Categories
Recipes

Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce, and Prosciutto


Molly Stevens recipe and image via
Bon Appetite


Here’s a great recipe for the lettuce we’re getting this week. I used Bionature’s whole wheat chiocciole pasta a few times in this recipe. (You can get it at the Met on 43rd Ave.) Using campanelle or medium shell pasta is key so it catches all of the little ingredients.
You don’t really need both the asparagus and the peas, though it is yummy with both. I often have frozen peas to chuck in everything but asparagus can be harder to come by. You can also use onion/garlic instead of shallots. It is a forgiving recipe.

Ingredients
1 TB butter
1 TB extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for drizzling
1/4 pound spring onions or green onions (dark green parts discarded); white parts cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, pale green parts cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1 TB minced shallot
Coarse kosher salt
1/4cup dry white wine
1/4cup low-salt chicken broth
3/4 lbs asparagus, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces
1 cup shelled fresh peas (from about 1 lb peas in pods) or 1 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
1/2 lb campanelle (trumpet-shaped pasta) or medium (about 1-inch) shell-shaped pasta
1/2 head of butter lettuce or Boston lettuce (about 3 ounces), cored, leaves cut into 3/4-inch-wide slices
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for sprinkling
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Preparation
1. Melt butter with 1 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and shallot. Sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Sauté until tender (do not brown), about 8 minutes. Add wine; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid is reduced to glaze, about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to simmer; set aside.

2. Cook asparagus in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus. Using skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer to large bowl of ice water. Return water to boil. Add peas and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Using skimmer, transfer to bowl with asparagus. Drain vegetables.

3. Return water in pot to boil. Cook pasta until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

4. Meanwhile, reheat onion mixture. Add lettuce and stir just until wilted, about 1 minute. Add drained asparagus and peas; stir until heated through.

5. Add pasta, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, and parsley to skillet with vegetables; toss, adding reserved pasta cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if dry. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Transfer pasta to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle prosciutto over; drizzle with olive oil. Serve, passing more cheese alongside.

3 to 4 servings

Categories
Recipes

Chick Pea & Sweet Potato Kofta

Moving in on the Sweet Potatoes by NatalieMaynor.
photo copyright Natalie Maynor
recipe via CD Kitchen


Ingredients
3/4 pound sweet potato or yam
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chickpeas – cooked
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic
Fresh ground black pepper
2 scallions — cut into 1″ pieces
6 tablespoons of unbleached flour
2 teaspoons cumin seed — lightly toasted
1 cup peas **If you use frozen peas, you do not need to defrost them first.
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root – minced
veg. oil or olive oil-for sauteing

Directions
1. Peel and dice the sweet potato or yam, and cook it in boiling water until soft–about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces. Drain well. (Or cook the whole sweet potato in the microwave until soft, then peel.) You should have about 1 1/2 cups of cooked sweet potato.

2. Transfer to a food processor. Add all the other ingredients, except the flour, peas and oil. Puree until fairly smooth. (The mixture might be very thick, depending on the sweet potato or yam, so be patient with this process.) Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the flour until it is thoroughly incorporated, then gently stir in the peas.

3. Form into large or small patties. To make them uniform or professional looking, use a 1/4-cup-capacity ice cream scoop or a 1/4-cup measure to scoop up the mixture. Then pat each one down until it is about 1/2-inch thick and 2 1/2 inches in diameter.

4. Place a skillet over medium heat and add a little bit of oil. When the oil is very hot, add the patties and saute for about 8 to 10 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned and heated through.

5. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.