Linguine and meatballs with a tomato-cream gorgonzola and marjoram sauce

This came out as a result of an intense craving for a creamy-gorgonzola-y pasta dish a few weeks ago after a run.

I had all meatballs in the freezer I needed to use (click here for a recipe) and pretty much everything else was idly sitting in my pantry and fridge.

Here's what happened in Poupette's kitchen that day.



INGREDIENTS (2 people):
- 1/2 pack of dry linguine
- a large handful of small meatballs (click here for a recipe)
- a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, reserve a few on the side for decoration
- 1 small basket of fresh cremini mushroom
- 1 medium onion
- 1 splash of olive oil
- 1/3 cup of heavy cream
- 1/4 cup of crumbled gorgonzola
Note: if you can, use gorgonzola dolce (a creamy, soft and almost sweet gorgonzola). I used the super acidic crumbly kind you can find easily in supermarkets here in the US, but it would have been orders of magnitude better with the dolce.
- 2 to 3 sprigs of fresh marjoram (oregano or thyme would work well as substitutes)
- freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving



RECIPE:
- bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the linguine al dente

- while the pasta is cooking, brown the meatballs in the olive oil over medium-high heat until golden but not yet cooked through, about 2-3 minutes

- in the same pan, saute the diced onion and sliced mushrooms over medium-high heat and deglaze the meatballs drippings with the moisture of the mushrooms, cover if necessary to create a steamy environment

- after 4-5 minutes, add the marjoram and fresh tomatoes and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes are soft (about 1-2 minutes). If it gets a little dry and starts to stick to the pan, add a ladleful of pasta cooking water and stir

- add in the cream and crumbled gorgonzola and cook over low heat until the meatballs are cooked through

- drain the pasta and serve hot sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper, a few fresh tomatoes and a healthy dose of parmesan shavings
- bon appetit!

Greenest pasta ever: Kale orecchiette alla primavera

Not much intro needed: let's all celebrate spring by making pasta alla primavera!



INGREDIENTS (2 people for a main dish, 4 people as a side):
- any pasta you like! (I used my homemade kale orecchiette, click here for a recipe)
- a bunch of green asparagus, rinsed and trimmed
- 1 small container of snow peas, rinsed
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled and bruised
- a few sprigs of fresh tarragon, leaves picked
- Parmesan, shaved
- a splash of olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Note: this recipe can be adapted to a vegan diet by using egg-free pasta


RECIPE:
- bring a pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the asparagus, snow peas and green peas for 2-3 minutes, then transfer into iced water to stop the cooking process. Keep the boiled water hot for cooking the pasta later.

- in a large skillet, add the bruised garlic clove into a splash of cold olive oil and cook over very low heat for a few minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant

Note: you do not want to fry the garlic golden here, you just want to infuse the oil and low heat is perfect for that
- after a few minutes, remove the garlic clove (it has served its purpose), add the cooled and drained blanched veggies to the skillet and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat

- meanwhile, bring the water back to a boil (it's ok if it has a green tinge from the blanching step) and cook the pasta until almost done.

Note: I like to under-cook my pasta at this stage, because I like them VERY al dente
Note 2: always reserve a little bit of your pasta water, it usually comes in very handy when making the sauce because it contains all the starch from the pasta and thickens beautifully
- when the pasta is almost cooked through, drain well and transfer into the skillet containing the vegetables. Toss well and add the chopped tarragon, half of the Parmesan and about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of pasta cooking liquid. Cook for another 1 minute over medium-high heat, or until the Parmesan has melted into the sauce and coats the pasta

- serve hot, sprinkled with fresh tarragon and a few shavings of Parmesan cheese
- Buon Appetito!

Fresh kale garganelli and lamb-shiitake bolognese

This is the best. Pasta. Ever!

Not only is it healthy with a bunch of fresh kale in the pasta dough (click here for the recipe) and lots of fresh meaty shiitake mushrooms in the sauce, the bolognese has this round, velvety taste from the lamb that will make you want to lick your plate!

Here's how you can make it!



INGREDIENTS (4 people):
- 1/2 to 1 quantity of fresh kale garganelli (click here for recipe)
- 1lb ground lamb
- 1 8oz bucket shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 onion, diced finely
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated
- 1 28oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1/4 cup of white wine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- parmesan cheese and basil leaves for decoration


RECIPE:
- in a large pan, brown the lamb in the olive oil over high heat, add the onion and garlic when the meat is cooked almost all the way and cook another 2 minutes (or until the onions are translucent)

- add the wine, rosemary, tomatoes and shiitake and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes, adding water if the sauce gets too thick or sticks to the bottom

- ladle over freshly cooked kale garganelli (or really any other type of pasta you fancy!)

- sprinkle with a healthy dose of freshly grated parmesan cheese and decorate with a few basil leaves
- trust me when I say this is probably the best pasta I've had in a few years and abandon yourself into the wave of deliciousness coming your way ;)

Fish and shrimp risotto

This is more of a what-ever-can-i-come-up-with-to-empty-the-pantry-and-the-freezer kinda mishmash recipe, but it works!

I was craving tomato rice the day I made this recipe, and since I had a TON of frozen fish (that I got for a bargain at the supermarket), I decided to incorporate this maritime ingredient into a risotto.

I made this quite a long time ago, but never really had the time to edit it into a blog entry. Since my next recipe will take another couple of days before I can post it up, I decided to tackle that one and have it ready for you for the weekend.

Hope you'll like!



INGREDIENTS (for 2 to 3 people):
- 1.5 cups arborio rice
- 1 15oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 to 3 cups of water (use 2 and then add more if needed)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, slivered
- 2 lbs of mixed fish and peeled deveined shrimp, cubed (I used frozen shrimp and fish that I thawed and drained, my personal fish mix was cod, tilapia and flounder)
- salt, pepper
- grated Parmesan cheese to taste


RECIPE:
- in a skillet, heat a glob of olive oil and saute the shallot and garlic until transparent. Do not let it brown.

- add the rice, and coat with oil. Cook for a minute or so on medium-high heat, until the rice is opaque and bright white. Do not let it brown.

- add the wine and a ladle of water, and stir until the liquid is absorbed.

- add the tomatoes and their liquid. Stir until the liquid is absorbed.

- add the rest of the water ladle by ladle, stirring until each ladle has been absorbed before adding the next one, until the rice is almost cooked through (about 25 minutes)
- when the rice is a few minutes shy of being done, add the shrimp, fish cubes, salt and pepper and cook for 5-8 minutes (or until cooked through)

- finish with a healthy dose of grated parmesan cheese

- serve hot, sprinkled with italian parsley

- Enjoy!