Gnudi Ricotta pasta

Hi everyone! It's been a while

I always buy a gallon of milk because it's the best price, but never consume the entire thing. I hate throwing out food, so I generally make ricotta. What do I do with all this ricotta? That's a good question, one I have to ask myself frequently.

This delicious ricotta pasta (think gnocchi but ricotta instead of potato) is easy to make, delicious, and can be used in a variety of ways. It's like cheese ravioli but nicely mixed with the pasta component so you aren't chewing lumps of cheese like in ravioli. Easy to freeze too for later.



Gnudi
from little scratch kitchen

Ingredients:
1 cup ricotta
1/4 cup parmesan, grated
2 tsp. olive oil
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup flour, plus more for dusting

Instructions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except for flour. In two parts, add flour stirring fully to incorporate in between.
2. Kneed dough into a ball adding flour as needed so the ball sticks together but is still wet.
3. Dust a workspace with lots of flour, and cut dough into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a snake until it's about 9" long. Cut into 3/4" pieces, and roll pieces into little balls.
4. Sprinkle flour on a cookie sheet and place gnudi balls on flour. Sprinkle on more flour on-top and let sit for an hour to develop a skin.
5. At this point, you may freeze the gnudi or cook. To cook, bring a pot of water to boil. Add gnudi in batches so they don't touch, and they are done once floating.
6. Serve hot by plating and adding sauce, or pan-frying gnudi once boiled in sauce such as butter or oil.

Tofu Marinara Pasta with Kale

Simple, tasty, healthy main dish. First time I've used nutritional yeast, and to be honest, I was a little bit scared. Maybe it's because when I was a child, my dad told me that the yeast in the freezer was dip and dots ice cream, so I ate it and was totally disgusted by the flavor and have been slightly scared of yeast ever since. Maybe it's because yeast is a living organism and it's odd to me to eat it whole in food. Anyhow, it was tasty and pretty quick meal, packed full of protein.

Tofu Marinara Pasta with Kale
from edible perspective
makes 6 ramekins full

Ingredients:
8 oz. dry short pasta
7 oz. soft tofu, drained
1.5 cups marinara sauce (recipe here)
2 Tbs. Parmesan OR 1.5 Tbs. nutritional yeast + Parmesan to garnish
1/4 tsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 head kale, chopped small
1 tsp. oil
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: red pepper flakes (to garnish)

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to broil.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Add tofo, marinara, yeast, garlic, and oregano to a blender and blend until well combined.
4. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add kale and cook for 2-4 minutes, until wilted, stirring frequently.
5. Combine pasta to the kale, add sauce, and heated until hot.
6. Spoon pasta into ramekins, top with extra Parmesan cheese (or other cheese), and broil for 203 minutes, until bubbly. Top with red pepper flakes (if desired) and serve.

Ricotta Kale Pistachio Lemon Pasta

Delucious pasta dish with some classy and complex flavors : ) Enjoy!

Note: Substitute lemon juice and oil for 1.5 Tbs. lemon olive oil, if you have that.

Ricotta Kale Pistachio Lemon Pasta
from A Food Centric Life
serves 3

Ingredients:
6 oz. long, whole wheat pasta
3/4 bunch kale
3/4 cups ricotta (recipe here)
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. lemon juice
3/4 oz. pistachio nuts, chopped
5 Tbs. Parmesan, grated
zest of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Bring water to a boil in a large pot, over medium-high heat. Chop kale, using whole leaf if tender or stripping leaves from center rib if tough.
2. Add 1 Tbs. salt to the ater, and boil kale for 4 minutes, then take out using a slotted spoon. Add pasta to water, and cook according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
3. Drain pasta and put back into pan, add ricotta, olive oil, and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve in bowls, and garnish each bowl with pistachios and parmesan, and lemon zest.

Baked Eggplant Cheese Pasta

Simple, delicious, and relatively healthy dinner. Everyone enjoyed it!

Baked Eggplant Cheese Pasta
from Bite my cake

Ingredients:
16 oz. pasta (rigatone or any other short pasta)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large eggplant, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 cups canned tomatoes
80 ml. white wine
100 g. cheese, grated (I used farmer's cheddar)
1 Tbs. parsley, chopped
5 Tbs. Parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 390F.
2. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
3. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and add eggplant, garlic, salt and pepper. Once the olive oil has been absorbed by the eggplant, add canned tomatoes and white wine, and cook until the liquid has been absorbed.
4. Combine pasta, eggplant mixture, and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste, and spread evenly in a 3 qt. pan. Sprinkle over Parmesan cheese and parsley.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Pumpkin Cream Fettuccine

Perfect fall flavorings, and with those pumpkins being so cheap at the farmer's market?? Definitely worth a try : ) You could probably substitute milk, perhaps make a roux and slowly add milk, or add corn starch to thicken.

Pumpkin Cream Fettuccine
from Heather Christo

Ingredients:
1 lb. Fettuccini
1 cup pumpkin purée (instructions here)
1 cup cream
1 cup Parmesan + more for sprinkling, shredded
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
roasted pumpkin seeds (to garnish)

Instructions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
2. Pour cream into a small sauce pan, and bring to a simmer with the nutmeg and thicken (~3 mins).
3. Whisk in the pumpkin until combined. Then whisk in the Parmesan, and whisk lightly until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Transfer pasta into a mixing bowl, add sauce, and stir gently to combine. If too thick, add pasta water 1 Tbs. at a time to thin. Garnish generously with Parmesan cheese.

Cilantro Almond Pesto

Great Indian take on pesto. Super fresh tasting, and way cheaper to make than basil-pine nut pesto.

Cilantro Almond Pesto
from Sharmis Passions
serves 2

Ingredients:
1.5 cups dry pasta (fusilli)
1/2 cup packed cilantro (~1 bunch)
15 almonds
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tsp. olive oil
salt, to taste

Instructions:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil. Place almonds in a small bowl, and cover with some of the boiling water. Add pasta to water and cook as per directions, and let almonds soak for 5 minutes.
2. Peel skins off almonds, and toss in food processor along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until a paste is formed, adding oil until a good consistency is formed.
3. Salt to taste, mix the pasta in with the pesto, and serve.

Mushroom Corn Browned Butter Sage Sauce

This was the epic dinner I cooked for my friends the Saturday night when my good friend was in town (right before going off to India! He's there now, as I post this : ) So excited for him!!) Lets just say I was fattening him up on western food one last time before he went off to lose weight in the East.

Mushroom Corn Browned Butter Sage Sauce
from Cookbook of the Month

Ingredients:
1 lb. short spiral pasta or ricotta gnocchi, cooked
1.5 cups fresh breadcrumbs
4 Tbs. olive oil, divided
7 Tbs. butter, divided
1 lb. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced uniformely
1 Tbs. fresh thyme leaves
1 Tbs. fresh sage leaves, slice
4 ears of corn, kernels stripped
2 large shallots, finely diced
1.25 c. flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Heat 2 Tbs. olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and stir to coat with oil. Cook, stirring occassionally, until breadcrumbs are toasted and golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
2.  Add remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil plus 1 Tbs. butter to pan, and heat until butter foams. Add mushrooms, thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt, and pepper. Saute mushrooms, not stirring too much, until most sides are carmalized. Set aside.
3. Add remaining 6 Tbs. of butter to the pan, and cook until butter browns and smells nutty. Scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, add sage, and cook for 1 minute until it sizzles. Add corn, shallots, 1 tsp. salt, and pepper. Saute, stirring frequently, until corn is tender (2-4 minutes).
4. Add prepared pasta to the pan, and toss to coat with butter. Add mushrooms, breadcrumbs, and parsely and stir to combine. Heat the dish if necessary.
5. Season to taste, and serve hot.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

I finally got an outside picture! The great thing about summer is, even if you come home late, there's still sun AFTER you've finished cooking everything to take a decent picture (notice the shadows, though, it was still getting late : ) )

Usually I'm not a big fan of traditional-style pasta salads, or anything involving mayonnaise, really (though I did grow a taste for it in France. It's just plain better quality there). But I definitely recommend this pasta salad for ANY grilling event. I paired this with grilled black bean burgers that had Gates BBQ sauce (if you don't know about this, google it now and buy some online. Link provided) pus cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce and tomato toppings and diced watermelon. Add any seasonal summer beer and you're good to go. WA-BAM. Summer.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
from Tide and Thyme

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (elbow macaroni, spirlini, etc.)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
 2 cups milk, divided
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (I used Kraft Mayo with olive oil)
1 Tbs. brown sugar
4 scallions, sliced thinly (green part only)
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 celery rib, chopped finely
2 tsp. black pepper
1.5 Tbs. salt, divided

Instructions:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil, add 1 Tbs. salt and the pasta and cook until very soft, about 15 minutes.
2. While pasta is cooking, whisk together 1.5 cups milk, 1 cup mayo, brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 2 tsp. black pepper
3. Drain pasta and return to pot. Add vinegar and toss until mostly absorbed.
4. Transfer pasta to a bowl with a lid and cool for 10 minutes. Stir in dressing, until pasta is completely coated and then cool completely.
5. Add scallions, carrot, celery, remaining 1/2 cup milk, and remaining 1/2 cup of mayo to pasta. stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Cover and let sit at least an hour (I left mine over night and it was perfect the next day).

Spinach Lemon Pasta

Spinach Lemon Pasta
adapted from the pioneer women

Ingredients:
2 large handfuls of spinach
1 lemon, juiced and zested
2 Tbs. extra lemon juice
4 Tbs. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb (500 g.) pasta of your choice
2 cups (0.5 L) creme fraiche (or sour cream)
salt to taste
Parmesan cheese, grated, to garnish
parsley, to garnish (optional)

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F (190 C)
2. Cook pasta until al dente.
3. In a skillet, melt butter over low heat, then add the spinach. Once spinach is completely wilted, add garlic and cook until fragrant. Then add lemon juice, and turn off heat.
4. Add creme fraiche, lemon zest, and salt to taste.
5. Combine cooked pasta with the creme mixture, pour into an oven-safe pan and cooked covered for 15 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes.
6. Squeeze the extra lemon juice over the pasta after removing from the oven, and generously top each serving with Parmesan.

Zucchini, Basil, Pine Nut Pasta

Zucchini, Basil, Pine Nut Pasta
adapted from food on paper

Ingredients:
500 g. dry linguine (or other pasta)
1 large zucchini, grated (or 2 small/medium zucchinis)
handful of basil, chopped coarsely
1 clove garlic, minced
45 g. pine nuts (about 1/2 cup)
juice of 1 lemon (plus zest, optional)
dried chilli flakes (optional)
salt and pepper (to taste)
grated Parmesan (to garnish)

Instructions:
1. Cook linguine until al dente.
2. While linguine is cooking, in a heavy-bottomed dry pan, toast the pine nuts on medium-low heat, stirring them until they are all brown and fragrant (being careful not to burn).
3. Drain pasta and add back into pot, and add rest of ingredients and cook on medium-low heat until garlic is fragrant and everything is combined well.

Mushroom Sauce Pasta

Mushroom Sauce Pasta
adapted from lemons and anchovies

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz. mushrooms, sliced
pinch nutmeg
1 cup cream
1/2 cup white wine
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 lb. pasta
Parmesan for grating

Instructions:
1. Soak 1 oz. of the mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes, reserving 1/2 cup of liquid.
2. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
3. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat, add dry mushrooms. Cook until they start to wilt. Add soaked mushrooms, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
4. Add wine and reserved mushroom liquid, and turn up heat cooking liquid down to half.
5. Add cream, nutmeg and parsley. Bring down to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Remove from heat, combine with pasta, and sprinkle grated Parmesan over.

Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

I'm back! 4 months in India (with some great recipes to share, just as soon as I get back into the states with my spice cache). But for now, cheap, cheap fine French ingredients! So exciting!! First off:


Baked Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
adapted from Katherine Martinelli

Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
olive oil
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3 Tbs. butter
salt and pepper
2 Tbs flour
2 cups cream fraiche
2 cup grated Gruyère
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 Tbs. whole grain Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. paprika
1 cup breadcrumbs, optional

Instructions:
1. Preheat broiler. Toss cauliflower in olive oil, place evenly in 13x9x2" baking pan (or smaller if you're halving the recipe) and broil until lightly browned.
2. Lower oven heat to 350, cook pasta until al dente.
3. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium-low heat, then sprinkle in flower and whisk. Whisk in creme fraiche until heated throughly. Add 1 1/2 cups Gruyère and whisk until fully melted, then add 1/2 cup Parmesan and mustard, and then the Paprika, salt, and pepper all to taste. Remove from heat.
4. Combine pasta, sauce, cauliflower, and tomatoes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top (and bread crumbs if desired).
5. Bake pasta uncovered for 35 minutes.

Green Onion and Mushroom Pasta

Super tasty! Even though I forgot to serve with grated Parmesan, still super delicious. Will definitely make again.

Green Onion and Mushroom Pasta
adapted from 20 something cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 bunch green onions
1 lb. small mushrooms (I used white button mushrooms)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil, divided
salt and ground pepper to taste
1 lb. pasta (I used angel hair)
finely grated Romano or Parmesan for garnish

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 500 F.
2. Bring salted water to boil for the pasta, and once boiling, cook according to package directions.
3. Clean and cut the ends off of the mushrooms. On an oven safe pan with a lip, toss the cleaned mushrooms with 2 Tbs. of the oil with salt and pepper. Once the oven is pre-heated, roast for 10 mins.
4. In the mean time, cut up the green ends of the green onions into 1" segments. Keep the white parts for another recipe.
5. In a blender, combine the remaining 1/2 cup oil, the chopped chives, and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Blend until even consistency.
6. Once the mushrooms are cool, cut into quarters.
7. When pasta is cooked and drained, toss with chive sauce and mushrooms. Serve warm or cold.

Spinach Tomato Cheese Pasta

Simple tasty healthy weeknight meal. Enough said.

Spinach Tomato Cheese Pasta
adapted from tracey's culinary adventures

Ingredients:
1 lb. shaped pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
15 oz. fresh spinach
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
5 1/4 oz. garlic cheddar
1 t. salt
3/4 t. ground pepper

Instructions:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Drain, and reserver 1/2 cup pasta water.
2. Add oil to a large skillet, and heat to medium heat. Add garlic and cook until just fragrant. Then add spinach and tomatoes. Cook until all spinach is wilted.
3. Combine pasta, spinach mixture, 1/2 cup pasta water, cheese, and salt and pepper. Gently stir until evenly combined. Server hot.

Stuffed Shells

Sin-fully delicious. I did this recipe once upon a time with whipped cottage cheese, but this version with the (home-made) ricotta is far superior. Serve 3 - 4 shells each with a light side salad.

Stuffed Shells

adapted from Healthy Food for Living
makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups ricotta cheese (recipe here)
1 Tbs. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
9 oz. fresh spinach (4 cups tightly packed)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 t. Italian seasoning
1 1/2 cup marinara sauce, divided
1 cup shredded mozzarella

16 jumbo shells

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add shells, and cook for 10 minutes (until al dente), then strain and set aside.
3. Heat butter in a skillet on medium heat, then add garlic and saute for 30 sec. Add all spinach, and cook until all spinach is wilted, stirring often.
4. In a bowl, combine whipped cottage cheese, sauteed spinach, salt, pepper, Italian seasonings, egg, and Parmesan cheese. Combine well.
5. In a cake pan, spread 1/2 cup of marinara sauce evenly over the bottom.
6. Take a shell, open up (like a coin purse), and fill with the cottage cheese mixture. When stuffed, place into cake pan. Repeat process until all shells are filled. Cover with remaining marinara sauce, and sprinkle the mozzarella over the top.
7. Bake for 35 mins.

Alfredo Sauce

This is an Alfredo recipe I've been working to perfect for a while. I think it's pretty much there. A couple notes: you can substitute the dehydrated garlic with a clove of minced fresh garlic, 1 recipe of this matches 1 - 8 oz. box of pasta, cooked, and I made a double batch (so keep this in mind when looking at the pictures)




Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 tsp. dehydrated garlic)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1. Add garlic and butter to sauce pan, and heat over low heat.
2. Blend together cottage cheese, milk, egg, and fresh ground black pepper until well combined.
3. Add cottage cheese blend to sauce pan, and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mix threatens to boil when you stop stirring.
4. Turn heat to low, and add Parmesan cheese, stirring constantly, and take off heat immediately after it has been melted into the mixture.
5. Combine with pasta (8oz. of dried pasta, cooked until al dente)

Tip: If you let the pasta and Alfredo sit together for a time, it will create a great texture that sticks easily to the pasta. This pasta mix is perfect the next day