Broccoli Rabe & Blue Cheese Lasagna

Broccoli rabe (rapini) is in season and I've been eating quite of bit of it during the past few months. One of my favorite ways to prepare it is sautéed with a bit of olive oil, garlic and chili, and served as a side dish. But this time, I decided I wanted to try something a little different

I started with my usual preparation, added a few leeks, and used it as a filling for a lasagna. For a bit of a twist I added blue cheese. This was so delicious I’m adding it to my recipe rotation and can’t wait to make it again!

Ingredients:
2 bunches broccoli rabe
2 leeks (thoroughly cleaned)
28oz jar crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
12 lasagna noodles
½ cup blue cheese
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook until they are cooked through, but not mushy and falling apart. Drain the noodles and set aside.

While you are waiting for the water to boil and the noodles to cook, prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and add 1 clove chopped garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant but not browned, add the crushed tomatoes. If the tomatoes are too chunky, run them through a food mill first (you don’t want big chunks). If you don't have a food mill, you can always smash the larger chunks with a fork or the back of a spoon once the tomatoes have heated up and started to fall apart on their own. Add the oregano. Add salt to taste if needed. Let the sauce simmer on low while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Trim the hard green ends and roots from the leeks. Cut them in half lengthwise, then cut in half lengthwise again and then slice into ¼ inch pieces.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and sauté until they are soft. Remove the leeks from the pan and set aside.

Trim the stems off of the broccoli rabe at about an inch below the leaves and discard. Roughly chop the leaves and florets into about 1 inch pieces. Rinse the broccoli rabe then gently pat dry. You don't have to completely dry all of the leaves, the moisture will help them steam while they are in the pan.

Add a bit more olive oil to the pan; add the chopped broccoli rabe, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Once the greens begin to soften add the garlic. Sautee until they are soft- but not mushy.

Once the broccoli rabe is done turn off the heat and add the leeks to the pan and gently mix together.

Add a bit of the sauce to the bottom of a 9"x9" baking dish.

Lay three noodles across the bottom of the pan. Add a layer of sauce on top of the noodles. Next add a layer of the broccoli rabe and leek mixture, then sprinkle a bit of the blue cheese over the greens. Top with another layer of noodles. Repeat the layers two more times, saving enough of the sauce to cover the top and a bit of the cheese.

Top the final layer with the last 3 noodles and cover with sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake. After about 20 minutes cover with foil for the rest of the baking time so the sauce does not dry up

Once out of the oven, drizzle with a bit of oil and let the lasagna sit for about 5 minutes then serve. Drizzle each plate with a bit more olive oil and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Walnut "Parmesan Cheese"

The day after Thanksgiving usually means a fridge full of leftovers. I decided to put the extra baked sweet potatoes to good use and make ravioli.

For a vegan version I used an eggless pasta dough, a sage infused olive oil and instead of shaving parmesan over the ravioli, I sprinkled them with a chopped walnut mixture which added a nutty saltiness similar to parmesan cheese.

These were so delicious, I won’t wait until I have leftover sweet potatoes to make them again. And since these freeze well I recommend making several dozen at a time so you’ll have them on hand for a quick and easy weekday lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons fresh chopped sage
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup olive oil, plus about 3 additional tablespoons
3 cloves garlic

Pasta Ingredients:
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup-1 cup water
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

Preparing the sweet potatoes:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 40-50 minutes or until soft.

Cool completely, then peel. This can be done several days in advance and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Once the potatoes are cool, peel and mash. This can be done by hand or in a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Walnut "Parmesan Cheese" Topping

Add the chopped walnuts to a pan over low heat. Toss or stir often, being careful no to burn the nuts.

Once the nuts turn a light golden brown and are fragrant, take off the heat, pour in bowl and set aside.

Finely chop three cloves of garlic. Sprinkle with salt- I like to use kosher salt for this.

Using your knife, work the salt into the garlic until you have a paste.

Put about three tablespoons of olive oil in a small pan over low heat. Add the garlic paste. Using a wooden spoon smash the garlic into the oil until most of it dissolves. Be careful not to brown or overcook the garlic.

Turn off the heat and add the nuts. Toss together well. Add more salt if necessary. The final product should be nutty and a bit salty. 

The Pasta:

Mound flour on a large wooden cutting board.

Make a well in the center of the flour.

Add water a little at a time, stirring with a fork until the flour has enough liquid for the dough to come together.

The dough will be sticky, but should not be wet.

Kneed the dough for 3 minutes. Scrape up all the sticky bits then re-flour the board. Continue kneading for 3 more minutes. Dust the board with flour when necessary. The dough should be elastic and a little sticky.

Cut the dough in half. Wrap the unused half in a towel to prevent it from drying out.

Press the dough into a rectangle then run it through the widest setting on the pasta maker two or three times. Reduce the setting on the pasta maker and repeat this process. At this point your dough may be quite long, I usually cut it in half and set aside. Dust the dough occasionally to prevent the sticking. Continue reducing the setting on the pasta maker until the dough is 1/8” thick.

Place the sheet of dough on a floured surface and put teaspoons of the filling a few inches apart until you have filled up the sheet of pasta. Brush a bit of water around each mound of filling- you can use your finger to do this.

Roll out another sheet of dough and place on top, press gently around the filling.

Cut out the ravioli. You can use anything to use as a cutter- a cup, biscuit cutter a knife. Make sure each ravioli has a good seal. Set aside on a baking sheet dusted with flour. 
Repeat this until you have used all the dough.

Heat the additional 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Add the chopped sage and sprinkle with a few pinches of good salt. Once the sage is a bit crispy and the oil is fragrant, turn off the heat.

Carefully drop the ravioli into gently boiling salted water. Be careful not to over-crowed the ravioli, you may have to do this in several batches, The ravioli will only take a few minutes, once they float to the top, they are done. Remove the ravioli from the water using a slotted spoon. 

Drain well and place in the pan with the sage and olive oil. Gently toss in the pan making sure that the ravioli are coated with the sage oil.

Place the ravioli on a plates then sprinkle with the walnut “parmesan” topping.

Chanterelle Pasta

This weekend I found myself the lucky recipient of a bag of fresh golden chanterelles. I know not everyone get as excited about these things as I do, but I felt like a kid on Christmas morning!

If you have not had the opportunity to cook with chanterelles, I highly recommend it. Not only are they delicious they are high in potassium, vitamin A and D, and contain amino acids that help boost the immune system and may help fight cancer, infections and rheumatoid arthritis.

These mushrooms have a delicate peppery flavor and a hardy meaty texture. I wanted to make a dish where the mushrooms would stand out as the main flavor component, so I chose fresh pasta made from scratch. Although you could use a dried or even store bought fresh pasta, taking a bit more time to make it from scratch is worth the extra effort.

I also wanted this pasta to be completely vegan. You may notice that most homemade pasta recipes include eggs, however it’s very easy to create an eggless pasta by adding semolina four.

Pasta Ingredients:
1 cup semolina flour
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup-1 cup water
¼ teaspoon salt (optional)

Mushrooms:
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, cut in half lengthwise then thinly sliced
2 cups chanterelles sliced- about 1/4” thick
1 clove of garlic very finely chopped
1/2 cup dry vermouth
Flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Mound flour on a large wooden cutting board.

Make a well in the center of the flour and add water a little at a time, stirring with a fork until the flour has enough liquid for the dough to come together.

The dough will be sticky, but should not be wet. Gather the dough to form a ball.

Kneed the dough for 3 minutes. Scrape up all the sticky bits from the board, then re-flour the board. Continue kneading for 3 more minutes. Dust board with flour when necessary.

The dough should be elastic and a little sticky. Cover the dough with a slightly damp towel and set aside while cooking the mushrooms.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook for a few minutes until soft.

Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper, cover and cook until soft and they begin to release their water- about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about minute or two. Next add the vermouth and continue to cook for another minute until the liquid reduces to about ½. Add about 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley.

Adjust the salt and pepper if necessary. Cover and turn off heat.

Roll out the pasta.

Run through the fettuccini blade.

Place about ½ the noodles in boiling salted water. Fresh pasta only takes about a minute- be careful not to overcook. Store the remaining uncooked noodles in the fridge- they will keep fresh for several days.

Drain the pasta- reserving some of the cooking liquid. Gently toss pasta in the pan with the mushrooms- add a few tablespoons of the reserved liquid if the pasta is dry. Serve pasta in bowls, drizzle with a good amount of extra virgin olive oil and fresh ground pepper.

Servings: 2 main course or 4 smaller servings.

Pasta with peas, green garlic and cream

Nothing says spring like green garlic and peas. Toss them in a pasta with a little cream and serve with crusty whole grain bread, a light frisée radish salad, a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc and you have a perfect, yummy spring comfort meal.


Many people seem intimidated with the idea of shelling peas. This is just silly. It only takes a few extra minutes to prepare and the taste is so much more satisfying than the frozen ones. However, if that is all you have available they are an acceptable substitute.

If you have never heard of or used green garlic then you are really missing out and it is time to give it a try. Green garlic is just young garlic. It looks a lot like green onions and has a very similar texture. It tastes and smells like garlic, but it is much more delicate and mild.



Ingredients:
1/4 pound of spaghetti. This would also work very nicely with a penne or bow pasta.
1/2 a cup of shelled peas (just over 1/2 pound of peas with shells)
2 tablespoons roughly minced green garlic
1/2- to 3/4 cups heavy cream
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesano-Reggiano cheese
Fresh cracked black pepper

Cook pasta in boiling salted water- I like to use a good coarse sea salt for my pasta water. As Silva, my friend in Italy says “your pasta water should be as salty as the sea”. For some delicious recipes and fun stories check our her blog at www.afriendinitaly.blogspot.com

Your pasta should be al dente, don’t over cook.

Cook the peas in boiling water for about a minute or two. Once they float to the top let them cook for about 30 seconds or until they are done. You want to keep the peas nice and crisp for this dish. Drain the peas and set aside.

Heat oil in a sauté pan to medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes until the garlic is translucent. Add the cream and bring to a simmer and cook about another minute or so until the cream thickens slightly. Add a tablespoon of cheese and a sprinkle of kosher salt to taste. Turn off the heat and add the peas.

Drain the pasta and toss into the cream. Sprinkle with freshly grated cheese and fresh ground pepper.

Servings: 2 main course or 4 smaller servings. Since this dish is rich you might want to serve smaller portions as a first course.