Lamb and Artichoke Ragù

If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one. – Cavett Robert

The finished dish. Very filling.

Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been over two weeks since my last post...

I do have to apologize. It’s been far too long since I wrote. 17 days. This is by far and away the longest time between posts since I started this blog over three years ago. To make it even worse I had promised you a recipe using the artichokes I made in the last post.

Well, here it is – albeit very, very late.

I’m not sure what happened. I’ve been quite busy with what puts food on the table, and at the end of the day all I want to do is veg in front of the TV. I’ve also been splitting my time between my two “offices” which makes cooking, gardening (insert activity here...) much more difficult. I am both a country and city mouse.

You know, I even haven’t had time to go to the grocery store on a regular basis. I know, first world problems. But it does make it more difficult to think up and cook interesting food, let alone write about it. Although I have pulled out a few cool ideas from my pantry.

The weather this spring hasn’t helped either. I really have to think to remember one that has been this cold for so long. And we’re expecting a risk of frost again tonight. Those tomato plants don't cover themselves...

I also am allergic to wild pear blossoms. They have been in full bloom for over a week. A hazy head certainly doesn’t help to inspire activity either. But I hope to have turned a corner. I have to. Crappy meals don’t help the waist line, and it sucks to fit into fewer and fewer of my clothes.

Ready for the low simmer. Note the scant amount of liquid.

These posts are therapeutic for me in many ways, as well. I know some close to me just don’t get that, but so be it. I will do what brings me a modicum of happiness. This does.

We have put in our country vegetable garden for the second year. We’ve also built some raised stone beds to extend our “arable” land. There will be updates and wisdom from all that to impart over the next months.

So, anyway, I hope you can all forgive me for my dereliction of posting. But back to the topic at hand... What did I do with those artichokes?

My last post was Mother’s Day (can you believe it!!) and I was cooking my Mom dinner. I didn’t want to make anything too complex, but at the same time it needed to be special. This recipe did the trick. I found some ground lamb that was on sale. Bonus!

Except for the artichokes, this (nearly) one-pot-wonder was very easy to make. If you can watch a pot simmer you can do this recipe. The flavours were unexpectedly complex. Mint tends to do that.

So if you’re brave enough to tackle artichokes you should try this dinner. It certainly makes enough for four (six in a pinch). If you wish, round out the meal with a salad. Maybe something with tomato wedges, black olives, balsamic vinaigrette and oregano.

I’m writing this early in the morning, and am making myself hungry. Perhaps I should check my cupboards for something for breakfast...

I made the basic sauce at home (with the artichokes) and then took
it over to my mothers, cooked the pasta and heated it through.

Lamb and Artichoke Ragù

Prep: 2 hours (see*)  |  Cook: 1 hour  |  Serves 4-6

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 lg carrot, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 pounds ground lamb

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp fresh mint (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 whole lemon, halved

6 tbsp red wine

6 baby artichokes, roasted*

penne for 4-6 people

1 tbsp butter

*The artichokes can be roasted the day before and refrigerated until ready to use. See my last post for easy, detailed instructions.

My mother recently bought a new propane stove.
It's very photogenic.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven. Sauté the onion, carrot and garlic until slightly browned. Add the ground lamb and continue to cook until no longer pink.

Stir in the tomatoes, bay leaves, mint, oregano, salt, pepper, red pepper, and lemon halves. Pour in the red wine. Bring to a simmer and cover.

Let cook for 45 minutes to an hour. If the pot looks too dry (it should have very little liquid) add a little water. Make sure the contents doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot and burn! Remove the bay leaves.

Chop the roasted artichokes into bite-sized pieces. While the sauce is simmering, cook the penne one minute short of al dente. Drain and add to the pot.

Stir in the chopped artichokes and continue to simmer until heated through and some of the liquid has been absorbed into the pasta.

Serve with warm crusty bread.

.............................................................

If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask for is credit and a link back to this page.

Crispy Italian Portobellos with Pasta

The husband who decides to surprise his wife is often very much surprised himself. – Voltaire

You have to admit, these look pretty tasty.

There’s surprises, and then there’s “surprises.” Some welcomed, some not so much... 

This falls into the first category. Who would think that you could make a delicious dinner with a few mushroom caps, a couple eggs, some bread crumbs and a little cheese?

My spouse and I attended a fundraiser for a client of mine on the weekend, Ross Creek Centre for the Arts in Canning. For the past three years I have designed the posters for Two Planks & A Passion Theatre as pro bono work.

The night consisted of an auction and dinner served by a Valley caterer. Part of the dinner were breaded portobello mushroom caps. They were pretty darn good. Almost as good as the shrimp...almost.

Since I’m shameless for stealing (I mean “adapting”) ideas from anywhere and everywhere I decided to try to replicate them at home. It seemed like an easy enough task. Some jacked-up bread crumbs, bound breading, etc...

The recipe calls for four caps for two, but I was eating alone so
I made three. Don't shame me... I'm a gourmand and admit it.

And it was. Actually I believe, breaking my arm patting myself on the back, mine were better. They turned out deliciously with a nice, crispy crust.

The only “problem” was what to serve with them. I knew it should probably be pasta because I made the breadcrumbs Italian flavoured. I did not choose a tomato-based sauce. The reason was I already had 3/4 of a sauce sitting in front of me after breading the mushroom caps.

I took my cue from Carbonara. The final technique when you make Pasta Carbonara is to mix an egg and milk into the hot pasta, cooking it in the process. Well, the egg dip was just sitting there. Why waste it?

This vegetarian dish is surprisingly quite filling. In fact, I didn’t feel the need to have anything else (much) in the way of snacks through the evening. I suppose, there was a gut-load of carbs in the pasta.

The meaty mushroom caps were crispy and delicious and the pasta turned out beautifully. If you’ve never had carbonara I know where there’s a really good recipe. The search box for my blog is at the top right...

This one’s a keeper, and it’s so very easy. I have a vegetarian friend – and many others – that would love this, I’m sure.

Crispy Italian Portobellos with Pasta

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 15 min  |  Serves 2

spaghetti or linguine for 2

1 tbsp olive oil

4 portobello caps, stem removed

Italian bread crumbs (below)

1/4 cup flour

2 eggs

2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp oregano

pinch salt

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Italian bread crumbs

1 cup grated dried bread (I used brown bread)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp powdered garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet and keep warm.

Mix together the ingredients listed for the Italian bread crumbs on a plate. Remove 2 tablespoons of this mixture and set aside. In a soup bowl, beat the two eggs until broken up. Place the flour in a plastic bag. Now you’re ready to do bound breading!

Coat a mushroom cap in the flour, dip in the egg making sure it’s well covered, then coat in the bread crumbs. Place gill-side up in the warm skillet. Repeat with the remaining caps. 

Place the skillet in the hot oven. Bake the caps for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

To the remaining egg mixture, add the milk, oregano, salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and place back in the pot. While the pasta is still hot, slowly pour in the egg mixture, stirring constantly.

Serve two caps per person. Top the pasta with half the reserved bread crumbs and some grated parmesan.

...............................................................................................

If you like this post tweet it using the link at top right, or share it using any of the links below. Just give me some credit for the post, and a driver back to this page would be appreciated.

Shrimp in Vermouth Cream Sauce

A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything than he does of his dinner. – Samuel Johnson 

Deliciously satisfying, and ready in 20 minutes. This is always a winner.

This is a fantastic recipe, and also one that you can have on the table in less than half an hour. It's a godsend for anyone (like us lately) that are busier than a one-toothed man in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest. Although dining late is sometimes nice, having to do it every day gets to be tiresome. It also can interfere with your sleep. Not goof if your up late working and then up and at it again early the next morning.

Photo: Wiki CC

This recipe combines just-cooked shrimp with the intense flavor of tomato and vermouth. It's a wonderful combination. Vermouth is a perfect complement to seafood, if you didn't know…

Vermouth is a fortified wine that has been infused with herbs and/or roots. Wine has been infused with herbs for millennia. Although a 13th century German word, what we call vermouth today was first produced in the late 18th century in Italy and France. 

Vermouth was marketed as a medicinal drink in the 19th century. With an alcohol content hovering at 18% one can see why its consumption would make someone feel “better.” It wasn’t until later in the 1800s that it was used in classic cocktails like the martini.

Wine is used as the base for vermouth. Each manufacturer adds additional alcohol (sometimes in the form of aquavit) and their own special mixtures of herbs, roots, and barks. If you're brave, you can try to make your own, like I did. My recipe is here.

Vermouth is sold in two main types: sweet (red) and dry (white). Vermouth is an excellent substitute for white wine in cooking and is particularly good with seafood, as well as chicken and pork. When the alcohol is cooked away the flavour of the herbs remain.

Shrimp Linguine with Vermouth Cream Sauce

Let the sauce reduce before adding the shrimp.

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb shrimp

454 g linguine

1/4 cup butter

1 small onion, cut in half and sliced very thin

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomato halves

1/4 cup vermouth (white)

1/4 cup tomato purée

1-1/2 cups whipping cream (plus extra, see recipe)

The shrimp have just been added. Only let them cook until pink.

Salt and pepper to taste
grated parmesan

Bring water to a boil for the pasta. Cook according to package directions.

Heat butter in a sauté pan. Cook onion and garlic until beginning to brown. Add the vermouth, tomato purée and cream and let cook until thickened. It should be a little thicker than you think it should be. 

As the sun-dried tomatoes cook in the sauce it will take on a bright creamy orange colour.

Add the shrimp and cook until just through – no more than 5 minutes. They should just be pink. That may be even less than 5 minutes. Any more time and shrimp become tough.

Liquid will come out of the shrimp as they cook. If the sauce is still too thick you can thin it with a little more cream.

Serve the shrimp and sauce on the hot drained pasta with grated parmesan.

…………………………………..

If you like this post feel free to share it. All I ask is for a link back to my original post, and a credit that the recipe came from me.

Tuscan Kale Stew

My philosophy of dating is to just fart right away. – Jenny McCarthy

I don’t eat enough cruciferous vegetables. Do you? Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, as are many other vegetables I don’t eat enough of – especially in winter.

The list of cruciferous vegetables is long. It includes some you would expect, like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. But it also includes some you might not think of, such as turnip, watercress, radish and wasabi. So what do they have in common to fit the name?

Cruciferous vegetables are all in the family Brassicaceae (also called Cruciferae). The family takes its name (it's Latin for "cross-bearing") from its four petal flowers, in the shape of a cross.

They also have one other thing in common: gas. To some people they can be extremely gas-inducing; others don’t suffer quite so much. This is caused by a type of sugar known as raffinose, that most people have difficulty digesting. Luckily there’s an up-side, unless you find farts funny. I know some who do...

After simmering for 2 hours. The pork becomes fork tender.

All cruciferous vegetables contain a multitude of vitamins and minerals, and fibre, although some have more than others.They also contain phytochemicals that may aid in detoxifying certain cancer-causing substances before they have a chance to cause harm in the body.

So all good. And gassy too.

This post also references something from my last post where I told you if you see something odd in the grocery store to buy it. I saw Tuscan kale. Gorgeous stuff.

Kale isn’t an odd ingredient to see, but "Tuscan kale" was, and sadly kale is too odd in our kitchens. It was its beauty that made me buy it. It called to be a star in a pot of something...

Tuscan Kale Stew

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook 2h 15 min | Serves 8

1 tbsp olive oil

600 g pork loin roast, 2” cubes

1 medium onion, quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and whole

300 g crimini mushrooms, quartered

28 fl. oz diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken stock

A full pot of deliciousness.

1 tsp whole fennel seed

2 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tbsp fresh)

2 tsp dried basil (or 2 tbsp fresh)

1 tsp dried sage (or 1 tbsp fresh)

350 g penne

19 fl oz cannellini (or black) beans

1 bunch Tuscan kale, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

In a Dutch oven, brown the pork in the oil with the fennel seeds. Then add the onion, garlic and crimini mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Then add the tomatoes with their liquid, the chicken stock, oregano, basil and sage. Add some pepper and salt, but not too much salt. Adjust that at the end of cooking.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and let cook, covered, for about 2 hours.

The add the pasta, bring back to a boil and let cook for the pasta’s recommended time minus 1 minute. Add the drained, washed black beans and chopped kale. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.

Taste for salt and pepper, adjust and serve, with a lovely crusty country-style bread on the side.

This can be reheated easily. If doing so, add a little water as the pasta will absorb the liquid in the pot as it cools.

………………………………

If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Hand Rolled Pasta - you can do it!

I seriously love to cook... I love the idea of making whatever is in the fridge into something. – Bradley Cooper 

Pici with beef, onion, mucshroom and carrot râgù.

And not just the fridge, but pantry, too! I usually make homemade pasta with regular white flour, but have always wanted to make just a semolina flour version. It's supposed to be "stiffer" and more like dried pasta you buy. It has more of that "al dente" bite.

I now have the chance. I bought some semolina #1 flour at Mid-East Foods at the corner of Agricola and North in Halifax on the weekend. Now all I have to do is find the time to do it. I may even try to roll it by hand and cut into linguini.

I imagine that will take a fair amount of elbow grease, but to inspire myself I'm posting about a hand rolled pasta that doesn't require a rolling pin and board. Traditionally from Tuscany, pici is a wonderful way to make an unusual pasta even if you don’t have a pasta roller.

Just add enough water to bring
the dough together.

Each piece is lovingly rolled by hand into a tube that is thinner than a regular pencil, much thinner if you have the drive to do it. Each piece has varying thickness along its length. That’s part of its charm. Very rustic.

I said “lovingly” in the paragraph above because these noodles take time to make. You roll small pieces of dough (with your palms and a flat surface) two to three times, or more. 

These are a substantial noodle, and as such demand a substantial sauce with lots of flavour. Think râgù with beef and vegetables, or with duck or boar. That’s what these noodles demand. Something with guts.

Now “guts” doesn’t mean it has to be chunky, just with loads of flavour. Maybe make a porcini mushroom or a garlicky spicy sauce. I would shy away from “delicate” sauces like vodka sauce or lobster. Although delicious, they would be overwhelmed.

This recipe would be great fun if you were having friends over for a cooking party. That way you could share the workload. The first time I rolled the noodles it took me 1/2 hour. Second roll was quicker. I should have done a third. Each time they get thinner and keep their shape better.

Traditionally this dough has no eggs, but I find that they add an elasticity (therefore easier to roll) that wouldn’t be there without their inclusion.

After 10 minutes. I could have kneaded it a bit longer...

Even though these noodles take time, they are certainly worth the effort to serve something with the look and taste of the Italian countryside.

Hand Rolled Pasta (pici)

Serves 4

2 cups flour

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 to 3/4 cup water (just enough to bring the dough together into a mass)

Mix the salt and flour together. Then add the ingredients and bring together with a fork. Knead the resulting dough for 10 minutes or until quite smooth. Wrap the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. 

Roll walnut sized pieces into long tubes. Keep the remaining dough wrapped.

After the dough has rested take a walnut-sized piece of dough and roll with your hands on the counter or a large cutting board into a long tube. The piece should stretch to at least 14 inches long. Each time the dough rests is tends to shrink and get fatter that what you had rolled.

This is the first rolling. Note the varying thicknesses. Second roll with help that out.

Let rest for another 30 minutes. Roll each piece again. It should be able to stretch to 20+ inches. If the dough is too long to handle, cut it in half. You will note by now you’re getting an understanding of how the dough reacts.

This is after the second roll. Each time it's easier to make each piece longer and more even.

Let the dough rest again. Just before cooking roll each piece again if desired. You’re looking for noodles that are about half as thick as a pencil.

Boil in salted water for 10 minutes. It takes that long for the noodles to thoroughly cook. 

Serve with any chunky country-style sauce or ragout. I understand they are also served tossed with breadcrumbs just by themselves with no sauce.

…………………………………..

Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Squash Ravioli with Mushrooms and Sage

These men ask for just the same thing, fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as in my power, they, and all others, shall have. – Abraham Lincoln

I’m not about to get into the broader themes of equality. I could, but I won’t...right now. I’m talking today about egalitarian eating, serving a vegetarian main dish at home, and to start, taking a vegetarian out to a restaurant.

This past weekend we took our friend – who my spouse was staying with last school term – out for dinner. It was a thank you for all her help to us. A small one for all she did, but a thank you none-the-less.

It's tricky to go out eating with a vegetarian. Short of going to a vegetarian restaurant, great choices for the non-meaters can be hit or miss. Luckily we found a fantastic place in The Cellar, on Clyde Street in Halifax. Go. There. This. Weekend. But make reservations.

If your pasta dough isn't smooth after kneading don't worry.
The 30 minute "sit" does miraculous things.

Besides several fantastic vegetarian starters they also had squash ravioli. Nothing beats squash ravioli with sage, not even meat dishes. It is the most wonderful combination of flavours. 

Every Italian restaurant worth its salt will have either squash or pumpkin ravioli on the menu in the fall/winter. Most good restaurants vary their menus by the season to offer diners the best in available ingredients.

How to pick a dry squash, maybe...

I love dry squash. Mushy squash is, well, gross. Dry squash is fluffy, light and soaks up butter like it was born to it.

Here's an interesting tidbit for people who dislike "wet" squash as much as I do. I think I have found out the secret to picking a dry squash out of the pile at the market.

The secret is kind of obvious. You lift the squash and compare how heavy ones of similar size feel. I was doing this at the store to get the biggest one for the least amount of money. They sell squash by the pound (most times) and you’re buying a lot of water. I was being cheap.

I have tried other techniques: pressing my fingernail into the skin to see if it dents easily, tapping for a hollow sound, etc. But my new technique makes so much sense. A lighter squash will have less water content. Less water content means drier flesh. This technique has worked so far...

Making homemade pasta

Don't be intimidated by making your own pasta. It is really quite easy. Ravioli is a little more time intensive but the work is worth it. All you really need is a hand crank pasta roller, although you can roll it by hand. In Halifax the only place I was able to find one was at Stokes in Dartmouth Crossing. They’re about $29.98. Go and get one. You should have one. It’s great fun on wintry weekends, and sadly we’ll be having more of them before spring.

Homemade pasta cooks in minutes. As such everything that goes into a filling needs to be cooked beforehand. (There is an egg used for binder, but the usual four minutes cooking time is enough.)

Another important tip about ravioli is that you have to make sure they are well sealed on all four sides. If not you will have a terrible, disappointing mess when they cook. I usually pinch them together again just before cooking.

One last note. If you’ve never had fried sage you have no idea what you have been missing. A simple fried sage butter sauce is the perfect complement to these fall ravioli or even plain pasta. Two ingredients, and superb.

I added mushrooms to the sage/butter sauce to make it a little more filling, but that is all. Do yourself a culinary favour and make homemade ravioli soon. If you don't eat them all they can be frozen separately and then bagged very easily.

Squash Ravioli with Mushrooms and Sage

Prep: 1 hour  |  Cook: 3-4 minutes  |  Makes 24 ravioli

Pasta dough:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/4 cup milk + 1 tbsp

Filling:

3/4 cup cooked squash

140 g soft goat cheese

1/4 cup parmesan (optional)

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp cracked black  pepper

Sauce:

3/4 cup butter

150 g crimini mushrooms

1/2 cup sage leaves

cracked black pepper

Mix together the egg and milk in a small dish. Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Whisk the egg mixture into the flour with a fork.

Continue to mix with your hands until a ball is formed. If necessary add a slight bit more milk but err on the dry, rather than wet, side.

Place the dough on a board and knead for about 5-8 minutes until relatively smooth and elastic. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest on the counter for 30 minutes. You can also let it rest longer in the refrigerator.

While the dough is resting, make the filling. Mix together the squash, goat cheese egg, salt and pepper. It should be fairly dry and a spoonful will keep its shape. If not, add the parmesan. Set aside.

After the dough has rested cut into four equal pieces. Roll each piece out to a thin sheet. (On my pasta machine I have seven settings. I roll to one from the thinnest – 6.) Roll all four pieces of dough.

Lay one sheet on the counter. It should be about 2-1/2 feet long. Place a rounded dessert spoonful of filling at each end of the dough about 1/2” from the edge. Place 10 more spoonfuls along the dough at equal intervals.

If your filling isn’t equally spaced adjust the balls so they are. Dampen all the pasta showing around the filling with water. Take a second sheet and place over the fillings. Firmly press down between the filling trying to push out as much air as possible. (Air will make them explode when cooking.)

After the top sheet is well adhered to the bottom trim the outer edges and ends with a sharp knife. Then cut down between each ball of filling. This will make 12 ravioli.

Repeat with the remaining sheets of pasta. Place the finished ravioli on a lightly dusted surface or a piece of plastic wrap or tin foil. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect. That is part of their charm.

Make the sauce by melting the butter in a frying pan. Coarsely chop the sage leaves. Chop the mushrooms and add to the butter. Once the mushrooms start to soften add the sage leaves and let cook until the mushrooms have browned and the sage has darkened. Do not let the sage burn. Season with pepper.

Bring water and salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the ravioli and let cook for 4 minutes. Drain and serve with the mushroom/sage/butter sauce.

These ravioli are on the large side. An appetizer serving is usually three or four ravioli; an entrée is six to eight.

…………………………………..

Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

20 Minute Shrimp with Vermouth Cream Sauce

There is more to life than increasing its speed. – Mahatma Gandhi 

Fast, and amazingly delicious.

That’s usually true, except when it comes to dinner, and then speed can be your friend. Not so much in the eating (take your time) but in the preparation. This is one of those recipes that you can have on the table in far less than half an hour.

This recipe combines succulent shrimp with the intense flavour of tomato and vermouth. It's a wonderful combination. Vermouth is a perfect complement to seafood, as if you didn't know…

This is my homemade vermouth.

Vermouth is a fortified wine that has been infused with herbs and/or roots. Wine has been infused with herbs for millennia. The word for vermouth originates from 13th century German. What we consider present day vermouth was first produced around the late 18th century in Italy and France. 

I have made my own, if you’re interested. The recipe is here. It was pretty good.

Vermouth was marketed initially as a medicinal drink in the 19th century. With an alcohol content hovering at 18% one can see why it would make someone feel “better!” It wasn’t until later in the 1800s that it was used in many classic cocktails like the martini.

Wine is used as the base for vermouth. Each manufacturer adds additional alcohol (sometimes in the form of aquavit) and their own special mixtures of herbs, roots, and barks. Yum...

Vermouth is sold in two main types: sweet (red) and dry (white). Vermouth is an excellent substitute for white wine in cooking and is particularly good with seafood, as well as chicken and pork. When the alcohol is cooked away the flavour of the herbs remain.

Simmer and reduce the sauce before adding the shrimp.

Shrimp Linguine with Vermouth Cream Sauce

Let the sauce reduce before adding the shrimp.

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 10 min  |  Serves 4

1 lb shrimp (454 g)

1 lb linguine (454 g)*

1/4 cup butter

1 small onion, cut in half and sliced very thin

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomato halves

1/4 cup vermouth (white)

1/4 cup tomato purée

1-1/2 cups whipping cream (plus extra, see recipe)

Salt and pepper to taste

grated parmesan

Bring water to a boil for the pasta. Cook according to package directions.

Only add the shrimp shortly before serving.
They only take minutes to cook.

Heat butter in a sauté pan. Cook onion and garlic until beginning to brown. Add the vermouth, tomato purée and cream and let cook until thickened. It should be a little thicker than you think it should be. 

As the sun-dried tomatoes cook in the sauce it will take on a bright creamy orange colour.

Add the shrimp and cook until just through – no more than 5 minutes. They should just be pink. That may be even less than 5 minutes. Any more time and shrimp become tough.

Liquid will come out of the shrimp as they cook. If the sauce is still too thick you can thin it with a little more cream.

Serve the shrimp and sauce on the hot drained pasta with grated parmesan.

* Depending on how many people you are serving, and how many shrimp you like, you may want to adjust this to a lesser amount.

…………………………………..

Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Baked Lobster & Penne 2

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? – J. B. Priestley

I love the crunchy bits of penne.

We received our first real snow here in the country last night. Two inches of white, fluffy solitude. There’s a feeling that arrived with it I haven’t experienced for a very long time. I have nowhere I need to go so can enjoy it for its beauty, like a child. That’s one of the benefits of working from home.

I was listening to our national broadcaster, CBC, this morning and my ears perked up when I heard the word “lobster.” I had almost forgotten that lobster season is to start today in the waters off Nova Scotia.

They were interviewing someone about pricing and today's delayed start of the season in the Atlantic from Halifax to Digby in the Bay of Fundy. That’s a big area.

It's due to the weather. It’s a bit too dangerous to allow men and their small boats out to set traps. Our Department of Fisheries and Oceans will make another call about safety on Wednesday. The season lasts for six months. 

The interview reminded me it’s been a while since I had of one of my most favourite of foods –  and how crazy the pricing can be leading up to Christmas. But if you think lobster is too rich for your wallet, read on.

The price is vastly different between wharf and processors. It can be almost as much as three times more at our esteemed grocery chains than what our fishers are being paid. It is always a complaint and friction between the two.

So the secret is to know someone with connections who can get them “off the boat.” In the city, you can find fishers selling in mall parking lots for less than in the grocery chains. Support your local fishers if you can. It costs a lot to run and maintain a boat, gear and crew. They don’t have debit machines. Carry money.

There’s a thousand ways to cook lobster, the most common ones at home being freshly shelled with butter, or in a chowder.

But they’re certainly not the only two that are easy to pull off at home. This recipe is a little unusual, being a baked pasta dish. It doesn’t have a “sauce” per se, but you'll never miss it.

The stated time does not include boiling and cleaning a lobster, but I would recommend it. It’s so much better than canned meat or even a pre-cooked lobster from the store. A 1.5 lb lobster will take 15-18 minutes in well salted water. Since this is baked, go for the lower time.

This would make an excellent buffet dish – just in case you’re attending one or two over the next four weeks – and no one’s allergic to shellfish. Anaphylactic shock is a real concern. 

This recipe is really easy. It makes a decent sized pan, too, at 8x8x3. Certainly enough for 4-6 for a main meal.

Baked Lobster & Penne 2

Prep: 15 min  |  Bake: 35 min  |  Serves 4-6

1.5 lb steamed lobster

350 g penne

400g ricotta

1/2 cup tomato paste

1/2 cup 18% cream

1 cup white wine

1 cup black olives, sliced

1 cup grated mozzarella

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp capers, drained and chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1 slice fresh bread, grated

Grease an 8x8x3 baking dish with butter. Cook the penne and drain. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Clean the lobster and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Grate the slice of bread into crumbs.

Whisk the ricotta, tomato paste, cream and wine together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the chilli flakes, garlic powder, chopped basil, capers, salt, pepper, green onions and black olives.

Add the drained penne and half of the cheese. Mix well and then stir in the lobster.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and then the grated bread.

Add more pepper if desired and bake for 35 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.

........................................

Feel free to comment. They’re always appreciated. I’ll answer quickly, and as best as I can. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is if you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.