Tag Archives: pasta

Summertime Pasta Salad

1 Reply

Another cool salad for these hot summer days.

caul

And this pasta is so, so good. And, I just realized, it’s not actually summer yet. This is still summertime pasta salad. 🙂

all

My mom has always made a pasta salad that I like. She uses Italian dressing and salad supreme. I have always enjoyed it. It kind of reminds me of more “traditional” pasta salad compared to this one.

noodles

This idea came from Greg’s mom. Last summer she made some amazing pasta salad with this Gazebo Room Greek dressing on it. I loved it. So did Greg. We made it several times on our own that summer.

dressing

I have made this pasta salad  three times in the last two weeks. It is that good.

pour

I don’t know what it is about the dressing. It just has the perfect taste. It’s flavorful but not overly Greek-y. Sometimes Greek dressing can be very strong, but this one is just enough.

salad

And for noodles, any noodle can work in this! Use what you love. We have made it with these spinach linguine noodles, with spiral noodles and, this time, with whole wheat chiocciole noodles (which I also used in this pasta). It has been good with every single noodle we’ve tried.

salad1

Same with veggies. Add what you like. Add a lot or add a little. In this one I used cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes and corn. Also good in this is cucumber and black beans. You have got to try  those too (I just didn’t have them).

pasta3

Also, cheese. Try cheese. I didn’t have it on hand, so I left it out this time. It’s just as good without, but cheese is never a bad decision. I would suggest mozzarella, any kind of cubed cheddar or feta. But try any that you like!

pasta6

It’s delicious, simple and completely customizable. Pick your favorite noodle, pick your favorite veggies and pick your favorite cheese. Use this Greek dressing. If your store doesn’t have this brand, I would just try another one. I just know that I love using this one for this noodle salad.

pasta5

Boil noodles, mix in veggies, pour on dressing, stir well and enjoy! Delicious food can be that simple.

pasta7

Ingredients
1 pound of noodles (I used chiocciole noodles)
1 bottle of Gazebo Room Greek salad dressing and marinade 
2 cups of cauliflower, chopped small
2 cups of broccoli, chopped small
1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, quartered
1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
Other ideas: chopped cucumber, black beans, cheese, or any veggie that you love (I would love to hear what you would use!)

Chop all of your veggies. I chop the veggies very small for this pasta salad. Use cauliflower, broccoli, tomato, corn, cucumber or any other veggie that you love. Also chop or prepare the cheese, if using.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook noodles according to directions on package. Rinse the pasta with cold water when it’s done cooking so that it won’t be sticky in the salad.

Add the noodles and the chopped veggies (and the cheese, if using) to a very large bowl. Start with once cup of the dressing and give everything a very good stir. If it seems like it needs more, add more dressing until you are satisfied with the taste and “wetness” of the salad. A lot of times pasta salad will dry out as it sits in the refrigerator so it is nice to have some dressing left over to add when you are ready to serve it.

Serve cold and enjoy!

Notes:
-This makes excellent leftovers. Like I said above, if it seems like it needs more dressing after a day or two, add more right before serving. The amount of dressing you use will vary depending on the type of noodle you use, the amount of veggies and how long you have it as leftovers.

Eggplant + Zucchini Tomato Pasta

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Last Friday, pizza. This Friday, pasta.

noodles

This pasta. Is so good.

eggplant1

I’ve been on a pasta hiatus for a little while. Not on purpose. It’s just not something I’ve been craving. Then this goat cheese pasta happened. And now this.

kale

This pasta is fresh, it’s flavorful. It’s filled with veggies. It’s light. A big bowl of this won’t make you wish you hadn’t. It will make you happy!

paste

Really, this pasta has been a highlight of my day the past few days. I’ve been looking forward to it. Once lunch has been over, I  have started thinking about the big steamy bowl of this pasta I will eat for dinner. It makes me happy. 🙂

zuke

I don’t know what it is. Because this really is so super simple. Just (canned!) tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, kale, onions, some fresh garlic, basil and cheese. And great noodles. Great noodles are key.

noodle

I used little chiocciole noodles. I had never heard of them before. But I saw them. And thought they were cute. So I got them. And they are perfect. I cut the zucchini and eggplant the same size as the noodles so everything is just the same size and happy together. 🙂

pan

If you don’t think you like eggplant, you should still try this.

steaming

It cooks up nicely in this dish. It’s not tough at all. It has the same texture as the zucchini in this pasta. It might be from the salting technique I describe in the recipe. Salting the eggplant and zucchini before cooking releases most excess water in the vegetables and helps them cook better.

finished

Oh, and after I made this, I read that you should not cook tomato dishes in cast iron because it will break down the seasoning. Oops. You live and you learn, I guess. I re-seasoned mine.

finished1

One big bowl of happiness coming your way!

eat

Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
1 medium zucchini
1 medium eggplant
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 – 14 oz. cans of diced tomatoes
2 cups chopped kale
14 oz. of noodles, I used chiocciole noodles
Fresh basil, for topping
Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for topping

Start this pasta by prepping the eggplant and zucchini. Thickly slice the eggplant and zucchini. Lay them on a baking sheet and generously sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you will see water droplets on top of the sliced veggies. Take a paper towel and absorb the water from the slices. Flip the slices and sprinkle the other side with salt. Let sit another 15 minutes and then absorb the water droplets from that side. You can read + see the method thoroughly here. This process will help the eggplant and zucchini cook better by helping them not release as much water.

While the zucchini and eggplant are sitting, put a pot of water on to boil for the noodles. Open your cans of tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Chop the kale and basil. Dice the onion. Shred some parmesan for topping. Cook the noodles once the water boils. Once the zucchini and eggplant process is done, chop them.

In a pan or pot, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to get soft and slightly brown. Add the chopped zucchini and eggplant. Cook another 5-7 minutes,  or until the veggies are soft and slightly brown as well. Add the tomato paste and stir. Add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes. Stir well, so that the tomato paste is completely incorporated into the  other veggies. Cook for several minutes, until the sauce begins to slightly simmer. Add the chopped kale and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes, making sure that the kale gets soft and the the sauce thickens.

If you cook the sauce in a big enough pan or pot, stir the noodles right into the sauce and then serve. If your pan isn’t big enough to hold the pasta too (mine wasn’t), scoop some noodles onto a serving dish and then top with sauce.

Top the pasta with parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil to serve.

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Sauce with Kale and Fish

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I’ve got an idea for you.

ingredients

Do you remember the roasted tomato sauce I made a few days ago?

I have a super quick dinner idea using it that is unbelievably delicious.

Final Rav1

Roasted tomato sauce, fish, lemon and kale served over ravioli.

A few simple ingredients can create unforgettable food, and that is exactly what this did.

Final Rav

Method

(Makes two servings)

9 oz. ravioli (I used mushroom)

Olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 small white fish fillets (I used flounder)

1/2 lemon

1/2 T. crushed red pepper flakes

3/4 c. roasted tomato sauce

2 c. chopped kale

Salt and pepper

Freshly grated asiago cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, cook ravioli according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat about 2 T. olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once warm, add minced garlic and stir around to flavor the oil. Add fish and cook until just done. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over the fish and add crushed red pepper flakes. Then pour tomato sauce into the pan and gently stir, slightly breaking up the fish. Add kale and continue to cook until tender.

Serve sauce over ravioli and season with salt, pepper and freshly grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomatoes – Two Ways

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I’ve got comfort food coming your way today.

Basil

Over the weekend, I headed home to spend some time with my family and cook with my mom. Believe it or not, we roasted 10 lbs. of tomatoes with a broken oven. We each had a separate plan for our tomatoes. Me – tomato sauce, her – tomato soup.

Onion

Both turned out wonderfully.

Toms

Doesn’t eating soup from a mug make it taste even better?? Not that it needed to — great job mom!

Soup

With this sauce on hand, pasta will be happening very soon.

sauce

Method

For the soup and for the sauce:

Start with:

2.5 lbs. assorted tomatoes

Olive oil

A head of garlic

2 sweet onions

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400*. Cut tomatoes into large chunks and place on a baking sheet. Place two whole cloves of garlic on the baking sheet. Slice onions and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 20 minutes, or until tomatoes are soft.

*You will need to do this in multiple rounds, or on more than one baking sheet at once, for all 2.5 lbs. of tomatoes. Place two garlic cloves and some onion on each baking sheet you do.

Next:

For tomato soup

1 quart stock (vegetable or chicken)

1 T. butter

1/2 c. chopped basil

1/2 c. heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Grated asiago cheese

Place roasted tomato, garlic and onion mixture into a large pot. Add stock and butter and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add chopped basil. Turn down heat and, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Add heavy cream and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with grated asiago cheese.

For tomato sauce

15 basil leaves

Place roasted tomato, garlic and onion mixture into a food processor. Add basil leaves. Process until smooth, or desired consistency is reached.

Enjoy!