Roasted Pepper & Caramelized Onion Pasta

Posted on by Amanda Leave a comment

Sometimes I feel guilty about eating pasta if I’m not having any vegetables, but it makes it better when you can hide some veggies into the sauce! Summer veggie season is coming to a close so I’m visiting as many farmer’s markets as I can before they close. Roasted peppers and caramelized onions give the sauce some natural sweetness and the heavy cream makes it super unctuous and rich. This sauce is definitely addicting and so easy to make with little hands-on time required.

Ingredients

Bell peppers – I recommend using red or orange for the colors and extra sweetness. Green will be less sweet but still super tasty.

Onions – Use any you like! Once they are roasted, any onion will have a more mellow, sweet flavor. I used what I had on hand – one red and one sweet!

Heavy cream – Feel free to substitute with a non-dairy alternative.

veggies
roasted
blend together!

Roasted Pepper & Caramelized Onion Pasta

Print Recipe
Roasted peppers & caramelized onions make a creamy pasta sauce with a sweetness from red peppers and mellowed onions.
Course Main Course
Keyword caramelized onions, pasta, roasted peppers

Equipment

  • 1 blender

Ingredients

  • 3 bell peppers
  • 2 onions
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • olive oil
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano grated
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 pound pasta

Instructions

  • Peel onions and cut in half. Then slice each half into large half moons about 1 inch thick. Transfer to baking sheet.
  • Peel 1 bulb of garlic and transfer to baking sheet.
  • Remove seeds, stems, and ribs from bell peppers and chop into ~2×2 inch pieces. Transfer to baking sheet.
  • Generously drizzle vegetables with olive oil and season with plenty of salt and pepper.
  • Toss vegetables to distribute oil & seasonings.
  • Ensure vegetables are in one even layer on the baking sheet and then bake with convection on, if possible, at 400F for 30 minutes.
  • Part way through baking, stir vegetables on sheet tray to ensure even cooking. Ensure vegetables are in a single layer again before returning to oven.
  • After peppers and onions have roasted with some color and onions are frizzled and caramelized, allow to cool for 10 minutes.
  • Blend onions, garlic, and peppers with 1 cup of heavy cream and Pecorino Romano.
  • Cook 1 pound of pasta in heavily salted water a few minutes under suggested cook time on packaging.
  • Reserve 2 cups of pasta water minimum.
  • In a separate pan, add pasta sauce and par cooked pasta. Add pasta water 1/2 cup at a time until all pasta is evenly coated in the sauce.
  • Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with fresh basil and toasted pine nuts.

More pasta? Make your own Fresh Egg Pasta and have it as Anchovy Oil Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto

Carrot Top Pesto

Posted on by Amanda Leave a comment

Carrots in the summer are so beautiful. Every farmer’s market stand has them on display with their frilly, green tops still attached. They’re just too pretty to get rid of! Carrot tops have a light carrot-y flavor, but are a little pepper-y like arugula. The green tops are perfect blended into a sauce like a carrot top pesto. Carrot top pesto is great for some hot, long noodles or mixed into a smaller pasta for a pasta salad.

I used mine with some capellini pasta. The pesto was thinned out with some pasta water and some frozen peas were added! You can also just make a Basil Pesto if you aren’t feeling too adventurous to try carrot tops. 🙂

Ingredients:

Carrot tops: I think the carrot tops here can really be substituted with a multitude of herbs to make a beautiful sauce. Sub with basil for a more traditional pesto or go wild with parsley and cilantro.

Pine nuts and walnuts: I like the combination and flavor of both! If you could only pick one, I would not skip the pine nuts.

Pecorino romano: my favored salty hard cheese!

Lemon juice: You can substitute this with any acid! I used a Meyer lemon vinegar too and it was lovely.

Olive oil: I got a coupon to try this new one, Colive, that is very tasty but also has a beautiful mission.

so beautiful!
toasted nuts
blitzed
add greens
olive oil
pesto!

Carrot Top Pesto

Print Recipe
Minimal waste pesto using green carrot tops for a carrot-y, pepper-y sauce.
Course Main Course
Keyword carrot, pasta, pesto

Equipment

  • 1 blender or food processor

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1/3 cup walnuts
  • 2 cups packed carrot tops
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

  • Toasted your pine nuts and walnuts in the oven until golden brown and fragrant. They can be toasted in a pan or in the oven at 350F for 3-5 minutes.
  • While toasting, wash your carrot tops and trim off any leafy bits that are wilted or dry. Cut into smaller chunks to more easily fit into a food processor or blender.
  • After nuts have toasted, add nuts, garlic, and cheese to blend first until into a smaller grit.
  • Add carrot tops and pulse until mostly blended.
  • Continue blending and drizzle in olive oil. Reduce or add additional as necessary until achieved desired consistency.
  • Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste.
  • Mix into some pasta or serve alongside some bread or crackers!

Try this pesto with Pesto Roasted Potatoes

Pasta Salad

Posted on by Amanda Leave a comment

For some reason, everyone has really been loving a lunchtime work meeting, so I’ve been trying to make more “prepped” lunches for days where I really can’t step away for long to take a break (is this an unhealthy work environment?) I also recently got a walking pad to slide under my desk for when I’m feeling restless, and meals on the go (on the walking pad) should be relatively spill resistant and easy to transport from plate to mouth. In comes, the pasta salad! No reheating required. I can easily spoon this from the master pasta salad container into another bowl, bring it back to my desk/walking pad, and shovel some into my mouth in between meetings.

Ingredients

Pasta – I like using some macaroni or rotini for pasta salad. Their size makes consumption simple since they are easily spooned or forked up. Minimal spills!

Vegetables – I like crunchy vegetables like bell peppers and onions. This could also be really lovely with diced pickles or zingy capers. The key is the consistency in the chop so nothing seems too large in a bite.

Sauce – Our dressing/sauce here is a mayo-sour cream blend that is brightened up using some vinegar. You can use all sour cream or all mayo, but the additional vinegar will be to taste.

Salami – feel free to leave this out to make it meatless 🙂

boil pasta
onions & salami
pasta in
peppers in
done!

Pasta Salad

Print Recipe
Pasta salad, perfect to prep for a busy week or make in bulk for a fun gathering.
Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
Keyword pasta, salad

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pasta macaroni preferred
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pepper
  • 2 bell peppers diced
  • 1/4 cup diced red or sweet onion
  • 1 stalk green onion sliced
  • 1/4 cup salami diced

Instructions

  • Boil pasta accordingly to package.
  • In a large container, mix together diced onion, green onion, salami, mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar.
  • When pasta is done, drain and rinse.
  • When pasta is relatively cool to the touch, add to the sauce and mix.
  • Mix in bell peppers. Taste and adjust seasonings for salt & pepper.
  • Allow to refrigerate at least 2 hours and then serve!

Salad party? Try The Work From Home Salad

Have some soup with it – Tomato Basil Soup or Pumpkin Soup

Lasagna

Posted on by Amanda Leave a comment

Holidays were easy in terms of food preparation requirements this year. Each person was instructed to bring an item to share so really each person only had to make one thing! I’m an overachiever that likes leftovers so I made 3.25. I will take credit for 1/4 of this lasagna for contributing to the sauce and being an assembler during layering. This lasagna is saucy from the homemade tomato sauce and ricotta spread, has a good cheese pull from layers of extra cheese, and crispy edges so the center will satisfy your soft-lasagna people and the edges will satisfy your crispy-lasagna people.

We made two lasagnas. The first lasagna was a “classic” spicy Italian sauce and the second lasagna was a vegetarian one with mushroom as our filling. Depending on the size of your dish, you may need to break some of your lasagna noodles. If you use a 9 x 13 dish, you will not need to break any noodles!

Ingredients

Tomato Sauce – use your favorite but I like to make my own by further reducing my Tomato Basil Soup.

Protein – I would suggest a spicy Italian sausage for this if you’d like some meat, but it’s also really delicious with a variety of mushrooms (morel, button, chanterelle) and if you’re feeling adventurous, some olives!

Cheese – I like using a combination of mozzarella, monterey jack, and parmesan.

sauce the bottom
spread
start 1st layer!
sauce
ricotta
mushroom/protein
cheese
2nd layer & repeat
bake

Lasagna

Print Recipe
Cheesy, saucy lasagna with a gooey center and crispy edges to satisfy any lasagna lover.
Course Main Course
Keyword lasagna, pasta
Cook Time 45 minutes

Equipment

  • 9×13 baking dish

Ingredients

  • 32 ounces tomato sauce
  • 16 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 8 ounces monterey jack cheese shredded
  • 8 ounces Parmesan cheese shredded
  • 9 sheets lasagna noodles
  • 2 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 lb Italian sausage cooked

Instructions

  • Par cook your lasagna noodles just a few minutes shy of the required cooking time on the box. Ensure your noodles are in salted water and stir every minute to ensure they do not stick.
  • If Italian sausage has not been cooked yet, saute until browned and broken into smaller pieces. Remove from any casing if required.
  • While noodles are cooking, make your ricotta mixture by mixing together ricotta, egg, and Italian seasoning.
  • Mix your mozzarella, monterey jack, and parmesan cheeses together.
  • Now that your ingredients are prepped, it is time to assemble!
  • At the bottom on the dish, add about 1 cup of sauce and spread.
  • Next, layer 3 cooked lasagna, 1 cup of sauce, and half of ricotta cheese mixture. Sprinkle about 1 cup of cheese and half of the sausage.
  • Repeat another layer of pasta, sauce, ricotta cheese, cheese mix, and sausage. You will have used up all of the ricotta cheese and sausage mix.
  • On the last layer, place your last 3 lasagna noodles on top of the mix, spread the remaining sauce and layer the top with remaining cheese.
  • Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly. If You may need to place a sheet tray under your baking dish in case any cheese bubbles over.
  • Let cool about 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Try some other pasta recipes like Creamy Morel Mushroom Pasta or Sun-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta.

Fresh Egg Pasta

Posted on by Amanda Leave a comment

No one really has the time to make fresh pasta regularly, but it certainly is a treat when you have a few spare hours and want a mini-project to keep you busy. All the ingredients that are needed are most likely already on hand! Fresh pasta has a chewier, bouncier texture than the typical grocery store dried pasta. It’s more difficult to make all the fun shapes that you can easily find at the store, but I feel like fresh pasta is best enjoyed in a long noodle form anyway.

Fresh pasta is also a great meal to make with friends. Have each person come over with a different kind of sauce and tell them to be ready to work and covered in flour. You can make a couple dough balls in advance so that they have time to rest. When your friends arrive, set them up in an assembly line. Have a few people making more dough, a few people rolling and cutting, and a few people on boiling and sauce tossing. I love using my stand mixer and pasta maker attachments. At the end of the day, everyone will be so satisfied from a delicious meal and an evening of hard work.

egg in flour/salt
start mixing
turn out
keep kneading!
cover with cloth
cut & roll

Fresh Egg Pasta

Print Recipe
Simple ingredients that turn into such chewy, bouncy pasta.
Course Main Course
Keyword noodles, pasta
Servings 1 person

Equipment

  • 1 pasta roller

Ingredients

  • 90 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Weigh out your flour onto a surface or bowl and mix in the salt. I recommend multiplying this recipe by the number of people you are planning on serving. If you are having multiple sides/appetizers/desserts with the meal, you could make 1 recipe amount for 2 people.
  • Make a well in the center of the flour/salt and crack the egg in.
  • Using a fork or your fingers, break up the egg and slowly start mixing the surrounding flour walls into the egg.
  • Continue to mix the egg and flour.
  • When you can no longer mix the egg and flour with a fork, switch to your hands! If you have your mix in a bowl, I would recommend turning it out onto a flat surface at this time.
  • Continue pressing, folding, kneading the dough until you have a smooth dough ball. If the dough is still too sticky, add 1/2 tsp of flour at a time until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry and falling apart, run your hands underwater so they are damp, and continue working the dough.
  • Shape the dough into a ball and cover with a damp towel for ~15 minutes to rest. After 15 minutes, the dough should be soft and smooth.
  • Cut the dough ball into smaller pieces to make it easier to work with when running through the pasta roller. Dust each side of the squished dough with flour to prevent sticking in the pasta roller.
  • Flatten the smaller dough balls and run through the pasta maker, starting at the widest setting and moving to the thinnest setting. Dust with additional flour if sheets are getting sticky or you notice significant wrinkles.
  • Cut sheet of pasta into shorter lengths to make them more manageable.
  • Repeat rolling of all pasta dough balls.
  • Change or adjust your attachment to whichever cutting form you like. I've really been liking the spaghetti shape right now.
  • Run the rolled sheets of pasta through the cutter one at a time.
  • Dust cut noodles with more flour to prevent them from sticking. If not using immediately, they can be frozen or hung to dry.
  • If serving immediately, cook in boiling water ~5 minutes until texture is to your liking.

Serve some veggies on the side like Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

Carbs on carbs, right? Have some bread or My Favorite Focaccia.

Creamy Morel Mushroom Pasta

Posted on by Amanda Leave a comment

A few weeks ago, my friend dropped off some morel mushrooms that she had foraged in the PNW. I had heard of morel mushrooms before, but had never seen them before. Morels have a very distinct look: narrow stem with a honeycomb-looking cap and completely hollow on the inside. I sautéed a few up and was hooked on first bite. Morels have a really meaty texture and a relatively mild mushroom flavor. If you don’t like mushrooms, this might be a great mushroom to try to see how you may like it.

Prepping Morel Mushrooms

The cleaning process may be very involved if you are foraging for morels vs if you are buying them at the grocery store. Cutting the morel from the ground during harvest ensures that any extra dirt doesn’t get pulled up from the ground. If buying them from the grocery store, you may want to slice of a bit of the end of the stem to ensure that you aren’t getting any extra dirt in your finished dish. From there, slice your morels in half to inspect for any bugs, worms or holes that may be present. You will want to discard those mushrooms. Finally, after cutting your mushrooms, they can be dunked in salt water to dislodge any remaining dirt or use a gentle brush to remove the dirt from the mushroom cap.

Ingredients

Morel mushroom – You could really use any mushroom for this pasta dish. I’d recommend portobello, crimini, or shiitake mushrooms as more accessible substitutes, but really use whatever mushroom you’d like. If using larger mushrooms, cut them into smaller bite-sized pieces.

Garlic – The garlic makes the sauce all that more interesting but doesn’t overpower the mushroom flavor.

Pasta – Use whatever shape you like! I had some spirals available on hand but this would be really great with some long noodles too.

garlic
saute with oil
add some butter
morels, in!
cooked down with rosemary

Creamy Morel Mushroom Pasta

Print Recipe
A simple way to enjoy those seasonal morel mushrooms.
Course Main Course
Keyword morel, mushrooms, pasta

Ingredients

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 cups morel mushrooms
  • 1 cup milk
  • salt
  • pepper
  • rosemary

Instructions

  • Clean your morel mushrooms and cut into your desired size. If you have smaller mushrooms you can leave them whole too.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions.
  • Slice garlic into thin slivers and saute in olive oil until softened.
  • Add butter and then morels, continuing to cook. Morels will shrink in size.
  • Add milk. Continue simmering to thicken the sauce.
  • Add salt & pepper to taste and mix in some fresh rosemary.
  • Spoon sauce and mushrooms over your pasta and top with more rosemary!

Try some other pasta like Sun-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta.

Want a side for this pasta? I’d make some Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts to accompany.

Having a dinner party? Make a dessert like Peach Galette to accompany.

Sun-dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

Posted on by Amanda Leave a comment

When I want a creamy pasta dinner in a pinch, I turn to goat cheese for a quick, tangy sauce that comes together quickly. Perfect for a weeknight dinner, this pasta comes together in about 30 minutes and will satiate any carb cravings. Make it your own by adding different herbs, spice it with some pepper flakes, or top it with breadcrumbs or walnuts for an added crunch.

Ingredients

Pasta – Use any noodle type you like! I opted for more of a fusilli shape since its able to hold more sauce in it. This is also really great with a spaghetti, penne, or bucatini.

Goat cheese – I know goat cheese isn’t for everyone, so this can definitely be substituted for cream cheese or marscapone. You’ll want a thicker, creamy cheese to help develop a thick, luscious sauce.

sauté onions
onions + sundried tomatoes
milk + spinach
extra parm!
topped with walnuts

Sun-dried Tomato Goat Cheese Pasta

Print Recipe
A sauce-y pasta dinner perfect for a weeknight meal.
Course Main Course
Keyword goat cheese, pasta

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 sweet onion thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 5 ounces goat cheese
  • 16 ounces pasta
  • 1/4 cup parmesan optional

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to packaging instructions.
  • While water is boiling and pasta is cooking, sauté onions in a heavy bottom skillet with olive oil, salt, and pepper on medium heat.
  • When onions are starting to brown, add sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook until onions are caramelized.
  • Turn heat down to medium-low and add in the white wine. Scrape any bits off the bottom of the pot.
  • Add milk, goat cheese, and spinach and mix to combine. Ensure that all of the goat cheese has been thoroughly mixed into the sauce.
  • When sauce elements are combined, add in the cooked pasta and stir gently. If sauce needs loosening up, add some pasta water.
  • (optional) Stir in parmesan.
  • Taste pasta for seasonings and add extra salt and pepper as needed.
  • Serve pasta and add any other toppings like toasted walnuts, breadcrumbs, or red pepper flakes.

Try something else for dinner like Mapo (ish) Tofu or Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

Want dessert? Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls or Kitchen Sink Cookies.