Vegetarian Lasagne & Chicken Piccata

I just couldn't go to San Diego without treating my best friend (and her very gracious roommates) to a home-cooked meal. After a really taxing day of reading, lunch, and sitting on the beach, we hit up the grocery store to prepare for our feast. We had a ton of fun cooking (and I tried to impart what little knowledge of the culinary world I have to Alisha, who was a capable sous chef as well as kitchen DJ), and the meal turned out to be quite a success!


We had several bottles of wine to sample (all wonderful), and both vegetarians and omnivores to please. It was a lot of hands-on time in a typically cramped apartment kitchen, but it was a great night with new friends in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.


INGREDIENTS

LASAGNE

(makes 12 servings)

12 lasagne noodles
1 package frozen chopped spinach
1 medium yellow onion
1 jar roasted red bell pepper, drained and patted dry
2 T. olive oil
1/2 head broccoli
2 T. butter
2-3 T. flour
2-3 c. skim milk (or any kind you have)
3/4 lb. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 jar marinara sauce
fresh chopped basil
fresh thyme, leaves only
salt and pepper

CHICKEN PICCATA

(makes 8 servings - you might want to cut this recipe in half)

4 large chicken breasts
juice of 2 large lemons
1 large bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
3 T. capers
2 c. dry white wine
4 T. butter
3 T. olive oil
1/2 c. flour

STEP ONE:

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook the lasagne noodles until they are al dente. Drain, then return to the pot, and fill with cold water and ice cubes (this is a patented method by yours truly). Get a 9 X 12 casserole dish ready by spreading a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce in the bottom of it. Pick up a noodle, and holding it by the top, carefully run the index and middle finger of your other hand down the noodle, getting rid of excess water. Place it lengthwise in the dish. Do this with two more noodles.

STEP TWO:

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Boil the broccoli for just a few minutes, until it is bright green and a little tender. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the ricotta and about half the mozzarella, the basil and thyme, and some salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well-combined. Using a spoon and your fingers, spread 1/4 of the ricotta mixture over the noodles until they are covered. Drain the broccoli and chop it into little pieces. Spread the broccoli over the ricotta mixture. Pour about 1/2 the marinara over the broccoli.

STEP THREE:

Go ahead and get the next layer ready: drain and place three more noodles over the broccoli layer, then top those with another 1/4 of the ricotta mixture. Chop the onion and the roasted red pepper. In a large pan, heat the olive oil. Saute the onions until they're golden brown, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Set aside.

STEP FOUR:

Get the bechamel sauce ready: in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. When it forms a roux, cook for 1-2 minutes, then whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil, add salt and pepper, and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. You may have to reduce the heat a bit, but make sure to bring it to a boil first. Spread the onions and red bell pepper over the ricotta. Top with the bechamel sauce (just enough to cover the surface of that layer).


STEP FOUR:

Lay three more drained noodles on top. Spread with another 1/4 of the lasagna mixture. Top that with the spinach.*** Top with the rest of the marinara sauce. Preheat the oven to 375.

STEP FIVE:

Lay the last three noodles on top, spread the remaining ricotta mixture over them, then top with enough mozzarella cheese to cover it all. Bake the lasagne for 30-45 minutes, until cheese is melted and beginning to brown, and edges are melty. Remove from oven and allow to "rest" for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

STEP SIX:

While the lasagne is baking, make the chicken piccata: slice the chicken breasts in half lengthwise (or skip this step by buying thin-cut chicken breasts). Spread the flour out on a plate, mixing in some salt and pepper. Dredge each chicken breast in flour and set aside. In a large frying pan, heat half the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken on each side until browned, seasoning a little more as you go; add more olive oil and butter to the pan as needed. Set chicken aside, or if the chicken is thicker and not cooked through in the middle, place in the oven for 10-15 minutes with the lasagne to finish cooking.

STEP SEVEN:

Turn the heat down to medium, and add a little more olive oil. Add the shallots, and cook until lightly browned. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up the brown bits. Add the lemon juice, and turn up the heat. Add the parsley and capers and cook until reduced/a little thickened. Remove from heat and stir in a chunk of butter. Serve alongside the chicken, drizzling it over the chicken on the serving platter if desired. Serve with the lasagne and a fresh green salad. Enjoy!

***The best way to deal with the spinach is to microwave it with a little water until it's room temperature, then thoroughly drain it by pushing on it with the back of a spoon until it is very dry.


This was, admittedly, quite an involved meal, considering I was serving 8 people. I was trying to please both the vegetarians and the meat-eaters, hence the two dishes that are really more of main courses on their own. The good news is, it came out really great! The chicken was moist and flavorful, and the piccata sauce was the perfect astringent complement to the creamy, cheesiness of the lasagne. The lasagne, interestingly, tasted almost exactly like Stouffer's veggie lasagne, except much fresher, less salty, and with no chemical-ish aftertaste. Lasagne is always a lot of work, but it's always worth it, and it's definitely a crowd-pleaser.

One of the best things about lasagna is that you can put whatever you want in it: I've made sausage lasagna, butternut squash lasagna, beef lasagna, mushroom lasagna, and probably a whole lot of other ones I can't remember. The bechamel sauce is a traditional touch - we certainly never had that at home growing up. I've also made them with vodka sauce, which is amazing. I particularly like the combination of the bechamel and the tomato sauce - it gives it a subtle creaminess that doesn't overpower the delicate flavors of the vegetables.

Thanks so much to my fabulous host Alisha, my wonderful dinner guests, and to my readers! More soon...

Fresh, Local Pasta in a Tomato-Red Chili Sauce

What is it about labels that makes us feel so comfortable?


We define ourselves as Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Atheist, Agnostic, or simply "Spiritual." We're Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents (interestingly, a label for those who are anti-label; a group for the anti-group). We laugh about how we were a "nerdy drama geek" or " the shy artsy kid" in high school.

And we even group ourselves according to culinary preference: omnivore, meat-lover, vegan, picky eater, garbage disposal. I even met someone this weekend who declared himself "not really a food person" (needless to say, we didn't have much to say to one another).


I might as well make public the ongoing personal battle that has been waging inside my head for several months now: I am considering becoming a vegetarian. I've hesitated to talk about it much, only because I don't want to declare myself henceforth a non-meat-eater, only to one day stumble drunkenly (or soberly) with ten of my friends into Taco Bell and order a Grilled Stuffed Beef Burrito. The fear of hypocrisy is a major concern of mine.

However, I have been earnestly mulling this over, reading up on the lifestyle, and talking to my vegetarian friends about why they made the decision and how it's been going for them. I was truly ready to make the leap - until I read Michael Pollan's excellent "In Defense of Food," where he delineates a group of people called "flexitarians" - loosely defined as people who eat meat less than once a day. I had a visceral reaction; it was something between a deep sigh of relief, and the indescribable joy of having found one's tribe.

Why it took a word - a label - to make me feel OK about what I've been most of my life anyway, I have no idea. But I now feel comfortable about the way I've chosen to eat as of late. My personal reasons for going veg have a lot to with health, and according to Pollan's book, flexitarians enjoy the same health benefits as full vegetarians. I am pleased that consuming less meat will have a positive impact on the environment, but to me personally, that is secondary to reaping the physical benefits.


Some years ago, I would've made a horribly unhealthy vegetarian; I'm sure I would've noshed on little more than Doritos, Snickers bars, and cheesy pasta. Nowadays, I trust myself to eat actual vegetables, building my meals much as I currently do - around a whole grain and vegetables, with meat or dairy used sparingly to accent the flavor of the meal, but not star in it.

That said, I'm going to share with all of you my first week of official Flexitarianism, recipes and all.

Yesterday, I treated myself to a (vegetarian) meal of Indian-spiced fare at Whole Foods, then bought a not-very-well-thought-out (but super healthy) assortment of non-meat goodies. I have a pack of pepperoni in my fridge that never made it onto a pizza, but will show up later in the week in calzones, hopefully. Other than that, I may have meat occasionally if I eat out, but I'll be eating lots and lots of veggies this week.

My shopping cart included:

- collard greens
- ricotta cheese
- natural peanut butter
- a slew of tomatoes
- carrots
- turnips
- chevre from a local farm
- bananas
- walnuts
- bulghur
- red lentils
- mozzarella cheese
- broccoli
- coconut milk
- curry powder
- a potato
- red chili peppers
- peaches
- apples
- a lovely pineapple
- and my one real splurge: fresh tri-color fettuccine made by a local pasta company

I got right to work when I got home baking a loaf of bread for the week (subbing in soymilk for regular); I forgot to add the butter to the bread dough, so we'll see how my dairy-free concoction comes out.

Day One:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs

Lunch: heirloom tomato sandwich on the homemade soy-milk bread*, peach, carrots, and walnuts

*The bread, by the way, came out much better last time. The soy milk made it a bit too sweet, and I don't know if it was the soy milk or the lack of butter, but it basically refused to become loaf-shaped, baking instead into a strangely mashed loaf-like lump. It's definitely edible, and I'll use it anyway. However, I think I might put bread-making aside for awhile and go back to buying the amazing Seeduction bread at Whole Foods. I'm going to focus on perfecting my pizza dough technique instead.

And now for dinner: I call this dish "The Local" - locally made fresh tri-color fettuccine in a spicy tomato, chili, red onion and spinach sauce, topped with chunks of fresh mozzarella.

THE LOCAL (feel free to sub in non-local ingredients if you have to)

INGREDIENTS

(makes about 3 servings)

1 lb. fresh fettuccine or other pasta
1 c. dry white wine
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 red chili, seeded, ribs removed, and finely sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes
8-10 kalamata olives, sliced
4 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
handful fresh spinach leaves, chopped
2 small balls fresh mozzarella, halved and sliced
freshly chopped Italian parsley
coarse kosher salt

STEP ONE:

Put the pasta water (salted) on to boil. Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, heat 2 T. of the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the chili until it's tender. Remove from pan and set aside, leaving the oil in the pan. Add the butter and let it melt.




STEP TWO:

Cook the onions over medium heat, seasoning with salt, until lightly caramelized. One minute before they're done, stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the white wine and bring to a boil, cooking for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley, olives, and the cooked chili and cover. Cook until the tomatoes have almost all burst, making a very rough, chunky tomato sauce (break up some of the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as they begin to cook more, but leave some whole for texture if you want).



STEP FOUR:

Boil the fettuccine until it's just less than al dente (where it will only require about 1 more minute of cooking to get perfectly done). Stir the spinach leaves into the sauce until they're lightly wilted. Then toss in the pasta, and cook for another 1-2 minutes, covered, until it's al dente. Stir in the remaining olive oil, and another splash of wine if all the liquid gets absorbed, tossing to coat. Season with a little more kosher salt. When you place it in serving bowls, nestle some mozzarella pieces into each dish and allow to melt from the heat of the pasta. Enjoy!


The Local came out delicious! It was light, fresh, and had just a hint of heat running throughout. Fresh basil would take this to over-the-top incredible territory. You could of course leave out the cheese (and the butter) and sub in a non-egg noodle to make it a stunning vegan treat. If you wanted to add meat, Italian sausage, chicken sausage, pancetta, or grilled chicken would all be nice. You could also keep it vegetarian but pump up the protein by adding cannellini beans.

After my first official day as a "flexitarian," I feel great. Everything I ate today was fresh, wholesome, unprocessed, and - the best part - delicious.

I'll leave you with a quote from "In Defense of Food" that really hit home with me:

"The cook does not need to know, as the scientists have recently informed us, that cooking the tomatoes with olive oil makes the lycopene in them more available to our bodies. No, the cook already knew that olive oil with tomatoes is a really good idea....The cook in the kitchen preparing a meal from plants and animals at the end of this shortest of food chains has a great many things to worry about, but 'health' is simply not one of them, because it is a given."


Thanks for reading! More soon...

Bacon & Olive Pizza

I'd love for this to be a longer post, but as it turns out, I am leaving for sunny San Diego, California, in the morning! Yay to the maximum! I am going to visit my best friend of going on (gasp! we're old) 11 years, Alisha. We became besties when we both joined the swim team in the 10th grade...I guess that would have made it 1997...yikes!


For some reason, the night before I leave for a trip, I can never stop myself from going out and pre-celebrating, which I did by having my friends Kelly and Lindsey over for pizza, then going to Kelly's boyfriend's (and my good friends') basketball game - the playoffs! And they WON - along with the Penguins and the Braves: surely a good omen.


We followed up the game with a little more competition at Trivia Night at a nearby bar, and we came in 3rd place...which meant "winning" a free round of shots...ugh. Let's just say we took them like champions. (What did you expect?)

BACON & OLIVE PIZZA

INGREDIENTS

1 ball fresh pizza dough**
about 1/2-3/4 c. pizza sauce**
mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
green olives, sliced
kalamata olives, pitted, sliced
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, then chopped into bits
parmesan cheese for sprinkling
olive oil
cornmeal for the pizza stone

**Use the recipes from this post.


STEP ONE:

Preheat the oven to 425. Sprinkling a little flour on the counter and on a rolling pin, roll out the dough until desired thinness. Sprinkle cornmeal on the pizza stone. Transfer the pizza dough to the stone. Brush with a little olive oil.



STEP TWO:

Top with sauce, then the mozzarella. Spread the olives and bacon around on top of the cheese. Sprinkle some parmesan over the top of everything. Bake until the cheese in melty and getting browned, and the crust is crisp and browned on the edges. Slice, serve, and enjoy!


Thanks for reading! More soon...

Beulah's North Carolina Deviled Eggs

"I want to eat deviled eggs, but I don't want anyone to see me eating them." -- Guy at the BBQ last night, right before devouring a deviled egg.


What it is about deviled eggs that makes people feel so...for lack of a less offensive word, white trash-y? There's no shame in mixing egg yolks with mayonnaise and stuffing them back into the eggs from whence they came, people!

I started making my Grandma Beulah's deviled egg recipe quite frequently last summer, when I would inevitably have some sort of barbeque to attend every weekend, and they're a hit every time. In fact, among my little social group, they've become sort of a tradition. You bring them to a party and everyone says, "Wow! I haven't had deviled eggs in forever!" and then person after person proceeds to pop them into their mouths like candy. Why anyone would be embarrassed to enjoy such a simple summertime delight is beyond my understanding.

Don't be ashamed to make this easy and delicious picnic classic - your friends will thank you.

DEVILED EGGS

INGREDIENTS
Makes 23-24 deviled eggs (sometimes there's not enough filling to fill the last one or two egg whites)

1 dozen large eggs
Hellman's mayonnaise (about 1/2 cup)
Mustard (a good hefty squeeze)
salt and pepper
couple dashes vinegar
pinch of sugar
paprika for sprinkling

sweet pickle relish, if you want to make them that way (about 1/4 c.)

STEP ONE:

Boil the eggs. Remove from the hot water and place in a bowl of ice water and put them in the fridge to cool down. When they are cool, peel the eggs.

STEP TWO:

Cut the eggs in half and place the yolks in a medium bowl. Place the whites on a plate.

STEP THREE:

Mash the yolks, and add all the other ingredients. Mix together until semi-smooth. Fill the eggs with the yolk mixture. Top with the paprika as a garnish.


Once my deviled eggs became an institution, my friend bought me a deviled egg carrier as a birthday gift, which has turned out to be more amazing and handy than I ever thought possible.


Happy Summer! Thanks for reading. More soon...

Mediterranean Shrimp Bake & Spinach Orzo

4 friends. 5 (or was it 6?) bottles of wine. 3 courses. Innumerable conversational topics. One amazing night of feasting and catching up on fun that was long overdue.


When my friend Emily told me that our mutual friend Ashley was a huge fan of my blog (and no shrinking violet in the kitchen, either), and that Ashley wanted to get together to have dinner, we put it on the calendar immediately! Ashley and Katie hosted and provided the first course (sadly, there are no pictures, but they wouldn't have done it justice, anyway): grilled crostini spread with mascarpone cheese, garlic, and artichokes (yum-o-rama). I brought the main course, as you'll see in detail below, and Emily made dessert, the perennial summer favorite, Strawberry Shortcake (cold whipped cream and fresh berries on hot biscuits...mmmmmmmmm.

Since you all couldn't be there (it was a night not to be missed, I can assure you), here is a sampling of our conversational topics (well, the ones fit for public consumption, anyway): single-white-female-esque behavior patterns, trust funds and how we'd like to have some, the pros and cons of gainful employment, questionable spooning incidences, and adventures in babysitting.


Much vino was, ahem, sampled, and we even made it out on the town later...I seem to vaguely remember a dance-off or two...

MEDITERRANEAN SHRIMP BAKE & SPINACH ORZO

INGREDIENTS

1 and 1/4 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
25-30 kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1 container feta cheese crumbles
fresh dill, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped
fresh thyme, chopped
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

1/2 lb. dry orzo
About 8 oz. raw spinach leaves, chopped into smallish pieces
1 jar piquillo peppers, drained and chopped
juice of one lemon
glug olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
dried herbs such as oregano, basil, etc.
fresh dill, chopped
fresh parsely, chopped



STEP ONE:

Rinse shrimp and thaw, if using frozen shrimp. Set aside. In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil and saute the onion until it's translucent and beginning to brown on the edges. Meanwhile, chop the stewed tomatoes into smaller chunks, making sure you keep all the juices. When the onion is almost done, add the garlic to the pan and cook for another minute, seasoning with salt and pepper.

STEP TWO:

Add the chopped stewed tomatoes and all their juices to the pan with the garlic and olive oil. Add the chopped herbs. Cook for a couple minutes, just until the herbs are wilted. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down a bit.

STEP THREE:

Place a layer of shrimp on the bottom of a semi-deep baking dish. When the tomato mixture has cooled some, pour about half of it over the top of the shrimp. Add another layer of shrimp over that, then pour the rest of the tomato mixture over top. If you want, you can pull a few shrimp out of the sauce so that they are visible in the dish.




STEP FOUR:

Spread the olives evenly over the top of the casserole. Don't put the cheese on until right before you are going to bake it. Preheat the oven to 375. Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, until everything is bubbly and the cheese is getting lightly brown in a few places. Garnish with lemon wedges and extra herbs if desired.



STEP FIVE:

While the oven is heating and the shrimp is baking, boil a pot of salted water and cook the orzo until al dente; throw the spinach in the pot with the orzo about 3 minutes before the orzo is done, so that the spinach wilts a bit. Drain the orzo and spinach and return to the pot, off the heat. Stir in the rest of the ingredients while the orzo is still pretty hot so that it soaks up the olive oil and lemon juice. Set aside until ready to serve (I served the orzo at room temperature and the shrimp bake piping hot over the top, right out of the oven).




The shrimp bake came out great! I was really, really happy with it. I was worried that the dill or the olives or the cheese might overpower the other, more delicate flavors, but I think it worked really well. This is the perfect meal for relaxed dinner with friends: it's low-stress, low-maintenance, and it makes a lot of food without that many ingredients. And everyone seemed to really love it, yay!

The orzo was a nice side dish; I always like when a carb-y side dish and a vegetable can just coexist in one dish so that you really only have to make two things, not three. You could easily serve a salad with this, too, although the crostini were an amazing complement to the rest of the meal - I will definitely be making those soon.

It was the kind of super-fun night that makes you wonder why you don't do it more often. Thanks so much to Katie and Ashley for hosting and for the first course, and to everyone for judging and eating with gusto! (Check out the comments soon for the judges' feedback.


Thanks for reading! More soon...

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Muffins

Sometimes I really can't help myself.


I'll be sitting at home, relaxing, flipping through a cooking magazine, cookbook, or perusing a cooking blog - and rather than just being satisfied with some light food-related reading, I will be compelled to jump off the sofa, run to the Market, and make whatever latest recipe has struck my fancy. In the case of dinner, that's usually a good thing; in the case of baking, sometimes that can be a bad thing, because I'm almost always left with an exorbitant number of baked goods that one girl alone simply cannot consume.

On that note, muffins anyone?

I just couldn't put down my copy of Quick Vegetarian Delights, and when I came across this recipe for Oatmeal Muffins, I immediately started fantasizing about splitting them open, slathering them with cream cheese, and having them all week long with my morning tea.

Cut to me scurrying through my alley - weaving around rats like they're orange parking cones - and popping into the store for the one ingredient I didn't have on hand (plain yogurt).

I made this recipe pretty much to the letter, only I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. I also skipped the sugar/butter topping.


OATMEAL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

1 and 1/4 c. rolled oats
1 and 1/4 c. buttermilk, or plain lowfat yogurt
1 c. unbleached flour (as I mentioned, I used whole wheat)
1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. raisins (didn't go there - I hate raisins)
1 large egg
1/2 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
5 T. unsalted butter, melted

TOPPING

1 T. unsalted melted butter
1 T. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. rolled oats
1/8 tsp. cinnamon

STEP ONE:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together the oats and the buttermilk or yogurt, and let sit 15 minutes. Meanwhile, butter the insides and top of a regular-sized muffin pan.

STEP TWO:

In a small bowl, throroughly combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and raisins.

STEP THREE:

Beat the egg, brown sugar, and melted butter into the oat mixture. Stir in the dry ingredients until just evenly combined. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan.

STEP FOUR:

Combine the ingredients for the topping and sprinkle some on top of each muffin. Bake 17 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm, not hot.*


*Since patience is not one of my virtues, I ate one while it was hot. It was delicious.


These is a nice, base muffin recipe. One to experiment with, for sure. I'm curious how they'd taste if you used vanilla yogurt instead of plain, and of course there are a zillion dried fruits to add - I'm a fan of dried cranberries and apricots. Fresh fruit would be great too - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries...


I just remembered something I saw at the farmer's market a couple weeks ago: a jar of vanilla-lavender peach compote - the vendor was sold out last time I went, but oh mama would that be good spread on one of these! This Saturday, I'm getting there early.

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Tomato Pesto Yum-o-Rama!

YUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM.

That is all I have to say about this dish.


I admit, I followed a recipe (mostly). I got this great book at AfterWords, one of the best used book stores in the city (in my humble opinion). It's called Quick Vegetarian Pleasures - and don't let its simple name fool you: the recipes are definitely quick, easy, and pleasurable, but the ingredients are diverse and the way they're put together is inventive.

The book is very much in line with my cooking philosophy: use whole, simple, ingredients, use fats, dairy, and oils in intelligent quantities, and make grains and vegetables the stars of every meal.

This is the first recipe I've made from the book, but if they're all this good, I can't wait to make more! Anyone could make this, and I'm pretty sure anyone would like it, too.

I've posted the recipe below exactly as it appears in the book, but I'll denote the few things I changed/added.

TOMATO PESTO CAPELLINI WITH SPINACH AND TOMATOES

INGREDIENTS

1/3 c. pine nutes
One 6-oz. can tomato paste
1/2 c. minced fresh parsley
1/4 c. finely chopped fresh basil, or 2 tsp. dried
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound vermicelli, capellini, or spaghettini (I used whole wheat)

My additions:

large handful fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper


STEP ONE:

Lightly toast the pine nuts in a 350 degree oven until golden*, about 5 minutes.**

*I totally burned mine on one side, but it made no difference. Still delish.
**I chose to finely chop my pine nuts, making the finished pesto less chunky and more like a traditional, blended pesto. You could also put all the pesto ingredients into a food processor.


STEP TWO:

To make the sauce, combine the pine nuts with all the remaining ingredients except the pasta in a medium bowl. (This step may be completed up to 24 hours in advance, covered, and chilled. Bring to room temperature before mixing it with the pasta.)





STEP THREE:

Bring a 6-quart pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Before draining the pasta, beat 2 tablespoons of the boiling pasta water into the sauce. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot or drop it into a large bowl. Spoon on the sauce and toss quickly. Serve immediately.


STEP FOUR*:

In a nonstick pan, heat the olive oil. Add the tomatoes and spinach, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Serve alongside capellini. (I also garnished everything with a little grated mozzarella, because, why not?)

MY MODIFICATIONS:

I started with slightly more than one can of tomato paste (the whole reason behind me making this was to get rid of said tomato paste). I also increased the amount of fresh herbs, and added some fresh thyme, since it was in the fridge. I didn't really measure anything but the olive oil, and then I added just about a tablespoon more, to account for the greater volume of everything else I added. I also threw in some red chili flakes for heat.

I wanted to add more vegetable-y goodness, hence the semi-side-dish of tomatoes and spinach, but this would be great with grilled chicken or shrimp, tofu, or really topped with any meat or veggies you want. It's also delicious all by itself - it's very flavorful!


You could also swap out any herbs you like - if you're more of an oregano person, you could use that. You could also try it with different types of nuts - walnuts might be nice. I can also see using the pesto to spread on top of tilapia or halibut, then baking it to make a sort of herb-y crust. It would also be delicious spread on crostini or stirred into hummus - you could even stir a tablespoon into mashed potatoes or polenta for a special side dish.

You should all go to the store and make this TOMORROW NIGHT! Let me know how it comes out in the comments.

Thanks for reading! More soon...