Archive for the ‘PASTA’ Category
Skillet Pasta Limone
Simply delicious, and the beauty of this, it is all cooked at one time, in one skillet or a pot, how easy is that. Serve as a main or side dish. On my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 340 grams dry spaghetti, break in half
- 2 leeks, thinly sliced, rinsed well
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 lemon juice and zest, or a lime, for serving
- 3 sprigs basil, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, for serving
- 4 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- You can use a heavy walled pot or a large deep skillet for this dish, either will work well. I used my pressure cooker pot due to being thick walled.
- Slice and rinse the leeks several times, reason for this is the way leeks grow, they can have sand in between the layers as it grows.
- To a large deep, non stick skillet or pot, add the water, pasta, leeks, garlic, lemon zest, basil, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a high simmer and cook, stirring often, until the water is nearly gone and the pasta is cooked to tender, about 15 minutes.
- Squeeze in the lemon juice and grated cheese and toss to combine.
- Serve, garnish with chopped basil and lemon zest. Serve as a main or side dish.
Notes
Low cost.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pasta with Sand
This sounds like a easy and nice light pasta dish to enjoy with a green salad. This is a base recipe. On my to cook list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 250 grams pasta, angel hair, spaghetti, fettucine
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- red pepper flakes, to taste
- salt, to taste
- 1 cup breadcrumbs, OR make from a shortcut
- butter, as needed
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a pot of salted water until just tender, drain well and place in a large serving bowl.
- Before the pasta is done, heat a non stick pan with the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add and cook the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the red pepper flakes and salt to desired preference then add the breadcrumbs and mix well ensuring the breadcrumbs are saturated with the oil, if they look a bit dry, add a tablespoon of butter at a time and mix in to get the desired consistency.
- Pour the breadcrumb mixture into the pasta and toss to mix together.
- Serve with Parmesan cheese available for topping. A green salad as a side would make this a light meal.
Notes
Low cost.
Shortcut: Breadcrumbs.
Variant: 1. Add a few anchovies when cooking the garlic.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Italian Chicken Skillet
Sounds really good, on my to cook list for sure.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 can diced tomato, with juice, or go with about 4-5 plum tomatoes diced
- 250 grams small shell pasta, or Penne pasta
- 150 grams spinch, fresh or frozen thawed and drained
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- chicken stock, as needed
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, if using fresh tomatoes
Instructions
- In a large non stick skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat, when hot, add the chicken and garlic and cook and stir often until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add the wine and diced tomatoes with their juice into the pan and bring to a boil over high heat while scraping the bottom of the pan with a spatula.
- Stir in the pasta and return to a boil and cook without covering stirring often until the pasta is cooked through but firm, about 10 to 15 minutes, add chicken stock if the pan is getting too dry or you want more sauce. spread the spinach over the top, cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, either to wilt and cook fresh spinach or heat through frozen thawed spinach.
- Sprinkle on the cheese and simmer until the cheese is melted and the pasta is bubbly.
- Serve.
Notes
For the chicken, figure about 70 Baht. For the cheese, figure about 90 Baht. For 4 servings, this is about $1.17 per serving.
Shortcut: Italian Seasoning.
Variants: 1. Precook the pasta about 3/4 done in a separate pot of salted water before adding to the skillet. 2. Add sliced mushrooms. 3. Add diced red bell pepper.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Broccoli & Noodles Supreme
Sounds like an excellent side dish with salmon or chicken. On my to cook list. There is several shortcuts for cost savings as well. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 200 grams dry egg noodles
- 2 cups fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces plus stem
- 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/2 cup sour cream, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium pot, cook the egg noodles according to the package instructions, add the broccoli to the same pot with the noodles about 5 minutes before the noodles are cooked.
- Drain the noodles and broccoli when the noodles are tender and the broccoli crisp. Return to the same pot. Stir in the condensed soup, sour cream, cheese, and black pepper. Heat over medium heat until hot and bubbly, stir often.
- Serve as a side with salmon or chicken.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant. 1. Boil up 2-3 chicken breasts, dice and add to the noodle mixture for a complete meal. 2. Change the cheese for a new dish.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Pasta with Sardines II
Another great sounding recipe for sardines canned in olive oil. On my to cook list. If you are adventurous, you can make sardines in olive yourself, very easy. Links to the shortcuts are listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams dry spaghetti, (1 lb)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tins sardines in olive oil, (120 g / 4¼ oz each, Ayam or any brand), Shortcut
- 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, Shortcut
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, grated + plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the spaghetti and cook until just tender, drain, rinse under cold water, toss with ¼ cup of olive oil, cover and set aside.
- Open the tins of sardines and drain the oil into a non stick pan, heat the pan over medium heat then add the garlic and saute until just golden brown, then split the sardines in half and add them to the pan, breaking them up a bit with the spatula, and saute another minute or so more,
- Stir in the breadcrumbs and cheese, when mixed in, add the parsley, black pepper, remove from heat and add the pasta and mix, serve.
Notes
For sardines in olive oil, I have only seen one brand, Ayam, for 59 Baht per 120 gram tin, these are very good. If you make your own sardines in olive oil, you can reduce this price just a bit. Using 2 tins of sardines and 4 servings, this is about 87 cents per serving.
Shortcuts: Sardines in Olive Oil, Seasoned Breadcrumbs.
Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Sounds good, on my to cook list. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning, to taste, OR make from a shortcut
- olive oil, as needed
- 250 grams spaghetti, or linguine
- 1-2 spring onions, sliced, more to taste
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling, add the pasta and cook until just tender, drain, set aside.
- In a bowl, mix together the chicken and the Cajun seasoning.
- Heat a large non stick skillet with a splash of olive oil. Add the chicken and saute for 5-7 minutes, turning as needed to brown them up nicely.
- Sprinkle the spring onion over the chicken, pour over the cream, add the sun dried tomatoes, basil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper as desired.
- Heat to a near boil and add the pasta and mix in well.
- Serve, garnish with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Figure about 35 Baht for 500 grams of chicken, for 4 servings, this is about 30 cents per serving, great value.
Shortcut: Cajun Seasoning Mix.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Sausage, Tomato & Cream Pasta
Sounds good, on my to cook list. I will research this to use fresh plum tomatoes. Link to the shortcut is listed in the Recipe Notes section.
Ingredients
- 250 grams Rigatoni pasta, or Penne pasta
- olive oil, as needed
- 350 grams bulk Italian sausage, OR make from a shortcut
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 1 can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped with juice
- 1 cup whipping cream
- salt, as needed
- fresh parsley, for garnish
- Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to boiling, add the pasta and cook until just tender. Drain and set aside.
- Heat a large non stick skillet with a splash of olive oil. Add the sausage and red pepper flakes and break up the sausage with the spatula as you cook it for about minutes over medium heat.
- Add the onion, garlic, cook the sausage until cooked through and the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the plum tomatoes, cream, and a pinch of salt. Stir and cook until just before boiling, then add the pasta.
- Serve garnished with fresh parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Cheese & Pepper Pasta (Cacio e Pepe)
The Italian translates into basically cheese and pepper pasta, since I am not teaching Italian, I will go with cheese and pepper pasta. For the Italians viewing this, no, it is not correct, nor is the cheese used but it sounds tasty so it is on my to cook list.
Ingredients
- 250 grams dry spaghetti
- 1/4 cup butter, this is 1/4 standard block
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup pasta water, used to cook the spaghetti
- fresh parsley, finely chopped, for garnish
- Parmesan cheese, for garnish
- black pepper, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until just tender, drain and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Heat a large non stick pan and melt the butter, then add the black pepper and whisk that into the butter.
- Add the pasta and mix well with the butter and pepper. Then add the cheese and toss well to mix that in. Mix in the pasta water.
- Serve, garnish with Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley, and black pepper if desired.
Notes
I will price this when I get the cheese next time in the city, for now I will say fair priced.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Buttery Shrimp Pasta
I like pasta and I like shrimp, this sounds perfect. Don't get wrapped up in, 'this is not Italian', no one is saying it is, it is just an interesting way to prepare a pasta dish, and it is pasta and shrimp. good in my book as a must try.
Ingredients
- 250 grams pasta, spaghetti or linguini
- 1/4 cup butter, (1/2 stick)
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 750 grams shrimp, peeled, deviened, tails removed
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat a pot of salted water and cook the pasta until just tender, drain.
- Heat a large non stick pan and melt the butter, then add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant, add the shrimp and cook for 4-5 minutes, turning often, until pink.
- Remove shrimp and using the same pan, add the flour. whisk and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the cream and milk. Add the shrimp back to the pan, add the basil, pinch of salt, pinch of red pepper flakes, and the black pepper. and stir to mix together.
- Add the pasta, mix to combine, serve.
Notes
Figure about 175 Baht/750 grams of small white shrimp from Tesco, lower cost for local farm raised, for 4 servings this is about $1.30 per serving.
Adapted from an internet recipe.
Yang Chun Noodles (阳春面)
This is a common breakfast noodle in China. Normally thin noodles are used for this, here in Thailand, I will use standard Japanese egg noodles (ramen) which look very much like flat spaghetti. The packs I have seen in Tesco are 200 grams with 4 bundles of noodles, so about 50 grams of noodles per serving. I made this on 24 Oct 2017, absolutely wonderful for such a simple dish. The sesame oil is key with this.
Ingredients
- 50 grams dry Chinese egg noodles, 50 grams per serving
- 3 cups chicken stock, fresh or from powder
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat the stock to boiling then add the noodles and cook until tender.
- Place the cooked noodles in a serving bowl, ladle on about 2 cups of the broth, drizzle in the sesame oil, sprinkle the spring onion on the noodles. Serve. I added a tea egg.
Notes
Low cost.
Variant: 1. Cut a plain hard boiled egg, tea egg, or soy sauce egg in half and place on the noodles.
This recipe for Yang Chun Noodles is from China Sichuan Food.
