Roasted eggplant bacon pasta

Even though Joao and I are not vegans or vegetarians, most of our meals revolve around vegetables, and there are several occasions when we eat vegan or vegetarian lunches and dinners – it has been like this for many years now and it happened very naturally. We both love vegetables and I am always searching for new ways to prepare them.

I like pretty much all veggies except for sweet potatoes, and Joao does not like cauliflower, but he loved the cauliflower balls I made the other day. I guess it is just a matter of making vegetables interesting, instead of simply boiling them in water. Roasting is one of the cooking methods I use the most and it seems to make all vegetables delicious.

I still cook beef and chicken sometimes – once a week, tops – and I like to use a little bacon here and there, occasionally, for flavor, or to enhance a dish that is based on vegetables. This pasta has a very meaty texture because of the eggplant, and the bacon just makes it more interesting – the saltiness matches the roasted eggplant perfectly, and the tomato makes everything moist.

I made this recipe on a Saturday for lunch and we devoured it with some crusty bread – it is rather simple and does not call for many ingredients, but the result is very tasty.

 

Roasted eggplant bacon pasta

own recipe

 

1 medium eggplant (380g), diced in 2.5cm (1in) cubes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

180g fusilli or other short pasta of your preference

4 slices of bacon

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 large ripe tomato, deseeded and finely diced

2 tablespoons dry white wine

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.

Place the eggplant on the foil, drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes. Toss the pieces around, carefully not to pierce the foil, then roast for another 15 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente.

Heat a large nonstick frying pan over high heat and add the bacon, cooking until crispy and the fat is rendered. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute – do not let it burn or it will turn bitter. Add the tomato, season with salt and pepper (go easy on the salt because of the bacon) and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes release their juices, 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the roasted eggplants and stir well.

Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the sauce and cook for 1 minute – if sauce is too thick or dry, add some of the reserved pasta water and stir – I did not have any fresh herbs at home, but do add fresh basil if you have some at hand.

Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Orecchiette with courgette and goat’s cheese sauce

This food stylist wannabe got crazy when she saw yellow courgettes in farmer’s market for the first time – until then I had only seen it on books, magazines and food TV shows. Of course I brought some home and immediately thought of something tasty and visually beautiful to make with it.

For this recipe I used red onion so I could have a nice color contrast, however after that day I made this pasta several other times using regular onions and courgettes and it was flavorsome anyway.

Orecchiette with courgette and goat’s cheese sauce
own recipe

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ large red onion, thinly sliced in half moons
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 courgette (about 350g/12oz), sliced in half lengthwise and then sliced into thin half moons
finely grated zest of 1 lime
handful of fresh marjoram leaves
2 tablespoons dry white wine
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
35g goat’s cheese, coarsely grated or crumbled
200g orecchiette pasta

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente (follow the instructions in the package). In the meantime, make the sauce: in a large frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil until butter is melted. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute only – do not let it burn or it will be bitter. Add the courgette and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes or until softened. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the lime zest and the marjoram. Add the wine and cook until it evaporates. Stir in the cream and the cheese and cook just until the cheese melts.

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water, and stir into the sauce – if sauce is too thick, stir in a bit of the cooking water to loosen it up. Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Other ideas: this recipe tastes great if gorgonzola and fresh oregano are used instead of goat’s cheese and marjoram.

Pasta with onion and tomato sauce and the change in my cooking habits

I was talking to my husband the other day about how my cooking and baking have changed in the past year or so: I don’t bake as much anymore (lack of time + my lactose intolerance) and I also don’t test so many new recipes as I used to. Sometimes I flip through my books and magazines and the photos make me drool, however, I have been feeling the need of eating dishes I am familiar with.

I keep coming back to recipes I call “the classics” at my house, food that comforts and nourishes. Tomato sauce is something I make quite regularly (also to keep some in the freezer for emergencies or lazy days/nights), but there are times I vary it a bit (when I am not pressed for time) and make the recipe I bring you today: it is delicious and a hit with my husband and I – we are both dying hard onion fans. What I love to use with this sauce is orecchiette, for they are like small pools of sauce. :)

Pasta with onion and tomato sauce
slightly adapted from the wonderful Antonio Carluccio

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions (300g), peeled, cut in half and finely sliced into half-moons
1 tablespoon dry red wine
1 400g (14oz) can peeled chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of fresh basil leaves
200g short pasta
finely grated parmesan or pecorino, to serve

Heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat, add the onions and fry them very gently until they become transparent and soft, about 20 minutes – stir occasionally so the onions do not catch in the pan. Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, followed by 1/3 of the can filled with water, the sugar, the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook, now on a low heat, for 15 minutes. Stir in the basil and turn of the heat.
In the meantime, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente (follow the instructions in the package). Drain well, then mix with the sauce and stir to coat all the pasta. Serve immediately with finely grated parmesan or pecorino.

Serves 2

My Bolognese sauce, as per my husband's request

I started blogging about food in 2006 (sometimes I find it hard to believe I am still here, to be honest) and for years now many people have written to me to tell me they learned how to cook with me (Brazilians, since I write in Portuguese, too). Every time I read the emails I feel joy in my heart, for I know how liberating learning how to cook can be – it was for me.

So here we are, almost eleven years later, and this time the “revolution” is happening in my home: my husband has been learning how to cook. :) It started with sandwiches, it evolved to salads and soups (very good salads and soups, by the way) and days ago he tried to make one of our favorite dishes: Bolognese sauce. I arrived home late after a tiresome day at the office and smelled something wonderful when the elevator door opened – for a moment I thought the smell could be coming from my neighbors’, but those people, besides being incredibly noisy and rude, don’t cook food that smell that great. :)

For my surprise, the smell was coming from my apartment and as I walked in I found my husband smiling at me: “surprise! I made your Bolognese sauce!” – I helped him cook the linguine and we had a delicious dinner.

He then told me he was a bit confused during the preparation of the sauce and that he had searched the blog to make sure he remembered all the steps – “I could not find the recipe on TK”, he said, and I told him I had not published it here. He said “it’s about time”, so here we are: I am sharing with you my Bolognese sauce – and I call it “my Bolognese” because I know it is not the most authentic one out there, but it is the one I have been making for years and that my husband loves so much. I don’t always have carrots and/or celery at home for the sofrito, so onions and garlic are the aromatics of choice; also, I hardly ever have 3 hours to wait for the sauce to come together, so mine is ready in 30 minutes or so. I hope you give it a go and if you do, please let me know how it went.

My Bolognese sauce
own recipe

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
250g beef mince
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup (60ml) dry red wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 400g (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 bay leaves
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
handful of fresh basil leaves or fresh oregano leaves
300g linguine

In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, then add the beef and break it down with the spoon into smaller pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is well browned. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the wine and cook again for 2-3 minutes or until wine is reduced – using a wooden spoon, scrape the brown bits in the bottom of the saucepan for extra flavor.

Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the canned tomatoes and smash them with a potato masher. Fill ¾ of the can with water, swirl it around and add to the saucepan. Season again with salt and pepper, add the sugar, the bay leaves, the thyme and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until thickened. Add the basil/oregano, stir to combine, remove the bay leaves and the thyme sprigs, cover and remove from the heat.
Cook linguine in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and stir in the sauce. Serve immediately.

Serves 3

Linguine with creamy tomato, thyme, caper and bacon sauce

I believe that many of you reading me right now reach for a pasta package whenever there is the need of having food on the table in little to no time – I am guilty of that and I am not ashamed of it. :)

I make pasta often not only because of how fast it is: Joao and I love it and it is so versatile I can combine it with several different flavors and types of sauce. I saw this version of a tomato sauce on Olive magazine and it was so simple I had to try it: the sauce is delicious, the acidity of the tomatoes is softened by the addition of cream and the capers add a briny, salty touch to the sauce. Thyme is my favorite herb and one I love pairing with tomato.

Linguine with creamy tomato, thyme, caper and bacon sauce
slightly adapted from the always great Olive magazine

4 slices of bacon, cut into ½ cm pieces
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons capers – soak them in cold water for 15 minutes before using, then drain
3 tablespoons heavy cream
200g linguine

In a medium saucepan, over high heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp. Remove from the pan and set over paper towels. Remove the excess fat from the saucepan, leaving 1 tablespoon. On that fat, cook the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crush them with a potato masher, then fill the can by half with water and add to the tomatoes. Add the sugar, season with salt and pepper and cook partially covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until thickened.

In the meantime, cook the linguine in salted boiling water until al dente.

Stir in capers and cream and then cook for 3 minutes. Drain the linguine and toss with the sauce. Serve at once sprinkled with the bacon bits.

Serves 2

Linguine with chorizo tomato sauce

Even though I haven’t had the time to post here as often as I would like to, I have been cooking and baking quite regularly – family and friends thank me for that. ;)

I have been, however, a bit tired (too much work, I guess): days ago I was watching a rerun of Law & Order: Criminal Intent (you know how much I love that show!) and it took me a good while to recognize Carrie Preston in the episode: I was sure I knew her from somewhere, but she was a blonde then and without Arlene’s bold red hair my brain was very slow in processing the info. :D

And speaking of bold red hue, may I introduce you to the dish I made last weekend that got my husband asking for seconds? The idea was to make bolognese pasta, but when we arrived at the shop the meat grinder was broken. I’d already decided to make a simple tomato sauce when I opened the fridge to get the onion and garlic and spotted a piece of chorizo right there, in front of me – I chopped it in small cubes and used it to replace the beef mince. A bit of sherry to make things more Spanish, a handful of marjoram – a herb that I love pairing with pork – and lunch was served.

Linguine with chorizo tomato sauce
own creation

1 ¼ cups (175g) diced chorizo
½ large onion, finely diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons sherry
1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 400g (14oz) can peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
handful of fresh marjoram leaves
300g dried linguine or other long pasta shape you prefer
parmesan or pecorino, to serve

Heat a medium saucepan over medium/high heat and add the chorizo. Cook until it releases its oils and starts getting crispy. Add the onion and cook until soft, 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t catch in the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the sherry and cook until reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cook for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes and crush them with a potato masher. Fill the can by half with water and add to the sauce. Stir in the sugar, season with salt and pepper – gently, since the chorizo is already salty and spicy – and add the bay leaves and the marjoram. Cook over low heat, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

In the meantime, cook the linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 10 minutes (check the package instructions). Drain the linguine and stir it into the sauce. Serve immediately sprinkled with freshly grated pecorino or parmesan, or for an even more Spanish touch, manchego chese.

Serves 3

Spaghetti with meat and aubergine balls

I once told you that meatballs are a huge success at home, and I was not lying: I make them quite often, and always pop some of them (still uncooked) in the freezer – they can go to the oven directly from frozen, making my life a lot easier during weeknights (+ my husband can do that himself, which is always a plus). :)

I have posted meatballs made of beef, and meatballs made of eggplant, and today I present you a merge between those two kinds: eggplants get roasted, then their pulp is mixed with beef to create delicious, moist meatballs – they were very flavorsome and turned the spaghetti into something even more special.

Since this is a recipe by Antonio Carluccio there was no way it could go wrong.

Spaghetti with meat and aubergine balls
from the always delicious and beautiful Pasta

400g spaghetti
freshly grated parmesan or pecorino, to serve

Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
100ml dry red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
680g tomato passata
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
handful fresh basil leaves

Meatballs:
2 whole aubergines
olive oil, for drizzling the aubergines and for shallow-frying
300g minced beef
1 garlic clove, peeled and squashed to a paste
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
50g parmesan, finely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
100g fresh breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon table salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush it with olive oil. Cut the aubergines in half lengthwise and place them cut side up onto the foil. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes. Scoop the pulp out of the skins, transfer to a large bowl and mash the pulp. Cool. Discard the skins.

While the aubergines are roasting, make the sauce: heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and fry the onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and tomato passata. Season with salt and pepper, add the sugar, stir well and cook gently for 30–40 minutes. Stir in the basil and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, continue with the meatballs by mixing together the beef mince, the aubergine pulp, garlic, nutmeg, parmesan, egg and breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper, mix well and shape into balls. Shallow-fry in olive oil to brown on all sides. Add the balls to the tomato sauce and keep warm.
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. Mix the past and the sauce carefully and serve immediately sprinkled with parmesan or pecorino.

Serves 4

Cherry tomato pasta and no time at all

I guess it goes without saying that the frequency I post around here is a good thermometer of the amount of work I have: if I disappear you can imagine that I got swallowed by my job… :(

There are some things I wanted to write about like a couple of movies and TV shows I have watched, the Oscar that Leo will finally win this year, but I unfortunately have no time for that now – this will be a quick post and the recipe is even quicker: a very simple pasta dish and the sauce is made with cherry tomatoes. It is super fast, but absolutely delicious – it has become the perfect weeknight dish for me and I am sure many of you will feel the same way about it.

Cherry tomato pasta
slightly adapted from the always fantastic Gourmet Traveller magazine

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
700g small cherry or grape tomatoes, whole
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
handful of fresh marjoram leaves
300ml heavy cream
salt and freshl y ground black pepper
400g fettuccine
finely grated pecorino or parmesan, to serve

Heat oil in a large frying pan, add the tomatoes and cook over high heat until blistered and golden, stirring occasionally (3-5 minutes). Reduce heat to medium, add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, stirring occasionally (3-5 minutes). Reduce heat to low, stir in marjoram and simmer until slightly thickened (2-3 minutes). Add cream, stir to combine, then season to taste and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In the meantime, cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and add to tomato sauce. Toss to combine and serve immediately with pecorino or parmesan.

Serves 4

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

Pasta with crispy sardine and oregano breadcrumbs

When I was a kid, my mom was always making something with canned sardines: they were cheap and a good staple for a family with a limited budget. One of the things she made the most was a sardine salad to be eaten in a sandwich – the same thing as a tuna salad, but made with sardines instead, it was delicious! I loved it.

Because of that, it is impossible not to think of mom whenever I see canned sardines, and when I saw this gorgeous can while food shopping in my last trip I knew I would not come home without it. A couple of weeks ago a new issue of the beautiful Donna Hay magazine arrived and there I found a recipe of pasta served with crispy breadcrumbs dotted with pieces of canned sardines – it was the perfect way of using my treasure.

This pasta dish is very simple and straightforward, I made it for a lazy Sunday lunch and it was ready in no time at all – my husband wasn’t too crazy about the sardine breadcrumbs, but I was more than happy to eat his share by the spoonful. :)

Pasta with crispy sardine and oregano breadcrumbs
slightly adapted from the always fantastic Donna Hay Magazine

400g spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
¼ cup fresh oregano leaves, packed
50g canned sardines, drained and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 ripe roma tomatoes, deseeded and cut into wedges
pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Before draining, reserve ½ cup (120ml) of the water to use in the sauce.

In the meantime, make the sauce: heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs, oregano and sardines and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and crispy. Season with salt and pepper, remove from the heat and keep warm.

Wipe the frying pan clean with a piece of paper towel and add the remaining olive oil. Heat over medium, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sugar, then season with salt and pepper. Add the reserved cooking liquid and the balsamic vinegar, stir to combine and cook for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Add the pasta to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve topped with the sardine breadcrumbs.

Serves 4

Penne with tomato and chickpea sauce - simple, honest food

Because I like to try new recipes and new dishes I look for inspiration everywhere, even in cuisines I would never adopt as a way of life, such as vegan, for instance: I understand that there are great vegan recipes out there and I have made some myself, but I don’t intend to spend my life without milk, eggs, honey, butter or cheese – it’s just not who I am.

Having said that, I got curious when I read a recipe on Andrew Carmellini’s beautiful Urban Italian for a dish pasta that was rich without having loads of butter and cream – yes, I won’t give up on cream, that is for sure, but that doesn’t mean I have to eat it every single day. I am a sucker for pasta dishes, so I gave it a go and it turned out delicious: the chickpea puree thickens the tomato sauce in a lovely way, making it velvety, and the bacon (that I used instead of the sausages called for in the original recipe) adds a nice, salty touch.

This is simple, no fuss, honest food that I am eager to eat on a daily basis – I could not expect less from the guy responsible for the best gnocchi.

Penne with tomato and chickpea sauce
adapted from the delicious Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food

1 can (420g/15oz) chickpeas
½ tablespoon olive oil
2 bacon rashers, finely sliced
3 cups your favorite tomato sauce – mine is here
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
400g penne
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated pecorino cheese

Drain the chickpeas well, reserving the liquid. Blend half the chickpeas (about 1 cup) and half their liquid on high until the mixture forms a smooth paste, about 1 minute.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Add the chickpea puree and the fennel seeds and stir to combine. Season to taste, then cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until the mixture forms a loose sauce and the flavors are combined, about 15 minutes. Stir in the pepper flakes and the remaining chickpeas and remove from the heat.

Cook the penne in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain but do not rinse the pasta.
Return the rigatoni to the pot. Add the sauce and cook on medium-high heat, mixing well, until the pasta is well coated, about 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the butter, olive oil and half the pecorino cheese. Transfer the pasta and sauce to a large serving dish and top with the rest of the pecorino cheese and serve immediately.

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

Fusilli with pine nuts and eggplant and the pasta dishes of my childhood

Having Italian blood in my veins, pasta was something I ate my whole life: my mother, despite being from a German family, cooked pasta quite frequently, and when she died and my paternal grandmother came to live with us she cooked pasta a lot, too – my grandfather was Italian, so pasta was something quite natural for her.

There wasn’t, or at least I don’t remember, much variety when it came to pasta sauces: there were tomato sauce, Bolognese, béchamel and aglio e olio, and that was it. When I started buying cookbooks and reading recipes online, years ago, I realized that there was so much more that could be done with pasta, there were so many interesting sauces, that blew me away.

One way I love cooking pasta is using vegetables as sauce: you get tons of flavor while eating something delicious and good for you. This recipe comes from the great Antonio Carluccio and when I finished cooking the sauce and tried some it tasted to amazing I thought it could be also spread over crusty bread and served as bruschetta instead of tossed with pasta – that is how I intend to eat it next time. :D

Fusilli with pine nuts and eggplant
slightly adapted from the great Antonio Carluccio: The Collection

400g eggplants, trimmed and cut into small cubes
salt
90ml extra virgin olive oil
2 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste
2 tablespoons pine nuts
2 heaping tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
pinch of dried chilli flakes
freshly ground black pepper
15 large black olives, pitted and thorn into pieces
handful of fresh basil leaves, thorn
400g fusilli or other short pasta
finely grated parmesan, to serve

Leave the eggplant cubes in lightly salted water for 1 hour, then drain, squeeze out the water and pat dry on kitchen paper. Fry them in the oil for 3 minutes, stir in the garlic and fry, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is golden brown. Add the tomato paste, pine nuts, capers, chilli flakes, black pepper and olives and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally – add a little water if the mixture is too dry. Stir in the basil, cover and remove from the heat.
Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and mix well with the sauce. Serve with the parmesan.

Serves 4

Pasta with vodka tomato sauce - when simple food tastes great

Years ago I saw this pasta sauce on many blogs, some of them my favorites and I had all the intention of making it, but for some reason I never did and it ended up slipping my mind.

I thought of it days ago when I bought a bottle of vodka to make a new batch of vanilla extract and wrote the idea down to avoid forgetting it all over again. The original recipe calls for shallots, but there was a leek in my fridge begging to be used and I added it instead.

I’m not sure if it was the leek, the vodka, the cream or the three of them together, but this turned out to be one of the tastiest tomato sauces I’ve ever made – seriously good. It is flavorsome, creamy without being heavy and slightly peppery, not to mention simple to make.

I had no idea this sauce would turn out so delicious when I set out to make it and now I strongly recommend you try it, too.

Pasta with vodka tomato sauce
slightly adapted from this book and from Rachel Ray

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 small leek, white part only
1 fat garlic clove, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
½ cup (120ml) vodka
1 can (400g/16oz) chopped canned tomatoes
2 teaspoons sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
225g (8oz) dried short pasta, such as farfalle or penne
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
handful fresh basil leaves, shredded or torn
grated parmesan cheese, to serve

Heat a medium saucepan over moderate-high heat. Add butter and oil and while the butter melts, slice the leek in half lengthwise, then cut both halves in thin slices. Add to the saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant. Gradually pour in the vodka, stir then cook until reduced by half, 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes, sugar, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook partially covered until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce simmers, cook pasta in salted boiling water until cooked to al dente.

Stir cream into sauce, cook for 5 minutes, stir in the basil and remove from the heat. Drain pasta and toss it with the sauce. Serve immediately sprinkled with the cheese.

Serves 2

Pasta e fagioli (pasta and bean soup)

I made this soup weeks ago – twice, actually – and it was so delicious I could not have enough of it, but since then we’ve been having such hot days here in Sao Paulo I could not bring myself to publish the recipe here on the blog: it is really hard to even think of hot soup when it’s 35°C (95°F) outside. :S

Now that the temperatures are more reasonable, I gladly bring you Antonio Carluccio’s pasta e fagiole – I am sure my friends in the Northern Hemisphere will appreciate a good soup recipe right now. :)

This recipe has become one of my favorite soups, so easy to make – especially if you have cooked beans stashed in your freezer, which is something I highly recommend everyone to do –, so comforting and tasty, and it tastes even better the next day: what I did differently from the recipe below the second time around was to cook the pasta separately and add it to the bowls right before serving the soup, that way avoiding the pasta to swell too much.

Pasta e fagioli
slightly adapted from the delicious and beautiful Pasta: The Essential New Collection from the Master of Italian Cookery

400g dried pinto beans, soaked overnight
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
100g bacon, in small cubes
½ onion, finely diced
1 small carrot, finely diced
2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 liter vegetable stock
150g short dried pasta
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped
finely grated pecorino or parmesan, to serve

Drain the beans, place them into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water (don’t add salt). Cook for about 1 ½ hours or until soft. Drain and process half the beans into a paste using a food processor.
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Add the onion and carrot and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes and the cherry tomatoes, the stock and bring to the boil. Add the beans (both crushed and whole) and the pasta and cook for about 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the parsley.
Divide the soup among bowls and serve with freshly grated cheese.

Serves 4

Wholemeal pasta with vegetable sauce - food with my husband's suggestion

I’ve always believed that one’s love for food is a growing thing: the more you eat, the more you love food (if it is good, obviously).

My sister, for instance, grew up eating different kinds of food, from salads to cake, and nowadays she is not afraid to try something new – she might not like it, but at least she’ll give it a try before saying no. I like to think that she got that from me, that I played an important part in the past so she hasn’t become a picky adult.

My husband, on the other hand, was picky for many, many years and I’m glad he’s been leaving that behind. I’m glad it’s been a natural thing for him and that I have never forced anything – I think that’s the kind of discovery worth doing on one’s own.

I will say, however, that cooking is nowadays much more pleasant.

He’s come from “I don’t like fish” and “is there cilantro in this???” to making suggestions to recipes: as I flipped through Carluccio's cookbook the other day, I showed him a beautiful photo of spaghetti with a vegetable sauce (I’m not the only visual person in the family), then waited for his reaction – he said “that looks good – why don’t you add some cherry tomatoes to it?”

That coming from the guy who used to avoid tomatoes of all kinds like the plague. :)

So I made the pasta and followed Joao’s suggestion, but roasted the cherry tomatoes till they were soft and tender – that way they would mingle with the spaghetti better. His idea was pretty delicious, I have to say. :)

Wholemeal pasta with vegetable sauce
slightly adapted from the wonderful Pasta: The Essential New Collection from the Master of Italian Cookery

200g cherry tomatoes
extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g dried wholemeal spaghetti
handful fresh basil leaves, torn
60g parmesan, freshly grated

Sauce:
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and very finely chopped
2 celery stalks, very finely chopped
4 medium ripe tomatoes, seeds removed, finely chopped

Preheat the grill in the oven. Cut the cherry tomatoes lengthwise and place them cut side up onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with the extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for about 10 minutes or until soft. Set aside.

In the meantime, make the sauce: heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry all the vegetables until soft, 10-15 minutes – season with salt and pepper halfway through the cooking time.

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water for about 8–10 minutes (follow the instructions on the packet), or until al dente. Drain, save some of the cooking water, and mix the spaghetti with the sauce, basil and parmesan (the cheese will make the sauce creamier) – add a bit of the cooking water if necessary. Transfer to warmed plates, top with the cherry tomatoes and serve at once.

Serves 4

Avocado and lemon zest linguine - becoming good friends with whole wheat pasta

I guess that once we get old and start feeling more comfortable in our own skin what others think doesn’t matter much – what you feel or like or want should come first. I like to believe that.

Back in high school it was all about being trendy and cool or, in other words, doing and saying what others did. I remember going to a concert with my friends a couple of times, it was a cover band that played Elvis Presley’s songs, but I never liked Elvis – I just pretended I liked it so I could fit in, since all the girls kept saying how great Elvis was (lucky for me the concerts were free). I was so bored one of the nights I started doing my Physics homework right there (the concerts were held on Friday evenings, and we would go right after school).

That did not do any good for my “cool reputation”, I’ll tell you that. :)

Up until months ago I would tell everyone how awful whole wheat pasta was, and make faces when people brought the subject up. Then, while reading a recipe that called for that kind of pasta, it suddenly hit me: I was just replicating other people’s opinions. I had, indeed, had my share of bad whole wheat pasta dishes, but as someone who’s been cooking for as long as I have I should know better – I should know that maybe, and just maybe, there was something wrong with what I’d tasted. It could have been a case of bad pasta or bad recipe (or both).

I continue to avoid Elvis like the plague, but I have become good friends with whole wheat pasta. :)

Things we do and say now and then, sometimes without putting much thought to them. I have been there, you probably have, too. We’re humans, we say stupid things sometimes, we follow wrong people. We make mistakes.

Nobody’s perfect.

But this pasta dish is (and I would never have thought of pairing avocado and pasta). :)

Avocado and lemon zest linguine
slightly adapted from the wonderful A Modern Way to Eat: Over 200 Satisfying, Everyday Vegetarian Recipes (That Will Make You Feel Amazing)

400g whole wheat linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons capers in brine, coarsely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
finely grated zest of 2 lemons + juice of ½ a lemon
a handful basil leaves, coarsely chopped
a handful parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
2 ripe avocados
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
freshly grated pecorino, for serving

Cook the linguine in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (follow the instructions on the package).
In the meantime make the sauce: heat the olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan on a medium heat, then add the capers and garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the lemon zest and the herbs, mix to combine and remove from the heat.
Halve and destone the avocados, then use a knife to make criss-cross cuts through the flesh, chopping it inside the skin. Use a spoon to scoop out each half into the pan, and stir to mix all the flavors together. Before you drain the pasta, scoop out half a mugful of the pasta water. Drain the pasta, add it to the frying pan and return it to medium heat, tossing to combine. Drizzle with the lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and add a splash of the cooking water if necessary.
Serve at once, sprinkled with the cheese.

Serves 4

Leek, carrot and potato soup or "my soup", according to my husband

Soups and winter go perfectly together, right? I make soups quite often during the colder months, and when I do I usually make a large batch so we can have it for dinner two days in a row. I have noticed that most soups, and the one I bring you today especially, taste even better the next day, so there’s another reason for making extra soup. :)

I like to vary when it comes to food and soup is no exception, but this is my husband’s favorite soup: whenever he wants me to cook it he says “why don’t you make your soup tonight?”, and I know that by my soup he means the vegetable soup I’ve been making for as long as I can remember. I have made this soup with and without the leek (just onions and garlic), with squashed added in the mix, with and without the pasta and rice replacing it, you name it. The fresh oregano is a recent addition: I’d always made this soup with parsley only, but on a given day I did not want the oregano bunch to go to waste and ended up adding it to the soup – after that, it became indispensable.

This is a very simple, yet versatile recipe and you can adjust it to make it your own. I used butter because I can’t resist using it with leeks, but you can omit that for a vegan soup.

We love having this soup with some crusty bread on the side, but it would be a crime for me not to suggest Barbara Lynch’s grilled cheese, too. :)

Leek, carrot and potato soup
own creation

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, white part only, chopped
½ large onion, finely diced
2 fat garlic cloves, minced
2 ripe tomatoes, seeds removed, finely chopped
3 carrots, in small cubes
3 potatoes, in small cubes
boiling water, enough to cover the vegetables
salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful fresh oregano leaves
handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 cup cooked small shaped pasta, such as ditalini*

Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the leek and onion and cook until transparent, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt and cook until they are mushy. Add the carrots and potatoes and stir to combine. Cover with boiling water and season with salt and pepper. When the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially and cook until vegetables are tender, 10-15 minutes.
With an immersion blender, blitz the soup for a couple of seconds – you want the mixture to be half chunky, half smooth. Add the oregano and parsley, check the seasoning.
Divide the pasta among the serving bowls, top with the soup and serve.

* Once the pasta is in the soup it won’t stop swelling – that is why I cook it separately and add it only to the bowls when serving and not to the entire batch of soup

Serves 4

Orecchiette with squash sauce and spinach balls - quick, nutritious and delicious

Despite my desire to try new things in the kitchen, I feel very lucky for not having serious food allergies and also for not having to give up gluten or dairy – I was a vegetarian for many years and that wasn’t hard, but I don’t think I would last one week without bread or cheese.

Pasta is another staple I’m not willing to eliminate from my diet, not only because it is delicious but also because it is a very versatile ingredient: it can be made in so many different ways, the sky is the limit. When I’m in a hurry to make dinner or the refrigerator is empty pasta always saves the night. That is why I was so eager to buy Antonio Carluccio’s book on the subject and he didn’t disappoint: it is oh, so beautiful, and the recipes look mouthwatering – I want to cook everything from that book.

Still strong with the plan of adding more vegetables to our meals and reducing the amount of meat I thought that a pasta dish with a vegetable sauce would make a light, nutritious lunch, and since my husband had said something about how great the dish on the cover of the book looked it was easy to choose a recipe. Carluccio’s recipe calls for zucchini, but I decided to use the beautiful squash I had in my fridge: not only the food was delish and super fresh, it was really quick to put together – that way I did not miss any of the action on the Holland vs Mexico match (I screamed so hard when Sneijder scored that my throat was sore for the rest of the day). :)

Orecchiette with squash sauce and spinach balls
slightly adapted from the beautiful and delicious Pasta: The Essential New Collection from the Master of Italian Cookery

Spinach balls:
150g spinach leaves
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
20g fresh breadcrumbs
15g parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
salt and freshly ground black pepper
canola oil, for shallow frying

Pasta and sauce:
150g orecchiette or penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
½ fresh red chilli, not too hot, finely chopped
300g coarsely grated squash*
salt and freshly ground blackpepper, to taste
finely ground parmesan, to serve

Preheat the oven to 120°C/250°F.
Prepare the spinach balls first by cooking the spinach leaves in salted water for a few minutes. Scoop out and leave to cool. When cool, squeeze out most of the moisture and chop the leaves with a knife, but not too small. Then mix in a bowl with the garlic, nutmeg, breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Add the egg gradually, mixing until the mixture comes together (you might not need the whole egg). Season with salt and pepper. Roll mixture into balls (you’ll get about 10) and shallow-fry in a tiny bit of canola oil until they brown on all sides. Keep them warm in the oven while you make the rest of the recipe.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: heat the oil in a large saucepan, and add the garlic, chilli and squash to the pan. Cook quickly in the oil, about 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain the pasta and mix it with the sauce over high heat, to cover and warm everything up, then divide between warmed plates. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with parmesan and place four or five spinach balls on top. Serve at once.

* I used a type of squash called “abóbora paulista”, which by photo I found similar to cushaw squash (but a lot smaller in size); feel free to replace it with other types of squash or use zucchini instead (as called for in the original recipe)

Serves 2

Beef and mushroom cannelloni and things worth trying

When I look at this recipe I think of the phrase “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, but in a slightly different way: if your husband tried mushrooms for the first time and liked it, add them to your food every chance you get. :D

After the success I had with the vegetarian bolognese, I could not wait to cook with mushrooms again, and the inspiration came right from the first pages of this wonderful cookbook – I am the kind of person so crazy for mince that buys a cookbook on the subject. :)
After I finished cooking the filling, it smelled and tasted so good I felt like eating it with some bread, sloppy joe style, and it could have been tossed with some spaghetti, too, for a very quick meal (just some ideas if you’re not in the mood for rolling cannelloni).

For years my husband did not understand my love for TV series, and of course he wouldn’t because he had never given the shows a try. That changed when I got him to watch The Blacklist with me – he got hooked on Raymond Reddington’s adventures as much as I did, and he liked the show so much we now watch Resurrection together as well.

I guess that in life one should try things before knocking them, either if they’re food or TV shows – and this dish I bring you today is well worth trying.

Beef and mushroom cannelloni
adapted from the great Mincespiration!

tomato sauce, made with 1 ½ cans (400g each can) peeled chopped tomatoes (save the remaining ½ can for the filling), warm

olive oil
200g button mushrooms, wiped and chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g beef mince
1 onion, finely chopped
3 fat garlic cloves, crushed
80ml white wine
½ can peeled chopped tomatoes
handful fresh oregano leaves
500g fresh lasagna sheets
about 50g Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the mushrooms until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set them aside. Using the same pan, add a little more oil and fry the beef for 4-5 minutes until browned. Add the onion and garlic and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, then add the chopped tomatoes and the oregano and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Put the mushrooms back in the pan and cook for 1 minute or until liquid is almost completely absorbed. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Spread half the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking dish or pan.
Lay a sheet of lasagna on a board, spoon on some filling, top with a little parmesan and roll up, forming a cylinder. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets and filling. Place the cannelloni in the baking dish on top of the tomato, the cover with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly and pasta is cooked.

Serves 5-6