campanelle alla boscaiola

So here is my second attempt at the boscaiola pasta. First of, it tasted much better this time ;-)

Few things I did differently:
1) In addition to the porcini, I also used half a cup of each white and maitake mushrooms;
2) I used three fresh roma tomatoes plus three table spoons of Muir Glen's Portobello Mushroom pasta sauce;
3) Campanelle was used instead of fenne or cavatappi (which I have yet to find in Davis!).

In regards to the first two points here are my two cents:
1) Addition of fresh mushrooms really adds flavour. There is not doubt that porcini is extremely aromatic, but its taste is less conspicuous by comparison. I think this is mainly because the fragrance is so powerful that one naturally expected something of an equal par on the palate. The maitake definitely hits the right note. On top of the nutty taste, the meaty texture of this mushroom also help to improve this dish nicely.
2) I do not mean to sound like a snob, but I am generally adversed to premade pasta sauces. This is mainly because I believe one can easily make simple sauces at home that can taste as good or, more likely, much better than prepackaged ones. The key is to always have the right ingredients on hand. And that was my problem: I had hoped three roma tomatoes would have been juicy enough but they weren't and I didn't have extra tomatoes and I had ran out of tomato pasta (pure ones with nothing added). Instead there was a bottle of MG's pasta sauce in the fridge (we won't dwell on how it got there). Three table-spoons was enough with about 1/4 cup of water to dilute it then simmered down.

Like I said, it turned out great!

I haven't mentioned wines in past posts, but I thought I should start. We paired this dish with a 2005 Cline Cashmere. It is a decent wine with lots of berries and a very subtle finishing which together made it a good pair with the pasta.

pasta alla boscaiola

This time I had intended to follow Hazan to the letter, but alas, this recipe was only inspired by Hazan's Cavatappi alla Boscaiola on p.110-111 for a couple reason, the major of which was the lack of fresh mushrooms. The second was the mixture of wheat penne and rotini instead of cavatappi pasta.

As with many of the recipes, I halved the amount indicated by Hazan as there are only two of us and I generally prefer not to have left-overs. Aaron informed me 1oz is approximately 28g; not helpful as neither actually means much to me without a scale. As a consequence, in my opinion, more porcini could have been added. Although these mushrooms, especially when dried, are very aromatic (I could smell them throughout my kitchen and dinning area while they were being soaked-- not to mention when I actually cook them!!), their taste is relatively less apparent. So if one were unsure how much porcini to use (as I were), I would suggest adding a fewer more pieces just in cases. Of course, things may have been different if I had fresh mushrooms; this is supposed to be a pasta dish with wild mushrooms after all!!

It was because I didn't have the fresh cremini that prompted me to think about how the dish would have tasted if I did have fresh mushrooms or in fact another ingredient. I did thought about adding green capsicum (bell pepper) that was sitting in the crisper, but I just could not imagine the flavours marrying well. On the other hand, especially once I started eating the pasta, I could imagine diced browned chicken being a really good match.

Another ingredient I wasn't sure about was the canned tomatoes. Hazan mentioned on p.84 that "unless you can find fresh tomatoes as good as those of Campania it is best to use good quality canned ones". Although it is quite likely that the problem is inherent in the fact that the brand of canned tomato I bought was far from whoaing (it was Hunt's..), but in hindsight there are plenty of fresh tomatoes of different varieties available in California (albeit pricey), so perhaps I should have used fresh ones even if they are not from Capania..?

I think I will definitely try this dish again with some modifications. Hopefully, I will be able to blog my attempt again soon.. ;-)

rotini ai carciofi

First time buying (globe) artichoke; second time cooking it. I was feeling adventurous the other day and compulsively bought two globe artichokes. A quick search on the internet revealed that artichokes most commonly steamed and eaten with dips. The second most common way to cook these thistles is to bake them. I tried the latter: I baked them with some lemon juice, garlic, and basil pestos. My intention was to make both of them but Aaron suggested that I should only make one of them. He was right. Aside from the large amount of work involved in the preparation and trimming of the artichoke, I also did not realised how rich a whole artichoke could be!! One was plenty for the two of us to snack on. To be honest, I thought it was only okay, but I think that was because of the pesto I used-- a local Afghan pesto I bought from the Farmers' market that had more parsley than I liked ( no offense to the pesto, I am just not a parsley person ).

So that was my first time cooking an artichoke which left me with another one in the fridge. Following yesterday's post I decided to turn to Hazan for advise. There are two recipes in his book using artichokes: one is a tortellini and the other is Lumache ai Carciofi. The dish I made was inspired by this latter recipe. I didn't have any pancetta on hand and I was wanting a vegetarian dish, so I made a rotini with artichoke and carrots. Yes, I have carrots in the fridge. No, they are not the heirloom carrots. Although I know they are no longer in season, I still look out for them at the supermarkets, and being disappointed I would, more often than not, end up with a bunch of conventional orange carrots (sigh!).

Ingredients
1/2 lb wheat rotini ( wheat pasta will give it a grainy texture; if you like a smoother (creamier?) texture then keep to the normal type )
1 large globe artichoke heart; thinly sliced
1 Tbp butter
2 skinny long sticks of carrots; cross-sectionally sliced
1 clove of garlic; crushed
freshly ground salt and black pepper
couple pinches of dried thyme ( use double the amount of fresh thyme if available )
1/4 cup of freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Preparations
1. Cook pasta per instruction. When done, drain and coat with olive oil. Set aside.
2. Prepare artichoke per Hazan (p.126) or any other method you desire or can find on the internet (see here for example). Slice thinly and set aside. My inexperience at preparing the darn thing lead to a few fibrous pieces in the pasta, but no harm done =P ( Remember to keep cut artichokes in lemon water to keep them from discolouring. )
3. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat and saute garlic and carrots until carrots are slightly browned.
4. Add sliced artichoke (strain from lemon water first) to pan. Season with salt and pepper and add in the thyme. Toss until all ingredients are coated with the seasoning.
5. Add about 1/2 cup of water (or enough to cover at least 80% of the artichokes and carrots) and let simmer over high heat until artichokes are tender and all water evaporated (adding more water if needed).
6. Serve immediately with pasta and a handful of grated cheese.

Enjoy.

tri-colour fusilli pasta with tri-colour heirloom carrots

Okay, this post is long overdue. I made this back in... March! There is a Canto saying "Three minute enthusiasm"; I think that may be the problem here =P I guess the truth is we have been cooking a lot of Chinese and Mexican these days (we won't mention my laziness to take pictures and blog my cooking). Anyway, back to this pasta dish.

That was actually my first time purchasing and cooking with heirloom carrots. In the past, carrots was never my first vegetable choice. But they appeared to have been in season a couple months ago and seeing their colours (generally orange, yellow, and purple) and crispness at the supermarket, I just had to buy some to try. To my delight and surprise, I almost fell in love with them to the point where I would get them every other week. These days (full Spring now) the heirloom varieties are no longer available and we are back to the boring orange fat giant variety =( Nonetheless, if you happen upon some of these delights, here is my recipe:

Makes 2.

Ingredients
150g fusilli pasta ( I used the tri-coloured ones to make this colourful dish, but fusilli in general will be good for absorbing the sauce )
6 heirloom carrots ( suggest 2 of each colour ); thinly cross-sectionalyl sliced
3-5 rashes of bacon ( amount will depend on how much you like bacon ); cut into small pieces
couple sprigs of coriander ( cilantro )

Preparations
1. Cook pasta per instruction. Once al dente, drain and return to pot with some good olive oil. Set aside.
2. Saute bacon until cooked and slightly brown. Set aside.
3. Using the bacon fat from your saute, saute carrots until slightly soft. (Try and cook to your own liking.)
4. Add pasta and bacon back into the pan with the carrots; toss until pasta is coated with (bacon) sauce.
5. Serve with fresh coriander leaves.

Enjoy.