Summer Tomato, Arugula and Fresh Mozzarella Pasta Serve over La Pasta’s Ricotta & Spinach Ravioli

Serves 2-3

-Olive oil

-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

-1-2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

-1 teaspoon of Better than Bullion or any chicken or vegetable bullion

-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

-2 cups of fresh baby arugula

-1 package of La Pasta’s Four Cheese Ravioli or Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli

-1 package of bullafo mozzarella (I used the small fresh mozzarella balls)

-Fresh ground pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, add two tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and heat over medium flame. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add tomato, bullion, and seasoning. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes. Add arugula. Cook for a few minutes, stirring until the arugula begins to wilt.

Once water is boiling, turn down to a simmer. Gently place raviolis in water. Cook for 3 minutes and carefully spoon into pan. Adding a bit of cooking water in the process. Once raviolis are in pan, add mozzarella and toss very gently as not to break the raviolis.

Bullion, cheese and some Italian seasoning have salt. Most likely you will not need to add any. Try before serving to ensure. Add black pepper and salt, if required.

Enjoy!

Penne with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil

Serves 4-6

-1 pound penne pasta

-4 slices of prosciutto, sliced

-1 tablespoons olive oil

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 teaspoon better than bullion

-3 cups of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

-8 ounces of fresh buffalo mozzarella, diced

-1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high flame. Salt the water. Add pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving about 1/4 cup of cooking water. Set aside.

In the pot heat olive oil over medium flame. Add prosciutto and cook for about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and better than bullion (note: better than bullion is very salty so watch how much salt you use). With the spatula, press down on the tomatoes. Cook for about 3-5 minutes.

Take pot off heat. Add pasta, mozzarella, cooking water and basil. Gently stir and serve.  

Salmon with Basil Avocado Sauce served over Fettuccine With Grilled Asparagus

I love to make sauces out of avocado. Its creamy, rich consistency makes it taste like an indulgence, when in reality you’re making a very healthy dish.

Salmon and avocado compliment each other well, especially in the summer. I decided to make a grilled salmon with a creamy avocado to kickstart the grilling season. I have seen pictures of avocado “alfredo” on Pinterest lately and liked the idea of substituting this creamy green in place of heavy cream or milk.  For this reason, when deciding on what to serve with the salmon, I sided with pasta.

The dish is great when you mix everything together. Enjoy!

Serves 4

-1 lb salmon

-Salt and pepper

-Juice ½ lemon

-3 ripe avocados, cut and flesh scooped out of shell

-2 cloves of garlic

-1/3 cup fresh basil

-Juice 1 small lemon

-1/4 cup of water

-4 tablespoons olive oil

-1 packet of fresh fettuccine, such as La Pasta

-1/4 parmesan cheese, optional

Once you bring fish home from market, rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper, and lemon juice.

Heat the grill to medium- high flame (note: feel free to cook in the oven). Grill fish for 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on thickness.

Boil a pot of water for pasta.

Meanwhile, place avocado, garlic, basil, lemon, water in a food processor or blender. While you blend, pour in 2 tablespoons of good olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Throw pasta in water. Fresh pasta only takes about 4 minutes or less to cook. Cook, strain and return to the pot- try to conserve some of the starchy water in the pot. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and parmesan.

To serve, place some pasta on plate, add a liberal spoonful of avocado sauce and place salmon on top. Sprinkle some lemon juice and fresh basil on top.

Grilled Asparagus

-1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-3 cloves of garlic, minced

-1 teaspoon of salt and pepper

Place all of the ingredients into a large plastic bag and mix. Set aside to marinade for 30 minutes or longer.

Heat grill to medium-high flame. Place asparagus directly on grill. Grill for about 7 minutes, turning asparagus on the way.

When ready, pour the remaining olive oil on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Summer Cesar Salad

I have attended two cooking classes in my life and thoroughly enjoyed both. In one, I learned how to make a grilled Caesar salad and absolutely loved it. So I kept the concept of grilling the lettuce but created my own recipe for the dressing.

Now, I generally am not a big fan of Caesar salad. I find it too rich in many restaurants and in dressings out of a jar. I can assure you, that this dressing is slightly lighter. I added both vinegar and lemon to make it fairy tanging and cut the rich flavor of the yolk and oil a bit. I also use olive oil extra light instead of canola oil (much healthier).

This recipe is easy, the presentation is great and the flavor from the grill makes it a perfect summer dish.

Serves 4 side dish, 2 for main

-1 head of romaine lettuce

-1 clove of garlic

-1 egg yolk

-1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

-1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar 

-1/2 to 1 tablespoon lemon juice

-1/2 cup of olive oil extra light

-1 tablespoons of good olive oil

-Freshly ground black pepper and salt

-1/4 cup of grated parmesan

-Optional: one Italian garlic loaf

Smash garlic with your knife. Sprinkle sea salt on top and press the side of the blade against the garlic. Press down and rub back and forth to create a paste with the garlic.

Crack the egg over the sink and use the shell to preserve the yolk. Put yolk, garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon and good olive oil into a blender. Blend together to create a thick paste. In a slow stream add olive oil extra light through the whole in the lid. (you can also do this in a bowl with a whisk). With a spatula, scrape salad dressing into a bowl. Add salt and pepper and mix dressing.

Heat grill to medium-high. Slice head of lettuce (from bunch to head) in half and place them cut side down on grill. Grill for about 1-2 minutes on each side until you can see grill lines but the lettuce does not wilt.

If you decide to serve with homemade croutons, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Bake until golden and crispy, about 15-20 mins.

Place lettuce on serving plates and drizzle dressing on top. Grate strips of parmesan cheese on top and serve with croutons.

Salmon with Citrus Salsa

 

Serves 2

In light of this early jumpstart into summer that the east coast, and certainly DC, has encountered, I thought I would post a few summer dishes. I think the 90-degree day we have here calls for the grill, fish and a cool salsa. This dish is very healthy, simple and flavorful.

The salsa is so good that it can be eaten alone. The avocado balances out the citrus in the dish, while the capers add a savory tang. It can be made in a bigger batch and served with chips or on lettuce to make a summer salad, for those of you who do not like to invest in too many ingredients. I would highly recommend making this recipe.

I like to serve it over quinoa. It absorbs the juice from the salsa nicely. You can also serve it over a bed of lettuce or rice. 

-1 pound of salmon

-Citrus rub- I like to use Borsari, any would work. Simply using salt, pepper and lemon is fine

-1 large naval orange

-1 avocado

-2 scallions

-1/4 cup parsley

-1 tablespoon capers, drained and roughly chopped

-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

-1 teaspoon lemon zest

-Juice ½ lemon

-1 tablespoon good extra virgin olive oil

-Pinch of salt and pepper

Rub the citrus salt over the salmon. Set aside.

In a bowl add the orange, avocado, scallions, parsley, capers, pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Heat the grill to medium heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook salmon for about 6-8 minutes per side.

Serve with a spoonful of salsa on top. I like to serve this dish over quinoa.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans

While scanning through all the delicious looking pictures on my Pinterest, I saw a photo of roasted garbanzo beans, brilliant! So I was inspired to make a recipe. I am a sucker for Old Bay so I seasoned them in this spice. If you do not like or have Old Bay, another good spice mixture is garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and ground cumin.

-1 or 2 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans

-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Pinch of old bay

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Drain the beans in a strainer and rinse them with water. Place the strainer in a bowl with water and allow them to sit for about 5-10 minutes. Lift them out of the water and shake the strainer. Lay a paper towel on the baking sheet and place the beans on top. Use another paper towel and gentle roll the beans to soak up the water. Discard any skins that come off.

Drizzle the olive oil over the beans. Add salt and old bay.

Roast for 30-40 minutes. The beans should turn golden brown in color.