Chicken Mozzarella Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

• One hour, 4 servings
• Ingredients
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small jar (3-4 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, or use 3-4 oz fat-free sun dried tomatoes
• 1 lb chicken breast tenders
• salt
• paprika (just a little bit)
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 8 oz penne pasta (for gluten free, use Tinkyada gluten free brown rice pasta)
• 1 tablespoon basil (if using dry basil), if using fresh basil you can add more
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (at least, add more to taste)
• 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water (or more)
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Note: if using sun-dried tomatoes in oil (in a jar), make sure to drain sun-dried tomatoes from oil, before using them. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this drained oil for sauteing as described below:
2. In a large pan, on high heat, sautee garlic and sun-dried tomatoes (drained from oil) in 2 tablespoons of oil (reserved from the sun-dried tomatoes jar - see note above) for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant. Remove sun-dried tomatoes from the pan, leaving the oil, and add chicken tenders, salted and lightly covered in paprika (for color) and cook on high heat for 1 minute on each side. Remove from heat.
3. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Reserve some cooked pasta water. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water (to stop cooking).
4. Slice sun-dried tomatoes into smaller bits and add them back to the skillet with chicken. Add half and half and cheese to the skillet, too, and bring to a gentle boil. Immediately reduce to simmer and cook, constantly stirring, until all cheese melts and creamy sauce forms. If the sauce is too thick - don't worry - you'll be adding some cooked pasta water soon. Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the creamy sauce, and stir to combine. Add 1 tablespoon of basil, and at least 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Stir to combine.
5. Add about 1/2 cup reserved cooked pasta water because the creamy sauce will be too thick (do not add all water at once - you might need less or more of it). This will water down the thickness of the cheese sauce and make it creamier. Immediately, season the pasta with salt and more red pepper flakes, to taste, if needed. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes for flavors to combine.

From this food blog, by Julia.

Ravioli with prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and mozzarella

Pasta-making fun with Molly and Josue! Both pasta dough and filling recipes are from Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef.

Everyday Quick Basic Pasta Recipe
(serves 4)
1 lb. bread flour (3½ to 4 cups)
5 fresh, large eggs
semolina flour for dusting

Mixer recipe: use the dough hook. Add the flour to the eggs and mix at a medium speed for about 3 minutes or until it forms a firm dough. Take it out of the mixer and finish kneading by hand for about a minute or until smooth, silky and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 60 minutes.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 4 balls. Re-cover 3 balls and work with one at a time. Flatten the ball of dough slightly with the palm of your hand and run through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. Fold the two ends into the middle and run through on the thickest setting 3 or 4 times. Lightly dust both sides with flour, and run it through on a thinner setting, repeating until the sheets are 1-1.5 mm thick.

For ravioli, you want sheets of pasta that are 3-4 inches wide, and should work in small batches, keeping extra sheets covered with a damp cloth. Lay out pasta on a generously dusted surface and place a good heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle of the sheet at one end. Repeat this all the way along the pasta, spacing 2 inches apart. Then, using a clean pastry brush and some water, lightly but evenly brush the pasta. Lay another similar-sized sheet of pasta on top of the first.

With your thumb or the base of your palm, gently pat the pasta down on the long side farthest away from you. Starting from one side, with the side of your hand, push the pasta down at one end, then slowly curl your fingers and your palm around the filling, eventually cupping and gently pushing down on the other side of the filling. Repeat along the length, making sure it hasn't stuck to the work surface. Then trim and cut the ravioli into shape with a knife or cutter. They can be cooked right away, usually for about 3-4 minutes in salted, gently boiling water. Or you can store it uncooked in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours on a tray generously dusted with semolina.

Prosciutto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Basil and Mozzarella Ravioli Filling
(serves 4)
1 handful of finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 good handful of fresh basil, torn
12 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 7 oz. balls buffalo mozzarella cheese, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 good slices of prosciutto, fat trimmed
olive oil
extra basil and shaved parmesan to serve

Put the Parmesan, basil, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella in a bowl, stir together, and season to taste. Cut the slices of prosciutto in half. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of the filling at one end of the piece of prosciutto, then fold in the sides and roll up so that the filling is enclosed. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients--you should have about 20 small balls. Fill the ravioli and cook in gently boiling salted water for about 3-4 minutes, until tender. Drain carefully. Serve sprinkled with olive oil, black pepper, freshly-shaved Parmesan and torn basil.

We made 2 recipes of pasta, one with all bread flour and one half semolina. We used slightly more than 1 recipe for the ravioli, and cut the rest by hand into pappardelle and dried for later.

Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Radicchio

From Italian Easy: Recipes from the London River Cafe by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers.

16 0z. egg tagliatelle
6 prosciutto slices
1 radicchio head
1 garlic clove
2 Tbsp. rosemary leaves
2 oz. Parmesan
1 stick unsalted butter

Cut the prosciutto and radicchio into ribbons the same width as the tagliatelle. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Chop the rosemary and grate the Parmesan.

Melt half the butter in a thick-bottomed pan. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for a minute. Add half the radicchio and prosciutto. Cook just to wilt. Remove from the heat.

Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain. Add the rest of the butter and half the Parmesan. Put into the cooked radicchio, then stir in the remaining radicchio and prosciutto. Toss thoroughly and serve with Parmesan.

--

Part of my quest to find a recipe that makes me like radicchio, and this one did far better than others so far, though I would have wilted all of the radicchio. Perhaps part of it is that we have rather wide noodles, and not a small head of radicchio, so the uncooked portion was very prominent in the final dish. Definitely use really good egg noodles. We made half of this recipe and had leftovers. And it was good! Which is a good thing, since we got more radicchio in this week's box.

Refreshing hot day lunch: Cold Soba Noodles and Vegetables

From Noodle Fusion by Dorothy Rankin:

"Yield: 4 to 6 Main-course Servings

"These cold, chewy buckwheat noodles with crisp vegetables and a sweet, salty, and sour dressing have a lovely balance of flavors and texture. It is somewhat of a misnomper to call the liquid portion of this salad a 'dressing.' Consider it, instead, a delightful chilled broth that can be drunk from the bowl when the noodles are gone. This is wonderful made ahead and served icy cold in bowls. If you do so, refrigerate the noodles, vegetables, and broth in separate, well-covered containers."

12 ounces soba noodles
1 medium-size daikon radish, grated
1 carrot, peeled and grated
½ cup snow pea shoots
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 T. rice wine vinegar
1 T. mirin
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
garnish: 1 T. toasted sesame seeds

Cold Broth Dressing
1½ cups Dashi
4 T. mirin
2 tsp. peeled, grated ginger
2 scallions, finely chopped

Cook the soba noodles as directed. Drain and rinse thoroughly to cool. Meanwhile, combine the vegetables in a bowl. Add the vinegar, mirin, sugar and salt and mix well. Combine all the broth ingredients in a separate bowl.

To serve, divide the noodles among the bowls. Arrange the vegetables over the noodles and pour the broth over all. Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.

(ams note) Very robust to substitutions. I used this as a general idea, substituting cabbage and bean sprouts for daikon and pea shoots, had to skip the scallions, and found out--after beginning--that we were out of mirin. Oops. Substituted more vinegar and sugar liberally in place of it. Then I just forgot the sesame seeds (oops again). Yummy nonetheless.

Turkey tetrazinni

This alternates nicely with the great after-Thanksgiving turkey enchiladas. Recipe from the Joy of Cooking.

2 to 3 cups shredded cooked turkey
½ pound pasta
½ to ¾ pound mushrooms
5 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp. dry white wine
2 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup cream (or half and half)
salt and pepper
grated parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Clean and slice mushrooms. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a pan with 1 Tbsp. oil, and saute mushrooms on medium. When they have started to release liquid, add 1 clove of garlic, minced. Continue sauteing, adding the wine and allowing most of the liquid to cook off. Meanwhile, boil salted water for the pasta. While the pasta is cooking, make a roux of 3 Tbsp. butter and the flour, slowing mixing in the chicken stock. Season it with salt and pepper, then remove from heat and stir in the cream.

Drain the pasta, then mix half the sauce with the pasta, stir in the chicken and mushrooms, and mix all together. Grease a baking dish, pour in the pasta mixture, then pour the remaining sauce over it all. Sprinkle the top with grated Parmesan cheese, or a mixture of cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake until lightly browned and heated through.

Egg fettucine with beets, parmesan, and poppy seeds

kosher salt
10 baby or small beets (about 1½ pounds without greens), scrubbed and trimmed
¼ cup poppy seeds
6 T. unsalted butter
freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh (or dried) fettucine
⅔ cup grated Parmesan cheese
balsamic vinegar, for garnish (optional)
¼ cup minced chervil or chives, for garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Grate the beets. In a heavy saucepan over high heat, toast the poppy seeds until they smell slightly nutty, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Reduce the heat and melt 5 T. of the butter in the saucepan. Stir in the shredded beets and saute for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the beets are tender.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water until it is al dente. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Toss the hot pasta with the remaining T. of butter, the grated cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. When the beets are tender, toss them with the pasta. Sprinkle with the poppy seeds and adjust the seasoning, adding a tsp. or two of balsamic vinegar, if desired. Garnish with chervil or chives, if using, and serve immediately.

This recipe is fun, different, easy, and yummy, and comes from Melissa Clark's fun cookbook Chef, interrupted, in which she works with restaurant chefs to adapt favorite recipes for the home kitchen. This is inspired by a beet ravioli dish from Anna Klinger at Al Di La in Brooklyn.

Truffled Corn and Wild Mushroom Fettuccine

1/2 lb pancetta or bacon, cut into 1 inch strips
2 cups corn kernels from 3-4 ears of corn
2 1/2 teaspoons of salt (not tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound mixed wild mushrooms (such as wood ear, chanterelle, and/or shiitake, stems wiped clean, and sliced)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 lb fresh fettuccine
1 tablespoon white truffle oil, or more to taste
3 ounces parmigiano-reggiano, grated (about 3/4 cup)
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels and drain. Let cool and coarsely chop
2. Add the corn, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn is heated through, about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are tender and give off the juices, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the pancetta, and cover to keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, bring 1 gallon water and the remaining teaspoons salt to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the fettuccine and cook, stirring occasionally to separate the noodles, until al dente, 4-5 minutes for fresh, or about 10 minutes for dried. Drain the pasta and return to pot.
4. Add the corn mixture and truffle oil and toss to coat evenly. Add the cheese and basil and toss again. Serve hot.

From Chad and Becky, from their Emeril cookbook (don't know which one).

Pasta with homemade pesto, sauteed tomatoes, and homemade mozzarella

Today I made pesto with basil from the csa (no garlic yet--we get our first garlic of the year Sunday!). For dinner, I made gemelli pasta, sauteed some grape tomato halves in butter (also our last non-farm tomatoes for the summer!!), and tossed the tomatoes, pesto, cream, and little chunks of homemade mozzarella with the pasta. Served with grilled french bread with olive oil, and very tasty.

Homemade mozzarella? Stay tuned.....

Garlic scape pesto

In an effort to use garlic scapes in a new and interesting way, I tried making garlic scape pesto. It was inspired by this recipe, but more traditional in using a whole lot of basil, pine nuts, parmesan and olive oil. Really, it's just replacing the garlic with a whole lot of garlic scapes. It has a really nice, mild garlicky flavor - almost like cooked garlic.

Normally we throw in the weekly scapes into a stir-fry, which is also good.

Rotini with roasted peppers and spinach

I didn't have pine nuts, but otherwise followed this recipe pretty closely. It was fine, but a little bland. Needed more salt, and more dried red pepper and a little cream might be nice next time.

Pasta with white beans, pesto, and sun dried tomatoes

We spent too much time gardening Sunday and then needed a quick dinner. So here's a spring thaw pasta to celebrate the bounties of last summer....quick, easy, yummy, and using things we made from our farm share produce and then froze last summer: oven dried grape tomatoes and pesto. We had this with the rest of Kelsey's no-knead bread, version 2, about which he'll maybe blog if he becomes satisfied with the result.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup pesto
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

8 ounces gemelli pasta

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine and pesto; simmer over medium heat until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Add cannellini and stir until heated through.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water.

Add pasta and cheese to sauce; toss to coat. Mix in enough reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

From Epicurious.

Gorgonzola Sauce

Gorgonzola Sauce

4 oz gorgonzola or other blue cheese (relatively mild flavor)
8 fl oz cream.
1 oz butter
salt and peper. (taste for salt first, blue cheese can be salty)

Heat cream and butter. Melt in cheese. Taste, and then flavor.

Enough for two people, best with curly pasta. Feel your arteries harden...
Very good, very cheap, and very very flexible...

For example, you can use canned smoked oysters and some grated hard cheese instead of the blue cheese, for another very good version. Or chopped lox.