Mushroom pasta
I know we’re all eating canned goods from here on out, so maybe bookmark this one as a spring-y, post-virus meal for when the world feels real again? Or, if you impulse bought mushrooms during your panic shop, use them now!
I don’t want to hear more about this freaking virus: Take me to the recipe!
I haven’t posted much in recent weeks because, and I know I’m not alone here, I’ve been in a deep, dark pit of worry about Coronavirus. While healthy kids are at much lower risk for developing symptoms, I’m 38 weeks pregnant and about to bring a newborn into this mess. Like, any day now. Newborns are not kids. This also means, I have to go to a HOSPITAL in a few days, just about the last place I want to be.
Oh, and we’re self-quarantining for as long as possible because we need a grandparent to come watch M when I go into labor and all of them have between two and seven of the risk factors that make this a much more serious illness. Can you imagine if we infected one of them because we were carriers and didn’t know?
And, in the event that one of us gets sick, I don’t know what that means for delivery. If M or Ethan are sick and a grandparent can’t come, do I have to give birth alone? Do I have to stay in the hospital and away from M for longer? Will I be separated from my newborn if it’s me that develops symptoms?
Everything feels so scary and overwhelming and unknown. I don’t generally think of myself as someone with strong “mama bear” instincts, but this crisis has awakened a desperate need to protect my family.
So, anyway, you probably just want to hear about food, yes? This pasta is really good. It’s also fast and easy and full of flavor. The preschooler didn’t love it, though he did have a few bites. I think he’ll learn to like it. He has no choice because it’s so good, I’m not going to stop making it!
A couple of notes:
- Feel free to swap in dried thyme for fresh if you don’t have any.
-The vinegar gives the pasta a little tang and acid, but if you don’t like it or LOVE IT and want more of it, feel free to skip or add more. I also like a little sprinkle of vinegar splashed on at the end.
-I add the cheese at the end as a garnish, but fee free to add up to a cup of cheese while the pasta is still hot and mixing it in with the melting butter to make a thicker sauce.
-Julia would be APPALLED by how much I crowd the mushrooms when I make this dish. I can’t help it. I have no sense of volume when it comes to mushrooms and the appropriate pan in which to cook them. I find that it doesn’t really matter. They cook down significantly, so as long as you’re okay with rescuing a few escaped shrooms at the start of cooking while you give things a mix, eventually, they’ll all fit in the pan just fine.
Mushroom pasta
Yield: 5-6 adult servings
Time: 25 minutes, mostly active
14 oz-1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked until al dente
4 Tbsp butter, divided
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 leek, halved and thinly sliced
1 lb mixed mushrooms, sliced
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme (3-4 stems), or ½ tsp dried
½ Tbsp red wine vinegar (or more to taste)
Salt/ pepper to taste
Nutty cheese, such as Parmesan, Gruyere, Romano, or Gouda
Cook pasta in well-salted water.
In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and leeks and let cook for 5 minutes until translucent and soft., stirring frequently to avoid browning.
Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to cook down and release some of their juices. If they haven’t cooked enough at the 5-minute mark, keep going until there’s a fair amount of liquid in the pan.
Add the garlic and let cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.
Add the vinegar and let cook until evaporated, about 1 more minute.
Season the mushroom mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain the pasta, but don’t go crazy- a little water will help keep the pasta loose. Add the noodles to the mushroom mixture along with the remaining 2 Tbsp of butter. Stir well and turn off the heat. Taste again for seasoning and serve immediately.
Creamy chickpea and halloumi skillet dinner
Cheat the clock with this vegetarian dish inspired by the flavors of tikka masala that uses shortcuts for both time and flavor!
It’s January! That means we can’t binge eat cookie dough for dinner anymore.
I KID! Heartburn is my constant companion lately, so poor eating is much less appealing. That said, I’m feeling pretty great this pregnancy. I am, however, exhausted by 5 pm, so easy dinners that don’t require a lot of prep or cleanup and that cook super fast are at the top of our meal rotation. And I’m looking for shortcuts EVERYWHERE.
There’s absolutely nothing “authentic” about this tikka masala-inspired dish, but it’s so easy and so good, that hopefully you can overlook it this once. The flavors recall your favorite takeout and the halloumi adds a tangy, salty bite.
I normally shy away from recipes that “cheat” with jarred sauces, but I’m making an exception in the interest of time. Rao’s is by far our favorite jarred sauce, but the first time I made this, I was trying to use up another jarred sauce that we didn’t like. It’s great either way.
A couple of tips:
Be sure to cook the spices with the onions and garlic before you add the tomato sauce or cream. Since this dish cooks fast, you need to deepen the flavors by giving the spices a quick sear.
Speaking of cream, don’t forget to let it warm up while you make the rest of the recipe. Adding cold dairy to hot tomato sauce can make the cream curdle. It’ll still taste fine, but the dairy will look like little beads in your tomato sauce instead of mixing together completely.
You might notice that there’s not a lot of salt in this recipe. Since we’re using jarred sauce and really salty cheese, I recommend waiting until the end to add salt if it’s necessary.
Garam masala may not already in your spice rack, but it should be! It’s available all over the place and is really just a mixture of familiar spices that you might not have on hand. Try some!
Wait until the last minute to add the chickpeas because putting them in the sauce too early will soften them too much.
Finally, if you can’t find haloumi or if it’s too expensive, feel free to sub in farmer’s cheese, feta, cojita, queso blanco, or any other salty cheese. If using another type of cheese, no need to cook it beforehand, just add it to the tomato, cream, and chick pea mixture right before serving.
Chickpea and haloumi tikka masala
Yield: 4 grown-up servings
Time: about 35 minutes, all active
1 large can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Tbsp butter, ghee, or oil of choice
½ large onion minced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2½ tsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp turmeric
2 cups jarred tomato sauce (about 24 oz)
½ cup cream or half and half
Haloumi, sliced
Naan or flatbread for serving
Preheat the oven to 400.
Pour the half and half or cream and set aside to warm up.
Wash and drain the chickpeas and dry them off lightly with a paper towel. Toss with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast until crispy, about 20 minutes.
While the chickpeas cook, heat the butter, ghee or oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add the spices and cook, stirring to mix well, for 2-3 more minutes until fragrant.
Add the tomato sauce, mix well, and turn the flame up to high. Let the sauce come to a boil and turn the heat off.
Heat a small skillet over a high flame until a few drops of water bubble immediately when they hit the skillet. Add the cheese and sear until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Turn the skillet off and set aside.
Check the chickpeas for crispness.
Mix the chickpeas and cream into the tomato sauce. Test for salt, keeping in mind that the haloumi is quite salty. Top with the seared haloumi.
Warm farro, chard, and pancetta salad
Winterize your salads with whole grains, quickly cooked greens, some pancetta, and a shower of cheese. You might even get your littles on board with this salty, crunchy, filling salad.
So! Winter is here. However you feel about that, one thing is for certain: It’s comfort food season. I mean, cold temperatures and hearty fare go together like tomato soup and grilled cheese, boeuf and bourguignon, chocolate and marshmallows…you get the idea.
Buuut, I definitely suffer from the winter blues and hiding under a weighted blanket of Gruyere doesn’t help.
This warm salad is somehow a happy medium between a green salad (there’s still plenty of green!) and a soup/stew/comfort dish (there’s pancetta and cheese! It’s warm!). There’s a lot of goodness in there but you don’t feel deprived after eating it.
I can even get my little to eat some of this along side something else. Miracle!
PS- my favorite way to eat this salad is with a runny egg on top. Talk about comfort.
Chard, pancetta, and farro salad
Time: 35 minutes (20 active)
Yield: about 6 side servings
1 cup uncooked farro
3 cups water
8 oz pancetta, diced small (I use the pre-diced stuff, which doesn’t render as much fat, but is a big time-saver)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil, as needed
1 large onion or 4 large shallots, thinly sliced
2 small bunches chard, rinsed, dried, and roughly chopped (about 6-8 cups)
5 large cloves garlic
2 large pinches salt
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 - 1 cup crumbled ricotta salata, cotija, feta or other crumbly, salty cheese
Rinse the farro and add to a medium pot with the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes or until the farro is tender, but still chewy. Drain any remaining water.
Heat a separate pan (I love cast iron for this dish, but use whatever you have) over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes until hot. Turn the heat down to medium/medium-low (if the pancetta fat is popping, turn the heat down more and gradually raise it) and add the pancetta. Cook, stirring frequently, until the pancetta is browned, smells gamey, and has rendered some fat, about 5 minutes.
If needed, add some olive oil to the pan. Add the sliced onions or shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions or shallots have wilted and become translucent, about 3 minutes. If the onions seem like they’re cooking too fast, adjust the flame to medium low.
Add the chard and cook, stirring and tossing frequently, until the chard is wilted, about 3-5 minutes.
Test for seasoning and add salt as needed.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Turn off the heat and add the balsamic vinegar and stir several times. The residual heat of the pan should cook off some of the vinegar.
Drain any water from the cooked farro and add to the pan. Stir and test for seasoning.
Top with crumbled cheese and serve.