Whole wheat pasta with black kale pesto

This recipe contains only non refined carbs mixed with vegetable proteins and it’s a complete lunch. It is also a low GI recipe and its taste is simply delicious! Moreover it’s super easy to prepare!

Whole wheat pasta with black kale pesto

Ingredients (for 2 people):

• 140 gr whole wheat pasta
• 90 gr black kale
• 3 sun dried tomatoes
• 6 walnuts
• 3 spoons of extra virgin oil
• 1 can chickpeas (140 gr)
• salt

Cooking instructions:

1. Boil the sliced black kale in a little water for 8/10 minutes.
2. In kitchen robot mix the drained kale, sun dried tomatoes, walnuts, extra virgin oil and a bit of salt.
3. Put a pot of water to boil and prepare the pasta.
4. When the pasta is ready, drain it and add the sauce.
5. At last drain and rinse the chickpeas, add them to the pasta, mix well and serve.

Linguine and shrimps with broccoli and saffron sauce

Linguine and shrimps with broccoli and saffron sauce, a delicious creamy pasta

This recipe is a creation of my husband, Enea, and I definitely love it, and also love him!

Ingredients (for 3 people):

• 210 gr Linguine (we love Garofalo brand)
• 200 gr shrimps (cleaned and without shell)
• 300 gr broccoli sprouts
• 1 envelope of saffron powder
• 1 clove of garlic
• A bit of hot pepper powder, pepper and salt
• Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking instructions:

1. Cut the broccoli sprouts in small pieces and boil them for 5 to 7 minutes. When they are ready remove them from water and keep them aside.
2. Put a large pot of water to boil, you’ll need it to prepare the pasta.
3. When the water starts boiling, add salt and put the dry pasta in.
4. In a large wok heat 6 tablespoons of oil with the clove of garlic until it starts frying. Now you can remove it.
5. Add the shrimps first and cook them for 2 or 3 minutes.
6. Then add the boiled broccoli sprouts and mix them with the shrimps for 2 or 3 minutes.
7. Add the spices.
8. Now, after only 5 minutes, drain the pasta (conserving the water) and add it to the pan where you’ve prepared broccoli and shrimps.
9. Finish to cook the pasta in the wok adding the water where you boiled the pasta, one ladle per time and only when the water is almost completely dried. Don’t be scared because of the pasta is now not covered of water, it’ll cook well anyway if you stir it often gently and skip it in the wok, this is the secret of the creamy pasta!
10. When the pasta is ready, turn off the flame and add the saffron powder. Mix well and serve.

Linguine with a lime-scented asparagus, salmon & ricotta sauce

180gr Linguine
1 egg
250 gr ricotta
1 salmon fillet
1 bunch asparagus
1 clove of garlic (optional)
Peel and juice from 1 lime

Put a large pot of water to boil.
cut the asparagus into small pieces. Reserve the tips as this cooks fast, so you might want to add it at the last second
When the water starts boiling, add salt and put the dry pasta in. Never add salt to your pasta water until it’s about to boil – look out for the little bubbles coming up from the top, as the boiling starts from the bottom.
If you’re using garlic, chop it finely and fry it gently into a table spoon of olive oil.Tip: there’s not even half as much garlic as you are made to believe in Italian recipes, so I am skipping this step, but if you like your pasta to have a decisive garlic flavour do add it.
Add the chopped asparagus to the pan and stir fry gently for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the salmon fillet to the pan. Sear it on all sides by turning it every 10 seconds for about a minute and a half, then take a fork and flake it as it cooks. Season generously with salt & pepper.
Add the lime peel & juice and, when the liquid has reduced (about 1 minute should suffice) add the ricotta. Break it down with the help of a fork and mix well. Reduce heat to minimum.
When your pasta is cooked (see packet instructions) drain it and add it to the pan where you’ve made the sauce.
Add the raw egg to the pan (the heat from the pasta and sauce will cook it) and stir to ensure the pasta is coated all over with your sauce.
Divide the pasta among four bowls. Add one extra spoon of olive oil to the sauce pan, turn heat to high and fry your asparagus tip (previously set aside) for about a minute. Don’t overcook as they should still be crunchy to the bite.
Divide asparagus tips among pasta portions and serve.

Linguine pasta with tomato sauce, aubergine and ricotta

Aubergines are like courgettes – you can always count on these to turn arund über-simple dishes into something a little special. I always keep a couple in the fridge, especially when they’re in season, and when I only need half aubergine for my recipe I always dice it all, place the cubes I don’t need in a freezer bag and freeze them, so I can pull them out in tiny portions and use them in a stir-fry, a frittata or an in-promptu aubergine curry. This recipe needs tomato sauce – you can use a good quality, ready made one (if so, try and stick to an Italian brand like De Cecco or Barilla, as they tend to be simpler and therefore better as a base) or start in advance and make your own sauce. Cooking time here presumes you already have your tomato sauce ready to use. Buon appetito 🙂

 

Spaghetti with fresh salmon and prawns

Ingredients (serves 2)

180 g spaghetti
1 raw salmon fillet
150 g prawns
3 spring onions
50 g grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/2 glass dry white wine
Single cream
Salt & pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Cooking instructions

Put a big pot of water on the hob and bring to boil
Remove the skin from the salmon fillet using a sharp knife. Try to cut just the skin off
Chop the spring onions into very small pieces and set aside
Cut the salmon into thin stripes
In a large frying pan, fry the spring onions in a little extra virgin olive oil until soft
Once the water in the big pot starts boiling, add some salt followed by the spaghetti
Whilst the pasta is cooking, add the salmon stripes to the frying pan, season with salt and pepper and stir fry until the salmon turns to a pale pink color
Add the prawns to the pan and stir well
Pour half a pot single cream and 1/2 glass dry white wine into the frying pan, stir, turn heat to low and cook for a further 4 minutes
When the spaghetti are cooked (generally they need to be boiled for 8 minutes, but it’s always good to double check cooking time reported on packaging) drain them and toss them into the salmon sauce, add the grated Parmesan and a good lug of olive oil and stir well
Serve piping hot with a sprinkle of freshly grounded black pepper.

Creamy pasta sauce with mushrooms and pine nuts

Ready in: 20 minutes

This mushroom pasta sauce is made with soy cream, but you can use double cream or crème fraiche instead. The pine nuts add some crunchiness to the sauce.

For this recipe I used 2 giant portobello mushrooms, plus a handful of dried porcini mushrooms, which you can get from most supermarkets (I got mine from Tesco) as porcinis make the flavour of this creamy pasta sauce richer and give it more depth. Dried porcini mushrooms must be soaked in warm or hot water for at least ten minutes before being cooked. You can keep the water in which you soaked the mushroom and boil the pasta in it – you’ll be amazed at results!

I prefer to use butter as olive oil tends to make the mushrooms bitter as they cook, but if you don’t do butter I suggest you use sunflower oil as its flavor is less strong and won’t overpower the other ingredients. You will only need extra virgin olive oil for serving – add a lug of it to the pasta after stirring in the sauce.

I like to serve my mushroom and pine nuts pasta sauce with fusilli (see picture), but it works just as well with farfalle or tagliatelle.

Gourmet tip: You can make this pasta dish much more exciting by adding truffle oil to the pasta sauce once you’ve taken it off the heat. Where I come from in Piedmont, Italy, white truffles are commonly available, so truffle oil is much cheaper than it is here. Its aroma is worth the price though, and you only need a few drops to make your mushroom recipes truly special.

Ingredients (for 200 gr pasta)

• 1/2 vegetarian stock cube
• 30 gr dried porcini mushroom
• 2 giant portobello mushrooms
• 150 ml soy cream
• 1 garlic clove
• 20 gr butter
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• Extra virgin olive oil (or truffle oil)
• Salt & pepper

Cooking instructions:

1. Soak the dried porcini mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the chopped portobello mushrooms, porcini, pine nuts, and fry for a few minutes.
3. Add half a cube stock, the soy cream, garlic, and cook for five minutes. Season to taste.
4. Add the parmesan and stir in the cooked pasta.
5. Add a good lug of extra virgin olive oil (or truffle oil) and serve.

True tomato pasta sauce (sugo al pomodoro)

I love the smell of tomato sauce. It reminds me of my grandmother’s kitchen where pots cook for hours on end. This recipe is hers, but with some adjustments to make it suitable for vegetarians and for the pace of modern life – sorry, not all of us can afford to be a housewives nowadays 🙂
I like to make loads and freeze the sauce for any lazy day ahead – you can use it as a base for seafood pasta sauce, pizza, lasagna, etc.
To make a good tomato sauce for pasta you need good quality tomato puree. I use MUTTI’s, but if you don’t have any good Italian delis nearby just buy one from your local supermarket’s organic range. It will taste just as good!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• a big jar of tomato puree
• 2 table spoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• One vegetable cube stock, possibly organic
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tea spoon of white sugar

Cooking instructions:

1. Put a large frying pan on the hob on a medium hit, add 2 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil.
2. Chop the garlic and add it to the pan. Fry for a minute or so.
3. Carefully add the tomato puree. Stir well.
4. Add the sugar and the stock cube, stir well, turn the heat to minimum, and cover with a lid.
5. Cook for up to one hour, stirring occasionally.