The possibilities with pasta dishes

I love pasta. The nice thing about it is that you can put pretty much anything you want in it.

I wanted to use up as many of our veggies as possible. So this one has:

zucchini

tomatoes

celery

napa cabbage

onions

garlic

And my homemade pesto with:

1 cup celery leaves

1/2 cup onions

2 sage leaves

3 cloves of garlic

a little parsley

zest and juice of lemon

1 cup olive oil

and a little of the fresh mint leaves I had left

I blended that in the blender and then mixed it with the remaining ricotta I had from another dish.

Also mixed a little goat cheese in the pasta.

We had enough left to freeze the pasta for another meal.

Colcannon (Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage)

Colcannon (Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage) Recipe

4 - 6 large potatoes

1 head of napa cabbage

5 cloves chopped garlic

1 cup of chopped celery

1 cup chopped onions (any type of onion)

1 cup chopped parsley

1 TBS chopped sage

desired amount of sour cream

1 TBS butter

1/3 of a log of goat cheese

Boil water and boil potatoes until tender. Drain and spoon back into the pan.

Saute garlic, onions and celery for 5 minutes in a wok or skillet and set aside.

Mix garlic mixture into potatoes, along with sour cream, parsley and goat cheese.

Saute cabbage until tender. Drain and mix into potato pan.

Stir together and serve.

Pasta and Broccoli with Broccoli Pesto

Pasta and Broccoli with Broccoli Pesto

I steamed the broccoli florets rather than boiling them. I also saved some of the florets to add to the pasta as well.

6 Tbs. blanched hazelnuts, plus more for garnish, optional

2 cups broccoli florets

1 ½ cups loosely packed parsley leaves

¼ cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for drizzling, optional ½ cup mint leaves

4 tsp. lemon juice

1 ½ tsp. grated lemon zest

1 ½ tsp. capers, rinsed and drained, optional

5 large garlic cloves, peeled

12 oz. pasta

1. Toast hazelnuts in skillet 3 to 5 minutes, or until golden, shaking skillet often. Cool, coarsely chop, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, bring large pot of water to a boil. Cook broccoli in boiling water 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender. Remove with slotted spoon. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Drain again.

3. Pulse hazelnuts, broccoli, parsley, oil, mint, lemon juice, lemon zest, capers (if using), and garlic in food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

4. Cook farfalle according to package directions in broccoli cooking water. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking water before draining. Toss farfalle with pesto and pasta cooking water. Garnish with toasted hazelnuts, if using, and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.

Lemon ricotta rice with Swiss chard

Lemon ricotta rice with Swiss chard

olive oil

3 cloves of chopped garlic

1/2 chopped onion

cherry or grape tomatoes

3 sage leaves

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

zest of lemon

juice from 2 lemons

1 cup ricotta

Bow water for rice or use a rice cooker. Any type of rice is fine. The amount depends on whether you want a lot of sauce or less sauce and how many people you are feeding.

In a wok or skillet, saute olive oil, garlic, chopped swiss card stalks and onions.

Once the onions and swiss chard stalks are tender, add the swiss chard leaves and the sage.

Cook until leaves are just wilted.

In a bowl combine parsley, ricotta, zest of lemon and lemon juice and mix. If you want a thicker sauce add more ricotta.

Add the rice to the wok or skillet, tomatoes and ricotta mixture and cook until everything is mixed in and warmed up.

Serve.

If you like less of a lemon taste, then use the juice from one lemon instead of two.

Swiss Chard Pasta with a Swiss Chard pesto sauce

Swiss Chard Pasta with a Swiss Chard pesto sauce

You'll be cooking onions, garlic and swiss chard twice in two separate batches.

Better than Basil Rainbow Chard Pesto

Ingredients

8 ounces rainbow chard

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic

2 cups walnuts

1 1/2 cups Parmesan

olive oil, kosher salt and pepper (to taste and texture)

Instructions

Dice stalks and toss with onions in a bit of olive oil and cook for about 5 minutes. Add chopped leaves and cook for an additional minute.

Chop nuts and Parmesan in the chopper attachment. Put everything into the 4 cup container and blend with the stick blender attachment. Add olive oil until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.

http://veggieconverter.com/2012/12/better-than-basil-rainbow-chard-pesto.html

I chopped the walnuts in a chopper we have. And since I don't yet have a food processor, I used our blender. It works ok for sauces but not so good if your adding nuts.

For the pasta portion of this dish:

1 bunch of swiss chard

1/2 onion

3 garlic cloves

olive oil

desired amount of pasta

Chop the garlic and onions.

Boil the water for the pasta.

Separate the swiss chard leaves from the stalks. Cut the stalks into small pieces. Cut the leaves in 1 inch strips.

In a wok of skillet brown the onions, garlic and swiss chard stalks for 5 minutes. Add the swiss chard leaves and cook until just wilted.

Add the sauce and pasta and mix together. Then serve.

There are lots of things you can add to this like celery or tomatoes.

Steamed Rice with Butternut Squash

I modified this recipe. My modifications are in red. We steamed the rice ahead of time rather than baking it. The link to the original recipe is below.

Steamed Rice with Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water (Since we steamed the rice we didn't use a cup of water, but rather followed the instructions from our steamer.)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup uncooked Arborio or other short-grain rice

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cooking spray

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

1/2 log of goat cheese

Preparation

We sauted the buttnernut squash instead of roasting it. We also did not cook the dish in the oven as stated below. We did everything (except the rice) in our wok in order to save time and cleanup.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place squash on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until tender; cool. Peel squash; cut in half lengthwise. Discard seeds and membranes; cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Increase oven temperature to 400°.

Bring broth, water, and sage to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and squash; sauté until tender. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add rice; sauté 1 minute. Stir in squash, broth mixture, wine, chopped thyme, salt, and pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place rice mixture in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Stir mixture gently. Sprinkle with cheese; bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.



Note:

Bake, peel, and cube the squash up to two days ahead.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-rice-with-butternut-squash-10000000344093/?nomobile=1

Vegetable Quiche

I adapted this recipe below. I have made my changes in red.

Leek & Potato Quiche

Serving Size: 6

Ingredients

olive oil
1 pound leeks - 1/2 pound leeks
3/4 pound red potatoes – diced 1"
1/4 pound Monterey Jack cheese – grated
1/8 pound smoked Gouda cheese – grated
7 large eggs
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
A pinch of nutmeg
1 batch of kale
1 cup small tomatoes cut in half
3 cloves of chopped garlic


Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice leeks thinly using the white and light green parts and discarding the tougher, dark green sections.

Wash sliced leeks in cool water and drain.

Wash the cut kale pieces.

Wash and cut small tomatoes.

Chop the garlic.

Sauté leeks and garlic in oil until tender. When done, add kale and cook until just wilted. Then drain in colander.


Steam or boil potatoes until cooked through and tender, then drain thoroughly.

Beat eggs with a whisk. Add yogurt, milk, and spices and whisk until thoroughly blended.

Spread leeks and kale mixture, potatoes and cheeses evenly in a well-oiled dish or pan.

Add the egg mixture evenly to the pan. Mix the ingredients together gently.

Cover with foil or lid and bake quiche for about an hour. It is done when the top of the quiche is firm and springy and an inserted knife comes out cleanly (melted cheese is okay) and any liquid runs clear. If the top is not brown enough, turn the oven temp down by 25 degrees and continue to bake uncovered for the last 10 minutes.

Let quiche sit for 10 minutes to set before serving.

http://apache2-moon.crack.dreamhost.com/recipes/leek-potato-quiche

You could pretty much add any veggie you wanted. Next time I think I will not use the potatoes. I would like to try celery and squash instead.


 

Our CSA box from a couple of weeks ago had the following veggies and fruits in it:

romaine lettuce

red leaf lettuce

kale

baby bok choy

purple cauliflower

carrots

broccoli

orange beets

cilantro

potatoes

blood oranges

apples

I also bought butternut squash, spaghetti squash, leeks, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley and celery to go with the recipes I picked out.

Celery and tomato pasta with celery sauce

My celery and tomato pasta also has onions, olive oil and garlic.

The sauce is:

zest of lemon

juice from the lemon

1 cup olive oil

3 cloves of garlic (small ones)

1 cup fresh chopped celery leaves

1/2 cup chopped onions or shallots

3 chopped sage leaves

Mix in your blender.

Then I mix the sauce with a little sour cream and mix it in with the pasta and veggies and add 1/2 log of goat cheese.

Potato and broccoli casserole

Potato and broccoli casserole

1 head fresh broccoli, cut into florets

6 large potatoes, cubed

12 ounces condensed cream of broccoli soup

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 cup crushed saltine crackers

Bake 45 minutes to an hour at 325 in a lightly greased dish.

In a large bowl mix together soup, cheese, sour cream, and mustard.

Stir in potatoes and broccoli.

Spoon into casserole dish.

Top with crackers.

I think next time I'll pre-boil the potatoes to give them a head start. And I'll use something different

for the crumb topping. But otherwise a good meal.