and vegetables in a large stockpot over medium heat. Pour in only enough cold water to cover (about 3 L); too much will make the broth taste weak. Toss in the thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns, and allow it to slowly come to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, partially covered, until the chicken is done. As it cooks, skim any impurities that rise to the surface; add a little more water if necessary to keep the chicken covered while simmering.
Carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board. When its cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones; hand-shred the meat into a storage container.
Carefully strain the stock through a fine sieve lined with paper towel, into another pot to remove the vegetable solids and extra fat.
Bring salted water to a boil in a stock pot. Add tortellini and cook as suggested. Strain and add to soup. Add chicken and Parmesan cheese if you desire.