Posts Tagged ‘Pasta’

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Shrimp Scampi with Swiss Chard and Spaghetti

Monday, August 2nd, 2010 by virginia

Ruby swiss chard

Fresh onions and garlic

Josh and I weren’t quite sure what to do with the gorgeous ruby swiss chard that we got from our CSA so we decided to improvise a bit by adding it to a shrimp scampi pasta dish. We thought that the copious amounts of garlic we put in our pasta would go well with the chard, and that the chard would provide a nice veggie component to an otherwise carb-heavy dish.

First I chopped the swiss chard into one inch pieces, including the ruby red stalks because I loved the color. I knew they wouldn’t wilt down as much as the leaves and figured they could add some crunch to the dish. Then I washed the leaves thoroughly and spun them dry.

Chopped and washed chard

Meanwhile, Josh chopped up the fresh onions and garlic that we also got from the CSA, including the green stalks of each. He set those aside in small prep bowls. We also started a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Chopped onion and garlic (including the green tops of both)

After washing and drying the shrimp (cleaning out the veins but keeping the shells on), he seared them in a hot pan with some olive oil.

Searing the shrimp

Once the shrimp were cooked on both sides and had turned pink, he removed them and set them aside. Then he added more olive oil to the same pan and sauteed the garlic and onion until they started to brown slightly. We also started to cook the pasta in the boiling water at this point.

Sauteeing the garlic and onions in olive oil

Next we added the swiss chard to the pan, cooking it with the garlic and onion. The chard absorbed most of the oil and took on a nice, garlicky flavor. We seasoned the chard with lots of salt and pepper.

Wilting the swiss chard in the garlic, onion, and olive oil

After the chard was wilted, we removed it from the pan and deglazed with vermouth and lemon juice. We let that reduce for a bit, then tossed it with the cooked spaghetti (we had to use a larger pot for that). We added back the chard and the shrimp and mixed everything together. It was a bit dry so we added some more olive oil and lemon juice, plus a little bit of pasta water to loosen everything up.

There’s really no set amount of ingredients for this recipe. Just use as much garlic and onion as you’d like, and as much olive oil/lemon juice/vermouth. The key is to season everything, and to make sure you taste everything, so that you adjust it all in the end. We plated up the pasta, arranged some shrimp on top, and garnished with some chopped parsley.

Shrimp scampi with swiss chard and spaghetti

It’s not exactly a traditional scampi recipe, but the flavors were there and this was really easy to make. The hardest part was cleaning the shrimp, but once that was taken care of it was just a matter of cooking everything in batches, and then combining it all together in the end. The pasta ended up tasting light and lemony, with just a hint of garlic and vermouth in the background. My only adjustment to this dish would be to use even more garlic!

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Spaghetti “Carbonara” with Turkey Bacon and Sauteed Greens

Thursday, July 1st, 2010 by virginia

Greens

Going back to our first batch of CSA goodies, we got 3/4 lb of “greens”. I’m not sure exactly what kind of “greens” these are, but they had a pretty tough and thick stem running through the middle. The leaves were also on the thicker side and seemed pretty hearty, so we decided to saute them instead of eating them raw. I trimmed the stems and roughly chopped the leaves into 1 inch pieces.

Cut, washed, and ready to go

We wilted the leaves in some olive oil with minced garlic, and then set them aside. Instead of having plain sauteed greens, we decided to mix them into our recipe for spaghetti carbonara. To make the carbonara sauce, we cooked about 10 ounces of turkey bacon in a large pan until rendered and crispy. In the meantime, put a pot of spaghetti on to boil.

After it was rendered, we scooped out the bacon and deglazed the pan with a bit of white wine, about a cup. We let the wine reduce until the sauce had a thicker consistency. Meanwhile, we cracked two eggs into a large bowl and beat them until smooth. After draining the pasta, we dumped it into the pan with the bacon/wine sauce and stirred it around.

Using some of the hot pasta water, I tempered the eggs so that they wouldn’t scramble when we poured the hot pasta mixture into the bowl. I stirred everything quickly while Josh slowly poured the pasta into the bowl, making sure that the egg coated all of the noodles. Then we added the cooked bacon and sauteed greens and tossed everything together thoroughly. Make sure to taste and season with salt as needed. The greens added a nice vibrant color to the pasta.

Our version of spaghetti carbonara

To finish it off, we grated some parmesan cheese on top and a few cranks of fresh black pepper. The carbonara sauce was lighter than other versions, but still had that nice glossy, velvety richness from the egg. It’s definitely an easy dish to make, and adding greens to the mix just somehow makes you feel better about eating a sauce made from bacon. At least it was turkey bacon, right? That’s what we like to tell ourselves…

Mmm bacon (and greens!)

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Fontana di Trevi

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 by virginia

Josh’s parents had heard good things about a new Italian restaurant in Leonia called Fontana di Trevi so we decided to try it out for dinner one Saturday night. When Josh tried to call to see if there was a wait, he got an answering machine message that said no tables were available until after 8:45 PM. So we waited until after the specified time and tried to call again but it was the same message. We decided to head over to the restaurant and check out the situation in person.

Josh went inside first and he said that they told him it would only be a 10 minute wait, which didn’t seem so bad. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of room to stand in the restaurant so we hovered by the doorway, feeling very conspicuous and bad that we were pretty much right next to the first table in the front. But we figured it would only be a short wait so we just tried to be as unobtrusive as possible. The restaurant is split into two rooms, separated by a short hallway, and the hostess stand is in the smaller room.

So we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Meanwhile, they never did fix the phone message because while we were standing there waiting, Josh called the number again and he got the same message. The phone by the hostess stand didn’t even ring. How do you operate a restaurant like that? How do people make reservations if they never pick up the phone? But we continued to wait, getting increasingly more agitated. We had been waiting for over half an hour, and no one came by to check on us. The hostess basically ignored our imploring looks and carried on a conversation with a table that had already paid for over 10 minutes. We were seriously annoyed by the time she finally came by and said that they were getting our table ready, and she kind of jerked her head towards the other room.

Another 10 minutes later (by now we had been waiting for almost an hour), they finally did get our table ready – the same one where the hostess had been chatting with the previous patrons. It was not in the other room, as she had indicated, and we were pretty much disgusted with the level of service (or lack thereof) that we had received. An hour wait is certainly unacceptable when you’re told that a wait would only be 10 minutes. The only reason we stayed was because we were starving, and because the restaurant was packed. Surely the food had to be fantastic, right?

They started us off with pieces of focaccia bread that was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It had good texture with a nice olive oil flavor, and things started to look up for the meal.

Focaccia bread

Alice and I both opted to have the Caesar salad for our appetizers. The salad is prepared tableside – always a nice touch. Anchovies, egg yolk, garlic, breadcrumbs, mustard, worcestershire sauce, and a few other ingredients were combined in a bowl to form a thick paste, which was then loosened with olive oil. The dressing was tossed with bite-sized pieces of fresh romaine. The flavor was great but the dressing was a tad too thick and clumped on some of the leaves, leaving some bites overwhelming with dressing while others totally bare. Dressing dispersion issues aside, they do top it with lots of grated cheese, which I liked.

Caesar salad made tableside

Josh had the spinach salad with cremini mushrooms and pancetta. It was tossed with a warm white vinegar dressing, and Josh seemed to enjoy it a lot. He thought the pancetta wasn’t too salty or overwhelming, and it was a light and refreshing salad.

Spinach salad with cremini mushrooms and pancetta

For his main course, Josh had the linguine with clams. The pasta was nicely cooked to al dente and the sauce packed a nice garlicky punch. There were lots of whole clams on top and was definitely the best dish of the evening.

Linguine con vogole

I had to go with the chicken parmesan, of course, which is always my test of a new Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t that good. The chicken itself was fine but the “famous” marinara sauce (as it says on their menu) was overly sour and too acidic. The cheese was melted but runny, not browned and bubbly like I prefer. Instead of a side of pasta, it came with some mushy, buttery vegetables and mashed potatoes. Those reminded me of bad hotel food. Harsh, maybe, but I expected better.

Chicken parmesan

Since we ended up eating later than we expected, especially with the super long wait, we just wanted to get home and decided to forgo dessert. Overall we weren’t all that wowed by the food we had at Fontana di Trevi, and we were less than thrilled with the service. Maybe because they were new was why they had so many issues, but I still don’t understand why they don’t even answer their phone. It doesn’t seem to hurt business though, as the restaurant was packed the entire time we were there. Nevertheless, the food was not so impressive to overcome the problems we had, and I don’t think we’ll be going back. Sad, because we’re still looking for a good Italian restaurant near our home in NJ, and this one was also a BYO.

Fontana di Trevi
248 Fort Lee Rd.
Leonia, NJ

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Venetian Spaghetti with Sardines

Sunday, April 11th, 2010 by virginia

I saw this recipe on Serious Eats and knew that I would have to try it, since it was described as tasting like clam chowder on pasta. I love clam chowder, and I love pasta. Putting the two together just seemed simply genius to me. I ended up trying out the recipe for Lent and it worked out pretty well, but it wasn’t quite like clam chowder. The sardines definitely have a fishier flavor, which I didn’t mind, but when I reheated some in the microwave at work I was very aware of how fishy it smelled. Nevertheless, this is a pretty quick and easy pasta to make, and most of the ingredients you probably already have on hand. It’s a rich and comforting dish, and I would definitely make it again.

Ingredients:

-2 tablespoons unsalted butter
-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
-2 medium onions, finely chopped
-One 4-ounce can olive-oil-packed sardines
-1 cup whole milk
-Salt and freshly ground pepper
-1 pound spaghetti

The directions couldn’t be easier. First, put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. De-bone the sardines and chop them up into small pieces. I used sardines that were already skinned and boned, which saved me an extra step.

Skinless and boneless sardines

Then cook the onions in the butter and olive oil until they start to get brown. Chop up the sardines and throw it into the pot with the onions, then add a bit of water and mix it all together.

Sauteed onions and chopped sardines

Add in the cup of milk and bring it to a boil, stirring often so that the sardines melt into the sauce. Keep it simmering for about 10 minutes, until it thickens.

Creamy onion and sardine sauce (seriously, it's good)

Meanwhile, cook the pasta, and when it’s ready, toss it into the sauce and mix well until all the strands are coated. If it’s too thick, add some more milk or pasta water to loosen it up. Season with salt and pepper. I finished it with a bit of olive oil and a good sprinkling of pepper on top.

Venetian spaghetti with sardines

For the full recipe, please click here!

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