Pesto and cheese rolls and family traditions

Yesterday I started thinking about family traditions and how some of them go from one generation to the other, sometimes without us even noticing.

My brother and I have become much closer since my nephew was born, and that brings me a lot of joy. So on weekends we are inevitably all together, either they come to visit Joao and I or we visit them – I love that. It reminds me of when I was little and we would go for Sunday lunches at my grandmother’s or my aunt and uncle from the country side would come to spend the day with us – we are doing exactly what our parents did almost forty years ago and that happened so naturally I only thought of it now.

One of the times they came to visit us I had just finished baking these pesto rolls – they smelled wonderful and I thought the adults would love them, but to my surprise my nephew was the one that enjoyed them the most. I had no idea he would like bread filled with pesto – I thought he would find the flavor too strong or something like that – but I was wrong. Therefore I bring you these today and hope you the adults reading me like them as much as the little one at home did. :)

Pesto and cheese rolls
own creation

Dough:
¼ cup (60ml) lukewarm water
¾ cup (180ml) lukewarm whole milk
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons dried yeast
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon table salt
2 ¼ cups (315g) all purpose flour
½ cup (70g) whole wheat flour

Filling:
½ cup (40g) fresh basil leaves, packed
2 tablespoons finely ground pecorino
1 small garlic clove
2 tablespoons pine nuts
¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
200g shredded cheese – I used one kind of mozzarela we find here in Brazil that is yellow and drier than fresh mozzarela; replace with cheddar

Egg wash:
1 egg + ½ teaspoon water, beaten with a fork

Start by making the dough: in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix together with a fork the water, milk, sugar and yeast. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg, butter, olive oil, salt and flours and mix on medium speed until a smooth and elastic dough forms, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside on a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.

Filling: place the basil, pecorino, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and black pepper in a blender or food processor and blitz until a paste forms – I don’t add any salt for the cheeses are already salty. Set aside. Brush a 12-hole muffin pan with butter.

Knock down the dough to remove any excess air. Roll it on a lightly floured surface until you get a 30x50cm (12x20in) rectangle. Spread the pesto over the dough, leaving a 1cm (½in) border. Sprinkle evenly with the shredded cheese. Beginning with the longer side, roll the dough tightly like a cylinder. Cut into 12 slices and place each slice, cut side up, inside a hole in the muffin pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise again for 40-60 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 200°C.

Brush the rolls with the egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until deeply golden and cooked through. Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold each roll and transfer to the wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rolls can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a 180°C oven for 8-10 minutes before serving if desired.

Makes 12

Pasta with broccolini pesto and roasted peppers

Certain foods have a very special meaning for me: it might be something my mom cooked when I was a kid that takes me back in time, something I cooked for someone I love or something I ate at a special place. I first ate pasta with pesto sauce in Rome, and it was also the first time I ever traveled abroad, many years ago, so it holds a very dear place in my heart.

I make pesto quite regularly at home, for my husband have learned to enjoy it as well, and sometimes I switch the basil for other options, such as arugula, for example. This time basil was replaced by a mixture of broccolini and fresh oregano leaves, with a fiery touch of dried pepper flakes and a bit of sweetness from roasted peppers – a wonderful combination of flavors is the work of the man behind the best gnocchi I have ever made. To make things ever better, this is really easy to put together, and you can even roast the peppers in advance and keep them refrigerated in a bowl or glass jar with some olive oil to avoid them from drying out.

Pasta with broccolini pesto and roasted peppers
slightly adapted from the always delicious Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food

2 small red peppers
olive oil to drizzle over the peppers
200g broccolini florets
½ cup (120ml) extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
1 fat garlic clove, minced
½ cup grated parmesan
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g long dried pasta – I used fusilli lunghi

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°C. Line a baking sheet with foil, brush it with olive oil and place the peppers onto the foil cut side down. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes or until skins are blistering. Remove peppers from baking sheet and place in a large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes. Remove the skins from the peppers and cut them into thin slices. Set aside.

Pesto: bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil – you’ll cook the broccolini and the pasta using the same water. Blanch the broccolini the boiling water for about 30 seconds, then remove them using a slotted spoon and place in ice water to stop them from cooking (keep the water boiling too cook the pasta). Use your hands to squeeze out as much excess water from the broccolini as possible and transfer to a blender. Add the olive oil, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan, red pepper flakes, oregano and blitz to a paste. Season with salt and pepper and blitz again. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water if pesto is too thick.

Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Toss pasta with pesto, adding some of the water if necessary to loosen the sauce. Stir in the roasted pepper and serve at once.

Serves 4

Pesto & courgette pasta bake for a courgette-eating husband

Those of you who cook for picky eaters know the feeling, I’m sure: when the person who always hated something starts eating that very thing it feels like a small victory.

When my husband decided to try mushrooms for the first time in his life and liked them, I started adding mushrooms to our meals and it was such a good thing (the vegetarian Bolognese is, indeed, delicious and I love cooking that recipe). Now that he’s come to the conclusion that he doesn’t really hate courgettes I have been adding them to our meals quite regularly, and this pasta bake was a really tasty way of having the vegetable.

I tweaked the recipe a bit – the original version called for crème fraîche, for instance, which I replaced for homemade ricotta – and got a lighter dish as a reward, not to mention the recipe is easy and tasted great: the crunchy bread and cheese topping makes the pasta extra special.

Pesto & courgette pasta bake
adapted from the always delicious Good Food magazine

150g rigatoni
1/3 cup basil pesto
200g ricotta – I used homemade
200g courgettes, coarsely grated
½ cup finely grated parmesan, divided use
salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g fresh breadcrumbs
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes less than the pack instructions say, so that it has a little more bite. Reserve 1 cup of cooking water.

Meanwhile, mix the pesto, ricotta, courgettes and half the parmesan together. Add the pasta and stir well, adding a little of the reserved water to create a good sauce consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Tip the pasta and sauce into a shallow baking dish and scatter over the breadcrumbs, then the remaining parmesan. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for about 15 minutes or until the topping is crisp.

Serves 2

Roasted tomato soup with pesto

I haven’t been to the movies since “Hugo”, but I did watch a fantastic movie at home, “No Country for Old Men”: to me the Coen brothers are an acquired taste – they’re like anchovies, you’ll learn to love them eventually; I don’t like “Fargo” but love “The Man Who Wasn’t There”, “O Brother, Where Art Thou” and “True Grit”, therefore I decided it was about time I watched “No Country for Old Men” – that movie proves that a great plot can lock the viewer in their seat (I wouldn’t have left the room for nothing in this world!) and that the good old formula of good script, director and cast still is unbeatable. It’s the second amazing movie I've watched based on Cormac McCarthy’s books – the other being “The Road”; I think it’s time I read some of his work, too.

***

Most people I know love summer days but to me 30°C/86°F (or over) days are dreadful – sleeping gets difficult, exercising is even worse, I feel dizzy and tired. That is why I hope the fall temperatures arrive soon around here, and I even made some soup to celebrate the new season, enjoying the last tomatoes at the same time (I still want to make a tomato tarte tatin). Though not pictured, I served the soup with Barbara Lynch’s irresistible crispy grilled cheese – those of you who have tried it know what I mean. :)

Roasted tomato soup with pesto
adapted from two delicious books: Fresh from the Market and From Season to Season (mine was bought here)

700g ripe Italian tomatoes (about 6 large tomatoes)
2-3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5-6 fresh thyme sprigs
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ large onion, finely chopped
1 fat garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon sugar
1-2 tablespoons pesto sauce

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a roasting pan – one that holds all the tomatoes – with foil.
Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and place them, cut side up, into the prepared pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and the thyme sprigs. Roast for 45-50 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Set aside until cool enough to be handled.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Meanwhile, using a spoon, remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Roughly chop them and add to the saucepan, along with the sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are even softer and heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a mixer and purée until smooth (be careful because you are dealing with hot liquid) – add a little water if necessary. Divide into serving bowls, top with some pesto and serve.

Serves 2

Spaghetti with pistachio pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes + The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

After months of anxiety and high expectations I could finally watch "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"; as much as I did not want to resort to a cliché to describe the film it’s impossible for me to avoid it: it is a masterpiece. Perfect in every detail, visually stunning, with a fantastic cast and amazing music. Dark and gloomy as the book itself and as only Fincher – or maybe Cronenberg – could deliver. The text below might contain spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the movie yet, please, scroll down to the recipe.

I tried watching a movie last night but simply could not concentrate on it – I’d start to think of scenes of “TGwtDT” every 5 minutes or so, to remember the details, to connect them with the book, and to analyze the performances... The movie stays with you, you just cannot help it – it sticks to your head like glue. Rooney Mara blew me away – forgive me the purists, but she completely erases Noomi Rapace from one’s memory. Christopher Plummer is exactly what I expected Henrik Vanger to be. I am a die-hard fan of the book but did not mind the changes on the script – I thought the whole thing worked. The violent scenes are not easy to watch but they’re there for a reason – the audience cheers for Lisbeth, we want her to have her revenge. She’s not your regular heroine and her behavior is nothing like a fairy-tale girl’s, but that is exactly what makes her so special, so unique, and I think that Fincher and Mara captured that perfectly and brought it to a whole new level – that is the Lisbeth I imagined while reading the book, that is the girl that made me devour 2,000 pages.
I drove home trying to remember the last time a movie had had this effect on me and after hours of thought I came to the conclusion that it’d been "The Social Network". Fincher, my hero. No wonder I feel joy in my heart every time I read he’s into a new project – I know for sure it will be something amazing. Now all I can do is cross my fingers and hope he directs the next two movies of the trilogy.

Wow, that is a long post. I almost forgot to tell you about the pasta dish: this pesto is greenest and most delicious pesto I have ever made or tried. Forgive me the purists, but I liked the pistachio version better; to be honest what really made me curious about this recipe was the blanching of the basil before turning it into pesto, which is something I first saw on Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s beautiful book – sometimes being a curious person pays off. :)

Spaghetti with pistachio pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes
adapted from the gorgeous Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes

Roasted tomatoes:
400g cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
salt and freshly ground black pepper
about 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
4-5 fresh basil leaves, torn

Pistachio pesto and pasta:
3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 cup (240ml) extra virgin olive oil
about ½ teaspoon table salt or 1 teaspoon sea salt (such as Maldon)
1 cup (130g) unsalted pistachios, lightly toasted and cooled
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
400g spaghetti

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush the foil with olive oil.
Arrange the tomatoes, cut side up, onto the prepared sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and scatter the garlic and basil over the tomatoes. Roast the tomatoes for 30-35 minutes or until soft.
Meanwhile, make the pesto: bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice cubes and water. Add the basil leaves to the boiling water, cook for 30 seconds, then drain and transfer to the ice water. When cool, drain well then squeeze the basil between sheets of paper towels until almost completely dry.
Put the basil in a food processor with the garlic, lemon zest, oil, and salt. Puree until smooth. Add the pistachios and pulse until coarsely chopped (or to your liking). Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cheese.
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain the pasta (set aside some of the cooking water). Toss the pasta with the pesto, adding a bit of the water if necessary to loosen up the sauce. Divide the pasta into plates and cover with the roasted tomatoes. Serve at once.

Serves 4

Pesto pasta and tuna “meatballs”

My grandmother is a very creative cook – sometimes, too creative.

A friend of mine from school once had lunch at my house and told grandma that the breaded fish was delicious, to what granny replied “oh, sweetie, thank you! But that is not fish – it’s banana skin”. :D

After that story I bet that tuna “meatballs” sound perfectly normal to you. :D

Pesto pasta and tuna “meatballs”
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Meatballs:
2 x 185g cans tuna, drained
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
¼ cup pine nuts
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pasta and sauce:
400g spaghetti
¼ cup pesto sauce
¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream
finely grated parmesan and fresh basil, to serve

Place tuna, breadcrumbs, parsley, chives, pine nuts, lemon zest and egg in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the tuna meatballs and cook, turning, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Keep warm in the oven.
Cook pasta in a saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. In the meantime, add the pesto and cream to the saucepan you cooked the meatballs in (remove excess oil if necessary) and heat over medium heat. Drain the pasta, add the sauce and toss gently to combine. Top with the meatballs, sprinkle with parmesan and basil leaves and serve.

Serves 4 – I halved the recipe above, used 1 ½ packed tablespoons of mixture per meatball and got 12 (I used the whole egg and the mixture was easy to roll into balls)

Nigella’s unpestoed pesto

Part 2 - that is not something I like seeing on the title of a movie. Some do make me curious, I’ll admit it, while others... Can even become a dark spot on someone’s career - I bet that the Oscar nominee Amy Adams would agree with me here. :)

You’ll think: “she’s already posted pasta al pesto”. And you are right. Since sequels can be masterpieces, too, I present you my pesto part 2.

I saw Nigella cooking this dish on TV but couldn’t write down the recipe - I eyeballed all the ingredients. As I ended up finding it online, I’ll post it here for you.

Even though this pasta recipe is insanely simple, I’ll be honest: I prefer the original pesto sauce. But that doesn’t mean you can’t give the part 2 a try.

Nigella’s unpestoed pesto

1 pound (450g) spaghetti
1 cup (240ml) olive oil – I used less
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
½ cup pine nuts
8 ounces (224g) whole Parmesan
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and then add the spaghetti. While the pasta is cooking, pour the olive oil into a large frying pan and throw in some peeled cloves of garlic. Cook over gentle heat until the garlic starts to turn light brown and its scent wafts upward. Remove the cloves from the pan and take the pan off the heat.
Roughly chop or shred a mound of basil leaves, set aside. In a second dry frying pan, toast a handful or so of pine nuts. When the pasta is ready, drain it, toss it in the garlic-infused olive oil, and then transfer to a warm bowl.
Using a vegetable peeler, shave in the parmesan and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts. Toss well, throw over all but a small handful of the basil leaves, and turn again.
Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and the remaining shredded basil leaves and serve at once.

Serves 4

Baked pesto chicken

Some things sound wonderful but don't turn out so fine...

Take “Arrested Development”, for instance. Such a great show – perfect writing, sharp cast. To think that the poor boy’s name is George Michael makes me laugh already; nothing against the name - to be clear about it, in case there’s a George Michael reading me right now – but for someone my age it’s impossible to read that name and NOT think of him.

So, back to the show. I love everything about it. It even gave me hope about Ron Howard – I don’t like the guy, but he’s the voice behind the episodes (though I’ll never forget he made this). It should be the #1 comedy and all that. But it got cancelled. And that makes me sad.

What also made me sad was this recipe. I got it from an ad in Bon Appetit magazine a few months ago and I knew it would be delicious. Well, it was OK. But not I-want-to-make-this-200-times delicious.

I should have learned my lesson about not marinating chicken before cooking it, but apparently I have not. The idea of chicken with pesto blinded me.

So don’t be like me and marinate the chicken before making this recipe. And please, let me know how it turned out.

The original recipe is here – I changed it a little by browning the chicken before baking it.

Baked pesto chicken

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (about 680g/1 ¼ pounds total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup pesto sauce – I used this recipe
¾ cup (3 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF. Line baking sheet with heavy-duty foil.

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat; add garlic and cook until it starts to brown. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until nicely browned in both sides. Remove from the pan and place it in a medium bowl. Add the pesto and toss to coat. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet and drizzle any remaining pesto sauce over it.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove from oven; top with the mozzarella. Bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Serves 4

Pasta al pesto (and another gift)

Yep, I’m a lucky blogger. You guys have spoiled me so much!
I have received many gifts from different parts of the world and that is so amazing.
The beautiful place mat you see on the photo is a present from a very dear Brazilian friend, Luna – thank you for making my table more beautiful, sweetie!

Some people are so versatile. Take Mark Ruffalo, (one of my favorites) for instance: he can be cute, adorable, and super sexy.

Some things are as versatile as Mark – and I have found out that pesto is one of them. I have seen it as pasta sauce, canapé topping, and even spread on pizza.

It took me forever to try pesto – Karin told me I was gonna love it – and my decision was to try it in Rome. I did – it was OK, but when I looked at my plate I was kind of disappointed. I wanted my sauce green, not sort of green.

Determined to change that weird first impression, I made my own pesto. And all I can say is that after the pasta was gone I rushed to grab a piece of bread – there was not a single drop of sauce left on my plate.



This is my post for this Weekend Herb Blogging, created by the lovely Kalyn and hosted by The Expatriate Chef, from The Expatriate's Kitchen.

Pasta al pesto
adapted from a Brazilian book

400g fettuccine – or use the pasta shape you prefer

Sauce:
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts*
¾ cup (180ml) extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 ½ cups basil leaves (packed)
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta until al dente.
In the meantime, prepare the sauce: place the ingredients in a bowl of a food processor** and process until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
When pasta is ready, drain and reserve ¼ cup (60ml) cooking water; add the reserved water to the sauce and mix well.
Transfer pasta to a large bowl, add the sauce and mix.
Serve immediately.

* use pine nuts for a more traditional take on pesto
** I used a blender and it worked wonderfully.

Serves 4