Archive | February, 2009

Fresh Baby Spinach Pasta

4 Feb

I’ve had this recipe in my Food Network Recipe box for the longest time…  Penne with Spinach Sauce  is a recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis that I have found fascinating since I first saw it on TV.

I did this recipe off the top of my head for my French conversation class group, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that I actually made it almost the same as the original.  Two of my friends asked me for dish using spinach… so I knew they would enjoy it.  But Katherine is not a spinach fan, and she loved this dish.  She said the goat cheese in the sauce made it for her.  So this can be something to try on your little ones…  Call it Shrek’s pasta.

I used local fresh spinach, with a somewhat larger leaf than the one you get at the supermarket.  Remember to wash your spinach well before using it in this recipe…

 

fresh-spinach-penne

 

FRESH BABY SPINACH PASTA

¾ pound of whole-wheat pasta – I used penne, but any tubular pasta would do
2 cups of fresh baby spinach leaves, loosely packed, divided
3 ounces of goat cheese
3 ounces of cream cheese
1 small garlic clove, cut in small pieces
2 turns of the food processor of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, plus more to sprinkle on top to taste
 
  1. Boil the pasta in salted boiling water according to packaging directions.
  2. Wash and dry well the spinach leaves.  Set aside a small bunch aside and chop.
  3. Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, add most of the spinach leaves you have not chopped, goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic clove, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Pulse a few times until the mixture becomes a light green paste.
  4. When pasta is done, drain well while reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water.
  5. Return the pasta to the pot and add the spinach mixture.  Mix well so the sauce loosens with the heat of the pasta and pot.  Add pasta water little by little to loosen the sauce to a creamy consistency.  Add the chopped spinach leaves and the Parmesan cheese and mix well.
  6. Sprinkle more Parmesan cheese on top.

 

To reheat this pasta, I added a small amount of milk to a small pot together with the left-over pasta.  I also added a bit of cream cheese and more Parmesan cheese.  The sauce was creamy and delicious again as it was when done originally.

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Sad News…

3 Feb

I just learned that Joe Ades… a very quirky, but very charismatic vegetable peeler sales man died in NYC at the age of 75.

During my last visit to NYC, I went to Union Square Farmer’s Market and bought 2 of his vegetable peelers.  This was exactly the same day as he was featured in the TODAY SHOW. 

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His sales pitch was superb.  My mom and I were enthraled for the better part of 5 minutes.  I remember trying to ask him questions and he just would not stop his sales speech for me… he just kept going and going like the Energizer bunny.  At the end and only at the end he answered my questions and I surely bought one peeler for myself and one for my mom.

Believe it or not, I used mine for the first time last week…   I tend to save things “for a special ocassion”, something I am erradicating this year as part of my new year’s resolutions.  Now thinking about it, I should have bought the 5 for $20. 

This is very sad news.  Hope his soul rest in peace. 

Hope someone will continue to sell these and continue the tradition… even thou it will never be the same again.

Arugula Salad

2 Feb

One of my new year’s resolutions is to eat more salads. 

I went to our local Organic Farmer’s Market and met a friend I knew only via e-mails.  She’s Silka and she runs the only CSA farm that I know of in Puerto Rico, Siembra Tres Vidas.  I want to join, but she’s so busy with her current shareholders she still can’t create a route for San Juan customers.  But, fortunately for me and all my neighbors in San Juan, she’s attending the Organic Farmer’s Market at la Placita Roosevelt every other Sunday.

The last time I visited, she had the most wonderful arugula lettuce.  Arugula is my new favorite lettuce.  Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf and the local variety of lettuce are staples in my grocery shopping, but Arugula has a special place in my heart.  I first learned about Arugula’s existence when I moved to NYC over 15yrs ago when I ordered a tri-color salad – one with Arugula, Radicchio and Endive – thinking it was a tri-color pasta salad.  Then, my palate was not ready for the flavors of that salad.  But nowadays, I love it.

Arugula is a peppery lettuce with a similar taste to watercress.  It’s great in a salad, in a sandwich, mixed in with pasta.  Here, we celebrate arugula’s flavor and tenderness in a salad all on its own…

 arugula-salad

ARUGULA SALAD

2 big handfuls of arugula leaves, well washed and dried
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – about 2 turns of the salad bowl
The juice of ½ a lemon
Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper to taste

 

  1. In a salad bowl, add the arugula leaves.  Drizzle some olive oil, the lemon juice, salt and pepper.  I do this all without measuring.
  2. Toss well so the arugula is well coated with the dressing.

 

Serve alongside Fettuccini Alfredo or any pasta you desire.

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