Category: Pasta, Rice & Grains

pasta, grains, rice recipes

Spicy Noodle Salad, A Pasta for All Seasons – Summer

Spicy Noodle Salad, A Pasta for All Seasons – Summer

Summertime!  This is the PERFECT summer potluck dish, Spicy Noodle Salad.  It can be made the night before, it keeps well, and it’s vegetarian, (yes, you can add a protein like chicken if you want).  Peanut allergy?  As much as peanuts are perfect in this salad, pine nuts make an excellent stand-in.  I have made this so many times I’ve lost count, it’s my go-to-crowd pleaser recipe.  Try it.

For those of you who HATE cilantro, I know it’s not your fault-it’s a genetic thing, I can’t think of a substitute BUT, lucky you,  for a tasty noodle salad that doesn’t need cilantro, try Super Summer Somen Salad.  Need a Gluten-free option, try this Pho-tastic Chicken Noodle Salad that calls for rice noodles!

Make this our own, needs to be more savory? Add an additional tablespoon of soy sauce.  If you want a brinier taste try soy Dashi which starts with a fish base stock.

Enjoy!

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5 from 2 votes

Spicy Cold Noodle Salad

Asian inspired Spicy Cold Noodle Salad, the perfect summer potluck dish! Vegetarian and delicious!
Course dinner, lunch, noodles, potluck
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword Angel hair pasta, cucumber salad, Garlic Noodles, Spicy Cold Noodle Salad
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Dressing

  • 4 T. corn oil
  • 6 T sesame seed oil
  • 2 t. crushed red pepper
  • 6 T honey decrease by 1T if desired
  • 4 T soy sauce
  • 3 T rice wine vinegar

Ingredients

  • 16 oz. angel hair pasta or any thin pasta, ie. capellini, somen noodles
  • 4 T chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 cup chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts or honey roasted peanuts
  • 1/2 cup sliced green onions 2 T for garnish
  • 2 T toasted white sesame seeds you could throw in black sesame seeds too!

Instructions

  • Heat pepper in oils over med/high heat for 1-2 minutes (the longer, the hotter! I usually half the amount of red pepper flakes called for). Cool oils, add honey and soy sauce and stir to combine. Cook pasta according to instructions. Do not overcook noodles! Pour sauce over noodles, add cilantro and onions and chill for 24 hours.
  • Garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds and additional green onions before serving
  • Perfect for summer! Toasted pine nuts or cashews can be substituted for the peanuts.

Notes

Japanese Rice Wine Vinegar is not in the original recipe but I think it needs a hit of acid.  
In place of 4 T soy sauce you can use 2 T reg soy sauce and 2 T Ponzu-citrus flavored soy.
If the dressing is too sweet reduce honey by 1 tablespoon.
Look Ma…No meat! (Wild Mushroom Pasta)

Look Ma…No meat! (Wild Mushroom Pasta)

My family loves meat but every now and then I can fool them and serve a dish without the carnivore stamp on it.  The secret ingredient is mushrooms!  Mushrooms have a nice meaty consistency that works well as a substitute.  We make portabello burgers, stuff creminis with bread crumbs, onions, garlic, parmesan and peppers and slide them into the oven but our favorite is Pasta with Mushrooms.  A variety of mushrooms are sauteed with garlic, thyme and shallots, flavored with marsala and finished with some stock and cream.  It’s delicious.  If you are a purest you can use a mushroom or vegetable stock but I like to use chicken stock.

Pasta a la fungi ok, its really noodles with mushrooms

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces of fresh mushrooms combination of wild and white button or cremini, almost any mushroom will work, cleaned and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 T butter
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 sprigs of thyme
  • 1/4 cup dry marsala
  • 1 cup stock or broth vegetable, mushroom or chicken
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
  • 1 stalk of green onions or small bunch of chives, chopped
  • 1 16 ounce box of linguine or tagliatelle
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat oil and butter in a saute pan large enough to fit mushrooms. When oil and butter start to sizzle add shallots to pan saute 1 minute, then add garlic. Saute another minute, when soft but not brown, add mushrooms. Saute mushrooms until brown, liquid released and evaporated. Add marsala and cook a couple minutes to almost evaporated. Add stock, thyme and continue to cook until reduced by half. Add heavy whipping cream and simmer until sauce thickens and again is reduced by half. Add green onions and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
  • While sauce is reducing, bring a pot of water to boil to cook noodles. Boil pasta as directed.
  • Drain noodles. Once sauce has reduced add to pasta. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
The 3Jamigos Favorite Pasta Sauce #1

The 3Jamigos Favorite Pasta Sauce #1

What kid doesn’t like pasta?  My kid’s favorite spaghetti sauce is from Patricia Well’s Trattoria cookbook, a collection of well written, easy to follow Italian recipes, nothing too fancy just delicious, homestyle classic meals.  Meat sauces (Ragu’) generally require hours of cooking but this recipe calls for simmering for approximately 20 minutes.  It has lots of flavor and tastes fresh and light.  You start with a onions, carrots and celery which gives the sauce  sweetness which appeals to kids.  Over the years I have tweeked the recipe a little..like adding butter and basil to finish the sauce, yum.

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So if you are looking for a meat sauce with kid appeal, look no further, this is it!

A little Dino to put you in the pasta mood:

The 3Jamigos Favorite Pasta Sauce #1

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword pasta, Ragu'
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 1 .5 quarts

Ingredients

  • 1 small yellow onion chopped finely almost minced
  • 1 carrot peeled chopped finely almost minced
  • 1 stalk of celery chopped finely almost minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup italian parsley chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 -1 tsp chili flakes omit if using spicy Italian sausage
  • 8- 12 ounces of a mix of ground beef ground pork and ground veal or you can use 50/50 beef and italian sausage, spicy or mild
  • 1/4 cup vermouth or dry white wine
  • olive oil
  • 2 28 ounce cans of tomatoes San Marzano or domestic, Muir Glen

Instructions

  • I use a food processor to finely chop the vegetables. Heat olive oil in saucepan (min 4 quart size), add onion, carrot, celery, parsley & salt; saute 3-4 minutes until fragrant and soft, add garlic cook additional minute. Add ground meats, cook over medium low heat, until meat is no longer pink. Break up any chunks of meat with a spatula while cooking. Add vermouth and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes.
  • Puree tomatoes using food processor or a food mill. Do not over process, bits of tomatoes are fine, texture is good.
  • Add tomatoes to pan along with chili flakes. Simmer 20 minutes, until slightly thickened. If you like a thicker sauce, leave uncovered, if not, partially cover during simmer. Taste for seasoning.
  • Just before serving add 2 T butter and 1/4 cup julienned or chopped fresh basil.

Notes

Variations: Addition of 1/4 cup finely diced pancetta to ground meats, adds smokiness to dish.
Instead of butter, finish off sauce with 1/4 cup heavy cream.

 

 

A Pasta for All Seasons-Fall (Butternut Squash & Spicy Sausage)

A Pasta for All Seasons-Fall (Butternut Squash & Spicy Sausage)

I love noodles.  As a kid I loved a plate of gooey Mac and cheese (Kraft), spaghetti-o’s or Mom’s lasagne.   But I was equally enamored with a steaming bowl of won ton noodles or plate of chow mein. Today, living in the Bay Area, my noodle choices seem infinite;  shoyu ramen or Vietnamese pho, pad thai or chop jae, all just a stone’s throw away or fortunately for “Silicon Valley-ites”, just an app (Door Dash) delivery away!  Courtesy of Giada de Laurentis, a simple 5 ingredient pasta, Rigatoni with Butternut Squash, Spicy Sausage and Arugula that is both easy and delicious.

Boxed pasta, pre-cut squash, and spicy Italian sausage from your favorite grocery store, makes quick work of a weekday dinner.  While the pasta boils, the butternut squash is braised in liquid (water or stock) and smooshed with a spoon.  This adds creaminess and a touch of sweetness to the pasta that plays well with the spiciness of the sausage and the bite from the arugula.

In full defiance of our “carb-phobia” there are times when a bowl of pasta just hits the spot. A couple of new favorites like this one, and a tried and true cold noodle salad, both perfect for the summer.  Let me know if you like them.

Rigatoni with butternut Squash, Spicy Sausage and Arugula

A Pasta for All Seasons

Ingredients

  • Adapted from Giada's Pasta with Butternut Squash and Spicy Sausage
  • Ingedients:
  • 1 pound rigatoni
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus 3 tablespoons for finishing
  • 1 pound spicy Italian sausage casing removed
  • 1 pound butternut squash peeled and cut into 1/3 inch pieces (when I'm press for time buy the precut squash from TJ's
  • 1-2 coves of garlic peeled and minced
  • 1 minced shallot or quarter of a yelow onion minced.
  • 1 1/2 cups water or broth
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3/4 - 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese divided
  • 2 cups roughly chopped baby arugula or baby spinach

Instructions

  • Bring pot of water to boil, add 1 tsp salt and pasta. Cook as directed for al dente and drain in colander. Set pasta aside. In a saute pan heat 2 T olive oil, add garlic and shallots and saute until translucent and just about to brown. Add sausage, and break it into smaller pieces while sauteing until it loses its pink color. Add squash and stir until combined. Add water or broth and simmer until squash is tender and liquid has been reduced by approximately half around 10 minutes. Add pasta and 3/4 of parmesan cheese to pan and toss to incorporate pasta and sauce. Pour pasta into bowl and add arugula or spinach and toss to slightly wilt greens. Serve immediately.
Jule’s Granola

Jule’s Granola

All things southern is the line my daughter uses on her posts from Houston, Texas.  Yes, my Cali girl is now a transplanted Texan, temporarily, hopefully.  She is finishing her 1st year at Rice University and loving it. I now have a vested interest in Texas. This means when I visit her my first question (well after how are you?) is where and what do we eat?!  Houston has great food….very diverse, Tex-Mex, great Pho, fusion, taco trucks, you name it-Houston has it.   Check out the article on the Houston food scene in the Washington Post, Best Food Cities in America.

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I started following the blog, The Homesick Texan, a couple of years ago (hmm portent of things to come?).  A transplant to New York City, the author takes us on a culinary tour of her home state.  Great recipes and entertaining writing have led to 2 cookbooks and quite a few followers. She waxed poetically in her blog about her Uncle Austin’s Granola and I was happy to find the same recipe, but in a smaller quantity in her 2nd book.  The intro to the book’s granola recipe describes Uncle Austin’s Granola and how the difference might be the love he puts in it, yadayadayada.  Confused by the different proportions of the ingredients between the 2 recipes I sent an e-mail to her.  Her response was “the proportions are different because they’re different recipes” end of the reply.

Ok, my bad, your intro led me to believe it was the same recipe.  I see she has adopted a “New York attitude”, despite being a Homesick Texan.

Lucky Me I Have a  Go-To Granola Recipe

The granola recipe in her book is ok. The amount of oil and honey creates a very wet mixture. During baking, I lowered the temp to 325 in order to dry the granola without it browning too much. Maybe Uncle Austin’s Granola on her blog is better but I think I will stick to my go-to granola recipe, Jules’s Granola.  Try it, I think you’ll like it.

Granola Tips

The base recipe is old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, maple syrup, oil and vanilla. From there you can vary the add-ins.  I love unsweetened coconut flakes, and any kind of nut works, such as pecans, almonds or pistachios.  Add pepitas and even a bit of sesame seeds as a portion of the nuts (2-3 tablespoons).  Dried fruit such as a mixed berry medley of raisins, dried cranberries, and blueberries or an island-inspired blend of mango, papaya, and pineapple top my list of favorites.  You do you and add whatever you like.

Adding dried milk powder adds a toasty richness and a touch of sweetness.  Though not a whole lot, it does add protein too.  It’s optional but if you have milk powder, by all means, add it.

There are two camps of granola folks, the loose, clump-free one and the clusters camp.  I like clusters or clumps of granola.  The secret is to compress the oats before baking and leaving the pan alone while baking-no stirring!  Place another baking sheet on top of the sheet of oats and…wait for it, step on it. Yep, serious compression.  This will smoosh the oats together and allow them to bake as clusters.  For loose granola, skip this and stir the oats occasionally during baking.

For the holidays, we fill glass jars with our homemade granola to gift to friends and co-workers.  The tags on the jars include a note “Return the jar for a refill next year, xxoo Santa”.  Invariably, the jars all come back.

It’s great sprinkled on top of yogurt and fresh berries or in a bowl with milk.  My favorite way is by itself for the hand-to-mouth toss, but in this world of transparency….gotta tell ya, granola is high in calories, so be judicious…if you’re skipping that burger lunch, have at it, if not, go easy!

Jules's Granola

My favorite granola of old-fashioned oatmeal, maple syrup, brown sugar, and chock full of fruits and nuts!
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword granola, oatmeal
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup +1 T honey
  • 4 t vanilla
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil substitute coconut oil or butter for vegetable oil, up to 1/4 cup, max.
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-2 tbsp powdered milk optional
  • 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon optional
  • 5 cups old fashioned oatmeal yeah, like the one with the Quaker on the box
  • 2 cups nuts I use pecans and/or almonds. pistachios also work well. Pumpkin seeds or pepitas can replace 1/4-1/2 cup of nuts as an option
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Add-ins after baking

  • 2 cups mixed dried fruit cut into small pieces cranberries, mango, pineapple, blueberries, raisins, cranberries or my fav, dried blueberries

Instructions

  • Mix first 5 ingredients and powdered milk if using, then add oatmeal, nuts, and coconut flakes and mix well.
    Spread on a lipped baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Cover with another sheet of parchment or silicon mat and cover with the same sized baking sheet. Press down firmly to compress mixture, this is how you get clumps of granola. My secret, I step on the top pan to smash the granola down-it works! 
    Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Remove from oven for 10 minutes, bake again for another 12 minutes until golden brown. 
    Let cool in pan. Using a spatula or dough scraper lift granola off the sheet. Break granola into desired-size clumps.
    Add dried fruit.
    Store in an airtight container.