Shrimp and Spinach Pasta

A couple of weeks ago a saw a nice shrimp pasta recipe at big mama's blog. And I remembered right away the shrimp pasta at Vapiano's, a chain of Italian restaurants. First time I tried it I really liked it and so I tried to recreate it at home with some changes. I think the original recipe was without cream and also walnuts are used instead of pine nuts. But I really like it with cream, it's more full (and more fatty as well!)

INGREDIENTS:

500gr penne or shells pasta
200gr spinach, roughly chopped
30-35 medium peeled shrimps
3 large, ripe tomatoes, diced
1 cup sour cream, preferably low fat
3-4 tbsp green pesto
3 tbsp pine nuts
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Throw in the shrimps and cook for a couple of minutes. Fish the shrimps out and cook the pasta in the same water for about 10 minutes, until al dente.
2. In a small pan mix the cream, pesto and garlic and cook on a low heat for 3-5 minutes. Don't overcook it or the cream and pesto will start separating.
3. Drain the pasta and put it back to the pot. Add the spinach, tomato, nuts and top with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Serve with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.

Mediterranean Chicken Orzo

Orzo is a type of pasta. In Greek it's called Kritharaki and it looks just like rice. In fact, it looks so much like rice, that when I cooked it for my 30 year-old cousin who lived in Russia his whole life, I actually had to convince him that it is not rice!

Usually there are two different "sizes" of orzo. It doesn't really matter which one you use. The difference is mostly visual and of course the one that is bigger requires a little more time to cook. But you could always try and see if it's ready.

Anyways, I was not really expecting to find this kind of pasta in Amsterdam, as it is supposed to be something very local. Imagine my surprise when I saw it while checking the Turkish stores in the neighbourhood. One of the many great things that I can find only there. That's why it feels like home. At the end, Greek and Turkish cooking have a lot in common. Well good for us, because I haven't seen any Greek store here around, so the Turkish guys really save me from missing mom's great cooking!

I was so happy that I found orzo in Amsterdam that I used the whole 500 gr pack of it. Of course the resulting amount of food turned out enormous for only two people. So you may as well cut all the amounts in half.

INGREDIENTS

500 gr orzo pasta
400 gr skinless, boneless chicken breast, chopped in bites (You could prepare it without chicken for a vegetarian version. It is still very delicious!)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 green pepper, sliced
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp pine nuts
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp chilly flakes
2 tsp sugar
10 grains allspice
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves
salt and ground black and red pepper to taste

1. Cook the orzo just as you would cook a regular pasta, in a pot of boiling salted water, until it is almost soft. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large pan heat the oil. Add the chicken and cook over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, green pepper and pine nuts. Cover and cook until the vegetables are soft.
4. Pour in the tomatoes and bring to boil. Add the zucchini, herbs and spices and cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the orzo absorb the juices for few minutes.
5. Add the basil leaves and serve.

Alternatively you could put the mixture into a ceramic oven-proof dish, spread some mozzarella on top and bake in the oven for few minutes until the cheese makes a nice golden crust.

Potato Gnocchi - four in one

Since our trip to Florence I've been planning to make Gnocchi, which is basically a potato based pasta in shape of little bites. I tried 2 or 3 different version in different restaurants and really loved it. They have a nice texture of spongy dough and you can combine them with any sauce or just garlic flavored butter. They are (relatively) easy to cook and served with various sauces make a nice and diverse dinner. So today I finally dared and I think it was quite a success.

For Gnocchi:

1 kg russet potatoes, with skin
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (or a bit more) flour
salt, fresh ground pepper and nutmeg to taste

1. Cook the potatoes until you could easily stick a fork in them. Don't overcook them though.
2. Let the potatoes cool until you can handle them and peel the skin off.
3. Mash the potatoes until there are no lumps in them, but not too long or they might turn into glue.
4. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and mix well. Pour in the egg and mix fast. Don't let the egg cook.
5. While mixing with your hands, gradually add the flour. Keep adding flour until you get a dough that is not sticking to your hands. It should be firm but not too hard.
6. Take some of the dough and roll on a floured board into a "snake" of about 1.5cm in diameter.
7. With a sharp knife cut into bites of about 2cm long. Dust with some flour and set aside. Continue with the next portion of dough until you use all of it.
8. Optionally you could shape your gnocchi by pressing them against a fork, creating little cuts on the surface. They look more "artistic" this way! But if you are bored or have no time you could skip this step.
9. In a large pot boil the water and add some salt. Carefully put the first batch of gnocchi in. Cook for few minutes. You will see that they are ready when they float on the surface. Don't cook them too long or they will absorb too much water and become very heavy and hard to digest. Remove with a slotted spoon just about half a minute after they start floating. Proceed with the next batch.

At this point you could either serve them with the sauce or you could first fry them a little in some butter just enough to make them a bit golden. Personally I liked the fried version a lot, although my man preferred just the cooked version. I guess that's matter of taste.


For the serving I prepared 4 different version, the easiest being just dipped in some Crème fraiche and sprinkled with black pepper. Simple and delicious!


Here are the rest of the recipes. Of course you always use a generous amount of grated Parmesan cheese.

Bolognese sauce:

500gr ground beef
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 tbsp dry oregano
10-12 grains allspice
salt, ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1. In a large sauce pan heat the oil.
2. Add the onion and garlic and fry for few minutes until the onion is golden.
3. Add the beef and cook until the meat is brown.
4. Pour in the wine, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes and the spices, cover and simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes.
5. Add the fresh basil and cook for 5 minutes more.


Pesto sauce:

5 tbsp green pesto
1 tbsp Crème fraiche
1 tbsp chopped nuts
some of the Cnocchi water

1. Mix all the ingredients except for water in a small bowl until the mixture is uniform.
2. Add some of the Gnocchi water and mix. At the end the sauce should be sort of liquid but still creamy.


Garlic flavored butter:

3-4 tbsp butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp pine nuts
1/2 tsp dry thyme

1. In a small pan melt the butter.
2. Lower the heat, add the garlic, pine nuts and thyme and cook until the garlic is lightly golden.

You could prepare the sauces while waiting for the water to boil. This way you will have both the Gnocchi and the sauces ready more or less at the same time, so you could serve them immediately!

Chicken with thyme, Feta cheese and Ouzo sauce

Today was my first ever job interview. Even though it turned out to be pretty good (well the more I think about it the less cool it seems but anyways) I still came home pretty stressed and worn out. So after spending one hour on the couch I decided to kick myself to the kitchen and cook something different. I have to admit that I was not really planning anything specific, just followed my instinct and the result turned out to be pretty nice, so I thought it was worth sharing :)

INGREDIENTS:

500gr chicken breast, skinless and boneless, cut in bites
4 tbsp butter or margarine
1 tbsp pine nuts
1-2 tsp dry thyme
10 - 12 bahari grains
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 clove garlic, chopped
100gr Feta cheese (You could substitute it with any other feta-like cheese, as long as it is salty enough and not too fat)
1/2 cup Ouzo (traditional Greek anise-flavored aperitif)
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. In a heavy sauce roast the pine nuts.
2. Add the butter, coriander seeds, bahari grains and dry thyme and simmer for a couple of minutes until the butter has melted completely.
3. Add garlic and chicken and cook on strong heat until the chicken gets a golden crust. Lower the fire and cook till the chicken is cooked through.
4. Mash the Feta cheese and add it to the pan. Stir with a spoon until the butter and Feta mix together in a thick paste.
5. Pour in the Ouzo and lemon juice, season with some salt and pepper (remember feta is very salty so don't add too much salt), turn off the fire, cover and let the chicken absorb the flavor for some minutes before serving. If the sauce turns to be too thick you could add some more Ouzo or just a little bit of water.

I served it with plain and spinach fettuccini, but I would guess that it should be good with any other pasta or rice. Funny thing is that I actually hate Ouzo and I was going for the white wine, which I didn't have. But finally Ouzo, Feta and thyme made a very nice combination. I guess I'll have to bring more Ouzo next time I go home! ;)

Lasagna

It's been a while since I started planning my cooking blog. As soon as the idea came I started taking pictures of most of my creations. So, as I was thinking what my new post would be I went through the pictures and remembered a great lasagna recipe that I made few weeks ago. I borrowed the original recipe from My Lasagna Recipe and adjusted it a bit since I couldn't find some of the basic ingredients here. I think the result was pretty good. By the way, I think this lasagna tastes even better the second day!

INGREDIENTS:

For the meat sauce:

700gr minced beef
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cans (800gr) diced tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste
150 ml dry red wine
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tbsp dry oregano
1tsp dry thyme
8-10 bahari grains (allspice)
1 tsp hot boukovo (crashed chilly peppers)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
salt and pepper to taste

For the cheese filling:

400gr Philadelphia or Philadelphia-like cheese. You could use either plain cheese or the one spiced with herbs. I like the garlic and dill flavor the most.
1 egg
1 tbsp grated nutmeg
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp dry thyme

Rest of the ingredients:

12 lasagna sheets
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese

1. In a large sauce pan heat the oil. Add onion, garlic, bahari grains, boukovo and coriander seeds and cook until onions are tender.
2. Add the minced meat and cook on a low heat until the meat is brown.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar and the remaining spices, cover and cook on a low heat for about 30 minutes
4. Meanwhile soak the lasagna sheets for about 15 minutes in hot water. Remove from the water and place on a clean kitchen towel.
5. Prepare the cheese filling by simply mixing all the ingredients together until the paste is uniform.
6. In an ovenproof pan, large enough to fit 4 of the lasagna sheets, pour some meat souce, just enough to cover the bottom.
7. Place the first layer of lasagna sheets over the sauce, in a way that they overlap a little.
8. Spread half of the cheese filling over the lasagna and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.
9. Spread about 1/3 of the meat sauce over the cheese filling.
10. Repeat the steps 7-9.
11. Cover with the remaining lasagna sheets and pour over them the remaining meat sauce.
12. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan, cover with foil, place in a preheated oven and bake at 200°C for about 30 minutes. At the end remove the foil, turn on the grill and bake just enough to make a nice crust on top.
13. Before serving let it cool for some time. Otherwise it will fall apart while you transfer it to a plate (trust me!)

This recipe is a bit time consuming but it is soooo worth it!