PASTA: Dried mushrooms have intense favour that goes well in any sauce to serve with pasta. Enjoy!

FARFALLE WITH PORCINI MUSHRROMS AND TOMATO SAUCE:

 

 

 

8 oz. dried Farfalle (bow tie) pasta

1 ½ oz. dried porcini (cep) mushrooms                      

sauce:

    1 tbsp. olive oil

    1 tbsp. chopped garlic                                                         

    2-3 shallots, chopped

    ½ recipe tomato sauce (attached)                                                    

    1 tbsp. each cream & milk                                                              

    2 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

    salt   & fresh ground pepper to taste                                                           

2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated

 

 

 

Soak the ceps or porcini in a bowl with 1 cup of hot water for at least 30 minutes, or until soft. Squeeze out liquid from mushrooms over the bowl; then cut mushrooms into dice.  Strain liquid into a small saucepan and boil until reduced to 4 tbsp. Set aside.

 

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add shallots and mushrooms and cook 2 minutes more.  Add tomato sauce and let mixture simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in cream, milk, mushroom soaking liquid and salt & pepper. Heat through and taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

 

Cook pasta in a large bowl containing 7 quarts of water with 2 tbsp. salt added, for 9-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and add into sauce. Toss well to coat. Add cheese, mix briefly and serve at once.

BASIC TOMATO SAUCE FOR PASTA:****

 

 

 

 

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil                                         

 

1 Spanish, or red onion, chopped

 

4 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced                           

 

3 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

 

½ medium carrot; thinly chopped                               

 

2 x 28-oz cans plum tomatoes

 

¾ tsp. chopped, fresh or ½ tsp. dried oregano

 

8 fresh basil leaves, chopped

 

2 tbsp. chopped Italian parsley                                   

 

salt and fresh ground pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and cook until soft. Add rest of chopped vegetables and cook 5 to 10 minutes more. Crush tomatoes and add into pan; then bring to a boil. Add chopped herbs, salt and pepper.

 

Lower heat and simmer sauce for 30 to 45 minutes until thick. Adjust seasoning. This sauce holds 1 week in refrigerator or up to 6 months in freezer. Recipe can be doubled.

 

To freshen sauce from freezer:  Heat 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp. butter in a heavy pan. Cook ¼ cup finely-chopped onion until soft. Add pinch of oregano and basil and the frozen or thawed tomato sauce. Cook over low heat 15 to 20 minutes. It is ready to be served.

PASTA: If you are looking for a meatless but delicious white (cream) sauce to go with pasta, please give my favourite recipe a try.

CAPELLINI (ANGEL HAIR PASTA) WITH WILD MUSHROOMS:

 

 

 

½ lb. capellini or angel hair pasta        

¼ oz. each dried porcini mushrooms (ceps) and porcini

½ oz. dried chanterelles mushrooms               

sauce:

    1 cup veal stock

    ¼ cup white wine                                        

    ½ cup whipping cream

   salt and pepper

2 tbsp. butter                                                   

2 shallots, chopped

2 leeks, green only, cut into julienne strips

fresh dill for garnish

 

 

 

Soak dried mushrooms in enough warm water to cover for at least 2 hours. Wash mushrooms thoroughly to remove grits. Squeeze all the liquid from the mushrooms and reserve.

 

Strain the mushroom soaking liquid through a paper coffee filter into a saucepan. Simmer liquid until reduced by half. Add veal stock and continue to reduce until liquid is thick enough to thinly coat a spoon.

 

In another heavy pan, melt butter and sauté shallots and garlic. Add mushrooms and cook for 1-2 minutes; then transfer mixture to a large bowl. Heat pan up; then add in white wine to deglaze the pan. When the wine comes to a boil, return mushroom mixture to pan and simmer at reduced heat for 15 minutes. Add cream and salt and pepper to taste.

 

Cook angel hair pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain.

 

Divide pasta equally between 6 serving plates. Pour mushroom mixture over each serving to serve, garnished with strips of leeks and dill.

Pasta: This is more or less my "standard" version of serving pasta with "seafood & tomato sauce". Hope you like it.

CAPELLINI (ANGEL HAIR PASTA) WITH SEAFOOD SAUCE;;

 

 

 

 

1 lb. medium-sized shrimp                                                     

½ lb. sea scallops

15 littleneck clams

sauce:

    6 large cloves of garlic, crushed                             

    6 tbsp. olive oil                                                       

    black pepper & 1 tsp. hot pepper flakes                                                     

    3 tbsp. chopped parsley                                          

    salt to taste

    2 cups crushes and peeled fresh or canned tomatoes

1 lb. store-bought/home-made angel-hair pasta or capellini****

 

 

 

 

In a heavy saucepan heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over moderate heat until hot.  Add garlic and brown slightly. Add tomatoes and pepper flakes. Simmer mixture for 20 minutes.

 

Shell and de-vein shrimp. Wash and drain scallops and slice in half horizontally.

 

To treat clams:  With each clam in the palm of your left hand and holding hand out over a bowl to catch the juice, force the blade of an oyster knife in between the shells. Cut around under the top shell to release the muscle that clamps the shells together. Rotate the blade between the shells to force them open. Run the blade under the body of the clam to release and remove it. Pour clam juice into the bowl. Repeat with the rest of the clams. Chop the clam meat and place in a bowl. Set aside.

 

In a separate saucepan, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Stir in shrimp and scallops and cook 30 seconds. Stir in clams and clam juice. Raise heat to high and bring mixture to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often. Pour in tomato sauce and bring to boil again.  Turn off heat.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour on 2 more tbsp. olive oil and the chopped parsley.

 

In a large saucepan, bring 7 quarts of water, 2 tbsp. salt added, to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Add pasta into tomato sauce with seafood. Toss well and serve at once.

 

 

 

 

****Any pasta of choice can be used to substitute for capellini****

PASTA: This recipe has been in my family for many many years. It is definitely better than the packaged "Mac & Cheese" one buys from the store.

MACARONI & CHEESE:

 

 

1 ¾ cups dried elbow macaroni                                              

veggie mix:****

    ¾ cup coarsely chopped onion

    ½ cup chopped green peppers                                            

    1 cup sliced mushrooms

sauce:

    3 tbsp. butter                                                                       

    1½ tbsp. flour

    1 tsp. dry mustard                                                   

    ¾ tsp. salt

    ¼ tsp. oregano                                                                    

    2 ½ cups scalded milk

    2 ½ cups grated Cheddar cheese                             

½ cup fine dry bread crumbs

 

 

Cook macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and turn into a buttered 2 ½ -quart casserole.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook onions, green pepper and mushrooms in butter over medium-high heat until tender. Blend in flour, mustard, salt and oregano and cook mixture over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook sauce over medium heat until slightly thickened. Add 2 cups of grated cheese and stir until melted. Pour sauce over macaroni and stir gently to mix. Combine remaining cheese and bread crumbs and sprinkle on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

 

 

**** When cooking for children who might not like vegetables in their macaroni & cheese, omit the vegetables. Cook macaroni. Make sauce by melting 1 tbsp. butter over low heat and adding flour to make a roux. Cook roux for 3 minutes, stirring often; then whisk in scalded milk and proceed in the same way.****   

PASTA: Ravioli can be filled with such a large variety of fillings that makes it a very versatile pasta indeed.

BASIC RAVIOLI:

 

 

1 quantity of basic pasta dough                                  

filling of choice

 

 

 

To make ravioli: Divide pasta dough into 4 portions and roll each out into a long thin sheet in a pasta machine on the thinnest setting. Mark each sheet of pasta with a flat palette knife into 8 equal portions, approximately 3 ½ -inch square. 

 

 

 

Place 1 tbsp. filling in the center of each square. Top with a second sheet of pasta. Cut each square out along the marked edges with a pasta cutter or sharp knife. Press the edges together to seal and trim pasta into neat squares. Continue with remaining pasta and filling until they are all filled. Leave for 5-10 minutes to dry slightly before cooking.

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tbsp. salt. Drop ravioli into the water and cook for about 3 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BASIC PASTA DOUGH:

 

 

 

4 cups (1 lb.) all purpose flour                                   

4 large eggs

½ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil                                         

½ tsp. salt

 

 

 

Measure and mound the flour on a smooth flat work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour. Drop the eggs, salt and olive oil into the well. With a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour into egg mixture, starting with the inner rim of the well.  As you expand the well, keep mixing the flour and egg mixture and working it until a cohesive mass is formed. Lightly flour the board and start kneading this with both hands, using the palm of your hands. Continue kneading for 5-10 minutes until dough becomes smooth and quite elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic, or covered by an inverted bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour, at room temperature.

PASTA: If you like gnocchi and Gorgonzola cheese, this receipe will be a delight to try out.

POTATO & WALNUT GNOCCHI WITH GORGONZOLA AND BASIL SAUCE:

 

 

 

 

gnocchi:

    3 oz. walnuts ground                                              

    3 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

    1 lb. potatoes                                                          

    1 tbsp. butter, softened

    2 egg yolks                                                 

    1 cup all purpose flour

    salt and pepper

sauce:

    ½ cup butter                                    

    2 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

    ¼ cup of basil leaves chopped        

    2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

    3 tbsp. water

 

 

Cook potatoes until tender. Peel and mashed. Add ground walnut and Gorgonzola cheese and beat the mixture to allow cheese to melt. Add butter, egg yolks, half of the flour and salt and pepper. Mix well.

 

Turn this mixture out onto a lightly floured board. Gently knead in the remaining flour, a little at a time, to form a smooth dough. Leave to cool.

 

Roll the dough out into 1-inch diameter cylinders, and cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Roll each piece over the prongs of a fork to form a decorative shape. Place the gnocchi on a floured surface and leave to dry for about 1 hour.

 

Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

 

Add butter and water into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Whisk in gorgonzola cheese, whisking to melt; then add basil leaves, salt and pepper to taste. Roll the gnocchi in the sauce to serve, sprinkled with the Parmesan cheese.

PASTA: Here are 2 variations to the basic home-made gnocchi recipe.

GREEN GNOCCHI:

 

 

 

2 lb. cooked spinach                                                   

1 lb. potato

1 ½ cups all purpose flour                                          

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. salt                                                                    

2 tbsp. olive oil

 

 

 

Squeeze out liquid from cooked spinach. Follow basic technique in making gnocchi, adding spinach, flour, salt and beaten egg to cooked potatoes..  

 

Toss cooked and drained gnocchi with 2 tbsp. olive oil and set aside until needed.

 

 

 

 

 

ROASTED- PEPPER-FLAVOURED GNOCCHI:

 

 

 

2 medium bell peppers                                               

1 lb. potato, cooked

1 ½ cups all purpose flour                                          

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. salt                                                                    

 

 

 

Roast peppers over a grill until charred all over. Put peppers into a paper bag for 15 minutes. Peel, seed and finely chop peppers. Follow recipe for basic gnocchi, add peppers into cooked potatoes together with flour, salt and the beaten egg. Cook and drain gnocchi and toss with olive oil until needed.

PASTA: If you like gnocchi, please give this version a try in making them at home from scratch.

BASIC GNOCCHI (POTATO PASTA) DOUGH:

 

 

 

3 lbs. russet potatoes                                       

2 cups all purpose flour

1 extra large egg                                              

1 tsp. salt

½ cup canola oil

 

 

Cover whole potatoes with water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook at a simmer until they are soft, about 45 minutes. While still warm, peel the potatoes and pass them through a vegetable mill onto a clean board.

 

Bring a large pot of water, about 6 cups, to a boil. Set up an ice bath with 6 cups of ice and 6 cups water nearby.

 

Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle all over with the flour. Break the egg in the center of the well, add the salt.  Stir into the flour and potatoes with a fork and make up dough in the same way as in making pasta dough.  Knead the dough gently for 4 minutes.

 

Divide the dough into 6 balls. Roll each ball into 3/4-inch-diameter ropes and cut the ropes into 1-inch-long pieces. Score the sides of the pieces of dough with a fork and drop them into the boiling water. Cook gnocchi for about 1 minute or until they float to the surface.

 

Remove cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon and drop them into the ice-bath to stop cooking immediately. Continue with this process until all the gnocchi have been cooked and cooled for several minutes in the ice bath.

 

Drain the gnocchi and transfer to a mixing bowl. Toss with the oil and store covered in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours or until ready to be used.

PASTA: This is the basic technique in making pasta at home. It is relatively simple and the end result is very good. Please try it.

BASIC HOME-MADE PASTA DOUGH:

 

 

 

4 cups (1 lb.) all purpose flour                                   

4 large eggs

½ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil                                         

½ tsp. salt

 

 

 

Measure and mound the flour on a smooth flat work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour. Drop the eggs, salt and olive oil into the well. With a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour into egg mixture, starting with the inner rim of the well.  As you expand the well, keep mixing the flour and egg mixture and working it until a cohesive mass is formed. Lightly flour the board and start kneading this with both hands, using the palm of your hands. Continue kneading for 5-10 minutes until dough becomes smooth and quite elastic and a little sticky. Wrap the dough in plastic, or covered by an inverted bowl, and allow it to rest for 1 hour, at room temperature.

 

 

To cut pasta without a pasta machine:

 

Divide dough into 4 parts.  Using a rolling pin, roll each portion paper thin or at least 1/8-inch thick, dusting with flour as necessary to prevent sticking.

 

For fettuccine and tagliatelle—roll each thin sheet into a long jelly-roll. Cut the roll into ½-inch strips for fettuccini and ¾-inch for tagliatelle; unrolling the strips as you go so they don’t stick together. Cover straight-back chairs with plastic wraps, and drape pasta strips over the tops of chairs. Let the strips dry for 30 minutes.

 

For lasagne--- cut pasta sheet into 1 ½ to 2-inch strips.

 

For manicotti and cannelloni, cut pasta sheet into 4-inch squares.

 

 

To cut pasta using pasta machine: Set the smooth rollers of a pasta machine at the highest number (the rollers should be wide apart). Divide dough into 6 pieces and flatten each piece into a rectangle. Cover the remaining pieces while working with one piece. Dust the dough with flour and feed it through the rollers. Feed through the machine several times, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, until you have a long, thin sheet of pasta, ready to be cut into various sizes.

 

To cut Fettuccini, spaghetti or tagliatelle—use the cutter blades with various sizes. Feed one end of a sheet through the blades, holding the other end straight up from the machine. Catch the strips from underneath the machine before the sheet goes completely through the rollers. Drape pasta strips over plastic covered chair-backs to dry.

 

For lasagne or cannelloni, or ravioli, cut the sheets to the desired lengths.

 

 

To cook fresh pasta: Bring 6 to 7 quarts of water to a rolling boil and add 2 tbsp. salt. Blanch in boiling salted water for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and serve with sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

VARIATION OF PASTA DOUGH:

 

 

1.  Herb Pasta dough:  To infuse basic pasta with herbs or cooked vegetables, first chop or puree herbs to the texture of flour. Incorporate them in the ratio of 2 -3 tablespoons per pound of pasta. Stir or blend them into the eggs and carefully kneading it into the flour.  Care should be taken in rolling them in the pasta machine as flavoured pastas tear more easily.

 

 

2.  Green Pasta dough:

    4 cups all purpose flour                                          

    4 large eggs

    ½ tsp. olive oil                                                                    

    ½ tsp. salt                                                    

    6 oz. frozen spinach, defrosted, squeezed very dry, finely chopped

 

Add spinach into flour with the eggs and proceed as regular pasta dough.

 

 

3.  Black pepper pasta---add 2 tbsp. finely ground fresh pepper into the eggs.

 

 

4.  Whole wheat pasta:

     

     3 to 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour                            

     3 large eggs, beaten

     2 tbsp. butter                                                                      

     ½ cup warm milk

    fine cornmeal for dusting

 

 

Melt butter in the warm milk. Let it cool. Add milk mixture with the eggs to the well of flour and proceed to make pasta dough as before.

CHINESE COOKING: Rice vermicelli, in dried form, is a type of noodles that is versatile to cook with. Just llike tofu, it has no taste on its own, but readily absorbs favour from other ingredients and sauces that it is cooked with.

VERMICELLI WITH SHRIMP AND CHICKEN炒米粉:

 

 

 

½ pkg. store-bought dried rice vermicelli米粉            

½ cup small shrimp

1/2 cup chicken breast cut into strips                          

veggies:

    2 dried black mushrooms

    1 cup bean sprouts                                                  

    ½ cup Chinese yellow chives

    2 cloves garlic, crushed                                          

    3 slices ginger

seasoning for shrimp & chicken:

    1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt & pepper to taste                                                            

    1/2 tsp. tapioca starch

    1 tsp. light soy sauce                                                           

    dash of sesame oil

    1 tsp. rice wine or sherry

sauce::

    1 tsp. each salt & sugar

    1 tsp. each dark & light soy sauce                                      

    1 tbsp. oyster-flavoured sauce        

    1 cup chicken stock or water                                              

1 ½ tsp. tapioca or corn starch mixed with 3 tbsp. water

cooking oil

 

 

Soak mushrooms in hot water for 1-2 hours to soften. Discard stems and cut caps into thin strips.

 

Shell, wash and de-vein shrimp, pat dry and wrap up with double thickness of paper towels. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Toss shrimp and chicken together with seasoning ingredients and let it stand for 30 minutes.   

 

Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to a boil. Add vermicelli and stir to submerge it in the water. Remove pan from heat and let soak for 2-3 minutes to soften. Taste after 3 minutes to make sure noodles are soft but not mushy. Drain and toss with a little salt and cooking oil. Keep warm.

 

In a wok or non-stick saucepan over high heat, heat 2 tbsp oil until very hot. Add vermicelli, spreading it out in the pan and fry, undisturbed, until browned on one side. Transfer to a serving plate to keep warm.  Heat 2 tbsp. oil until very hot, add in 1 garlic clove and cook until fragrant. Add in shrimp and chicken and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until just cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon.

 

Heat 1 tbsp. oil until hot and cook the other garlic clove together with the rest of the veggies. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add stock together with seasoning ingredients and bring mixture to a boil. Add in starch solution to cook until sauce is thickened to good consistency, adding a little more water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasoning. Return shrimp and chicken to pan and mix in well. Pour sauce mixture over the vermicelli to serve.