I guess I’ve been on a bit of mint kick as of late. It’s yummy in desserts and makes a great garnish, but more over it’s an herb that’s entirely underutilized for savory dishes. This dish came together in my head while spec’ing product at work this afternoon (a not-so-creative left brained activity). The right side of my brain was feeling under-utilized writing tables of messaging requirements, so I started thinking about what to make for dinner.
I think the idea of making noodles out of asparagus came first, but it was quickly followed by something to accompany it. I happen to have a nifty multi-blade razor thing from Japan (pictured below) so I just give a stalk one pass, then rotate it 90 degrees and give it another. If you don’t happen to have one of these things laying around your kitchen, you should be able to do this with a sharp knife (or mandoline) and some patience. If neither of those options don’t work for you, you could always leave the spears whole then serve it with the pesto to dip.
I’d have to say I was pretty happy with how the pesto turned out given that I’ve never made it before and the last time I had pesto on anything was ages ago. I could just eat this out of a bowl with a spoon, but I imagine it would be good on bread, in a sandwich, on regular pasta or served with lamb chops. It’s full of umami, earthy and creamy, but the mint and lemon juice add some brightness that makes this more versatile than other pesto’s I’ve had before.
![](http://www.norecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/asparagus_linguine-3-500x334.jpg "\\"Noodles\\" all ready to cook")
Continue for full recipe
Similar posts
My refrigerator is retarded. Items left on the top shelf spoil because it’s not cool enough up there. Things on either of the bottom two shelves, especially towards the back tend to freeze. I’ve always thought of this as a curse (have you ever seen frozen tofu?), but today it actually ended up working out.
I was digging through the back of the fridge looking for some inspiration and I found a ziplock back with a small fistful of boiled stinging nettles. Those of you that remember my foraging expedition might remember the stinging nettles I picked (and never cooked with). Though it’s been almost a month, the little baggie of boiled nettles made it to the back of the fridge where it froze solid allowing me to resurrect it in this pasta today:-)
Honestly the nettles didn’t really add much flavor to the pasta, but it does make it a nice green color. This was my first time using my newest Kitchen Aid attachment (pasta roller) so the pasta didn’t exactly turn out gorgeous, but I’d have to say this was far better (and easier) than the hand crank contraptions I’ve used in the past. The burly motor in the Kitchen Aid makes short work of the rolling process, and because you don’t have to turn a crank, you have both hands free to feed and catch the pasta on the other end.
Nettle pasta going through the Kitchen Aid powered pasta machine
Finished nettle pasta ready to hit the pot.
I really like to keep pastas very simple highlighting just one or two of the ingredients. In this case I wanted the pasta and fava beans to be the stars since they both take a fare amount of work to prepare. The Pecorino Grand Cru, an aged sheepsmilk cheese gives the fresh pasta some depth and umami while the lemon and pepper brighten it up. Fava beans, when lightly boiled and shelled have a texture a bit like edamame, but they are much sweeter and have a flavor similar to peas.
Continue for full recipe
Similar posts
Having brought home quite a haul from our little foraging expedition, my head was abuzz with all the possibilities. While foraging I was worried I might not be able to use everything we’d picked. By the time I was done with this meal, I realized I should have gotten more.
This simple pasta dish just tastes like spring. Lightly sauteed, the ramps are sweet with a mild garlicy flavor that goes really well with the smokey bacon. The fiddleheads don’t have a ton of their own flavor but they’re slightly sweet and add a nice texture to the dish. If you want to make this vegetarian, just omit the bacon and use a tablespoon of olive oil instead of a teaspoon.
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 strips thick cut Berkshire bacon chopped
1 large handful of ramps roughly chopped
1/2 C fiddleheads par-boiled
freshly ground pepper
8 oz orecchiette pasta boiled according to package
shaved pecorino romano
Start the pasta while preping the rest of the ingredient, but wait until your pasta is done and drained before you start cooking the rest. I just use the pot the pasta comes out of to make the bacon and veggies.
Add the oil to a hot pan over medium high heat, then add the bacon. Fry until the bacon is slightly brown around the edges (but not crispy)
Add the ramps and fiddleheads and saute lightly, adding a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add the pasta and toss to coat.
Serve with shaved Pecorino Romano.
Similar posts
One of my favorite things about leftovers are the things you can turn them into. While most home cooks wouldn’t slow roast a hunk of pork to make a pasta dish, if you happen to have some sitting around, there are lots of awesome possibilities that open up.
This is something I was contemplating while the pork was still roasting in the oven on Sunday. It’s a bit unusual for me in that I actually have a great dislike for walnuts (unless they are candied and in a salad), but for some reason, as the aroma of ginger, garlic and 5-spice wafted through the apartment, all I could think about was how well it would go with walnuts.
The following is a ludicrously simple recipe (assuming you have roast pork sitting around) that tastes a lot more complex than it actually is. I didn’t want chunks of walnuts, interrupting the texture of the al dente, pasta, so I pounded the walnuts into a paste with a mortar and pestle with some olive oil and Pecorino Romano cheese. The cheese adds a slightly sharp saltiness that compliments both the rich pork and walnuts nicely. I wanted to make this with orecchiette (little ear pasta), but unfortunately my groceries didn’t show up when I thought they were going to, so I had to make due with boring old linguine this time.
1/3 C walnut halves
1/4 C grated pecorino romano cheese
2 Tbs olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
1 C roast pork cut into 1/2″ cubes
8 oz cooked pasta
Using a mortar and pestle (or food processor), crush the walnuts until a fine paste. Add the cheese, olive oil and black pepper and combine.
When the pasta, is done, drain and add the cubed roast pork into the hot pot along with the pasta and pesto. Toss to thoroughly coat the pasta with the pesto then serve immediately.
Similar posts
This simple dish was inspired by Mario Batali’s Bavette Cacio & Pepe. The list of ingredients may make it sound like a boring side, but try a bite and you’ll want to turn it into a meal.
I go for a slightly healthier take on Batali’s dish replacing some butter for olive oil and adding some lemon zest for a little bit of sunshine.
This goes nicely with some Ratatouille.
8 oz linguine
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 Tbs unsalted butter (optional)
Boil the linguine according to package directions and drain well.
Toss with the rest of the ingredients and serve immediately
Similar posts
Loading ...
