Showing posts with label Pasta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pasta. Show all posts

Pasta Alla Carbonara

07 October 2010 Labels: , , 16 comments

Pasta Alla Carbonara PASTA ALLA CARBONARA
There are many versions of Carbonara. Even in Italy, restaurants make this dish different ways. While in Rome, we tasted three different takes on this dish. Italian food purists will tell you that a 'real' Carbonara does not have cream while others prefer to use cream to get the texture they prefer. We ate at a restaurant in Borgo Pio near the Vatican and they served their Carbonara using spaghetti and without the cream plus it was loaded with freshly ground black pepper. The restaurant we went to near Piazza Navona meanwhile used ziti and cream in their Carbonara which my family and I prefer. The traditional style is just too dry and we prefer our Carbonara to be a little creamy. Whatever style you prefer, Carbonara is an easy recipe to follow and prepare. These recipes are from Emeril Lagasse and Gourmet magazine and I tweaked it to suit my family's taste (I omitted the butter, used less oil, doubled the liquid, etc.) If you don't have Pancetta, use bacon; if you like garlic, add it with the onions. As with any recipe, you can tweak it to suit your personal taste.

CREAMY CARBONARA

1 tsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
3 pcs pancetta or bacon diced
1 pound pasta
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
ground black pepper

All ingredients should be at room temperature for even and fast cooking (eggs, heavy cream, milk and cheese).

Heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion and pancetta and cook until the onions are wilted and the pancetta is brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, whisk together the egg yolks and heavy cream in a bowl and set aside.

Drain the pasta and reserve a cup of the water. Return pasta to the pot and over high heat, add the pancetta and onion mixture. Stir until the pasta is coated with the pancetta mixture.

Add to the egg yolk/heavy cream mixture to the pasta, along with the Parmesan. Remove the pot from the heat and toss the pasta until it is well-coated. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. If needed, add a bit of the reserved pasta cooking liquid to help toss the pasta if it is dry. If it's too watery, add more parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

TRADITIONAL CARBONARA
5 pcs pancetta or bacon
1 medium onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 pound pasta
3 large eggs*
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Slice pancetta into cubes and brown in a pan. Add onions and cook until wilted. Add wine and boil until it's reduced by half. Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, mix the eggs, the two cheeses, black pepper, salt in a bowl.
Drain the pasta and add to the onion and wine mixture. Under lowe heat, mix well until all the pasta is coated. Remove the pan from the stove and add the egg mixture. Serve while warm.

SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL HERE

Read full post >>

Pepper Steak

01 May 2008 Labels: , , , , 7 comments

Pepper Steak over Egg Noodles

There are days where I don't know what to cook for dinner. Have you ever had one of those days? You have a lot of choices that you don't know for the life of you what to make. Those are the times when I get 'bold' and try new things. This recipe was on the bag of the egg noodles and it turned out very tasty. It is so easy to make and does not take a lot of preparation time.


I used beef tri-tips for this recipe and sliced it thinly so the cooking time is shortened. I also reduced the amount of water, beef bouillon and cornstarch since I only need to cook for 2 adults and 2 kids. Any kind of pasta will work for this dish, use whatever you have.
PEPPER STEAK OVER NOODLES
1 lb. boneless beef round or shoulder steak, sliced thinly
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium sized onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 cups boiling water
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 green or red Bell pepper, cut into strips
2 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup water
3 fresh tomatoes, sliced
4 1/2 cups wide egg noodles, (6 oz) uncooked
-Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain well. Set aside.
-Brown meat in oil in large skillet; season with salt.
-Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is tender.
-Add meat and cook 1 minute.
-Dissolve bouillon cube in 2 cups boiling water; add with Worcestershire sauce to the meat. Cook until meat is tender.
-Add Bell peppers and simmer 5 minutes longer.
-Combine cornstarch and 1/4 cup water; gradually stir into meat mixture.
-Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens and begins to boil.
-Add tomatoes; heat through.
-Serve pepper steak over noodles.
4-6 servings.


SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL HERE

Read full post >>

Fettucine Rigate with Shrimp and Asparagus

31 March 2008 Labels: , , , 6 comments

Fettucine Rigate with Shrimp and Asparagus
Fettucine Rigate is my favorite to use in dishes. Rigate is a member of the Fettuccine family. Fettuccine means “little ribbons” in Italian. Fettuccine Rigate differs from Fettuccine in that it has ridges on both sides (rigate means “ridged” in Italian). Pasta shapes with ridges tend to hold more sauce because of the grooves (ridges) versus the smooth pasta.

This sauce is a 'lighter' version of Alfredo sauce, not quite close but passable. Nothing beats the taste of butter in sauce, of course. Since we all want to eat healthy, I chose to skip butter and use olive oil instead. For cooking, I use regular olive oil but if a recipe calls for olive oil drizzled on the food before serving, I use extra virgin olive oil. I heard from Mario Batali, a well-known Italian chef that you shouldn't waste your extra virgin olive oil in cooking, save it for dipping or drizzling over food. So Rachel Ray aka E.V.O.O. , you don't know what you're talking about. LOL

I used asparagus here but you can also use spinach or broccoli. I recommend using freshly grated Parmesan cheese because it adds more depth to the sauce compared to the one that's already bottled.

Fettucine Rigate with Shrimp and Asparagus

1/2 pound fettucine Rigate
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp minced shallots
1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup half and half
1 bunch asparagus stalks
salt
black pepper
1 tbsp chopped parsley
grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the fettucine rigate and cook according to the directions on the box. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high flame. Add the garlic and shallots and saute for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook until it turns pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. Add the white wine and half and half to the skillet. Let simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.

In another pan, saute the asparagus in oil. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Return the shrimp to the pan with the sauce and stir in the parsley. Add the drained fettucine rigate to the shrimp mixture, tossing to combine. Add cooked asparagus. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving.


SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL HERE

Read full post >>

Filipino Spaghetti, A Taste from My Childhood

26 March 2008 Labels: , , , 10 comments

Filipino Spaghetti
Usually a staple in birthday parties in the Philippines, this became one of my favorite eats along with the Purefoods hotdog on a stick with marshmallows and the slice of birthday cake. Filipino spaghetti is distinctively different from the Italian kind because it has hotdogs/frankfurters and it is sweet which usually comes from the added tomato catsup or banana catsup. My kids never took to liking it, probably because they are used to the Italian-style spaghetti sauce that I cook. Hubby prefers the Italian version, I can't blame him though since he is part Italian. :)

Once in a while, when I make Italian spaghetti sauce for my family, I will save some and add hotdogs and UFC catsup for my own Pinoy spaghetti. For true Pinoy spaghetti taste, use grated Kraft cheddar cheese for the topping.

Note: Condensed milk is not used in making the spaghetti sauce.


Filipino Spaghetti Sauce

1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 cup banana catsup (Jufran, UFC or Mafran brand)
1/8 Tsp pepper
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp parsley
1 pack hotdog or frankfurters, sliced thinly
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp oregano
1 cup grated Kraft cheddar cheese or any mild cheddar cheese

Saute the garlic, onions in oil until wilted, add the ground beef and cook for 10 minutes, drain excess oil. Add tomato sauce and water. Add the oregano and parsley, season with salt and pepper. Stir and simmer for about an hour. Stir the sauce often so it will not stick to the pan. Add the banana catsup and hot dog at the last 10 minutes of cooking. Mix sauce with cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle grated Kraft cheddar cheese before serving.

Shortcut version:
Saute garlic, onions and ground beef, drain excess oil. Add any bottled spaghetti sauce, add about a cup of banana catsup and sugar to taste. Add hotdogs or frankfurters. Cook for 30 minutes while stirring often. Mix the sauce with the cooked spaghetti noodles and top with grated mild cheddar cheese.

SUBSCRIBE BY EMAIL HERE

Read full post >>