Blog Archives

Creamy Mushroom Pappardelle

10/10/2024

0 Comments

Creamy Mushroom
Pappardelle

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 35 - 40 Min

Yields: 4 + Servings

What You Need

450g dry Pappardelle Pasta Nests
2 Tbsp. EVOO
2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
4 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
6 sprigs Fresh Thyme
1 Yellow Onion, finely diced
113g Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
227g Cremini Mushrooms, sliced
227g White Button Mushroom Mushrooms, sliced
1 C White Wine (I Used Pinot)
1 x Hard Cheese Rind
1 C Whipping Cream, room temperature
1/2 C Grana Padano, shredded
1/3 C Fresh Parsley, chopped
Himalayan Salt & Cracked Pepper
GARNISH - Grana Padano, Fresh Parsley

Notes

There's so much back and forth out there about whether we should wash mushrooms or not. There's arguments for, and against washing them. With that being said, if you look at the bottom of the container the mushrooms come in, there's plenty of dirt to remind you that they're quite dirty.

While I don't submerge the mushrooms in water, I certainly give them a scrub. The shitakes only needed a dusting while the white buttons needed a good scrub. I usually wet a paper towel and wipe the dirt off of them that way, drying them immediately after. I strongly suggest washing / wiping them because chomping down on dirt basically ruins an otherwise perfect dish!

Directions

Bring a large pot of cold, generously salted water to a boil and leave covered.
Begin heating the EVOO, butter, garlic, pepper flakes, and thyme, in a large skillet (12" +) set to just about medium. Once heated, stir and let everything sizzle together for about a minute without burning. Add the onion and a good pinch of both salt & cracked pepper. Let the onions cook 7 - 9 minutes, stirring as needed, until they're softened up a bit.

Add all of the mushrooms along with a generous pinch of both salt & cracked pepper. Stir and let those mushrooms cook down. releasing liquid that will evaporate as cooking continues. The mushrooms will cook about 15 minutes, make sure to stir them occasionally and season with salt & pepper at least once as they're cooking down. Once they've cooked down, pour in the wine, add a pinch of salt & pepper, drop in the cheese rind, and let the skillet simmer away until reduced by 1/2 or more.

Pour in the cream and wait the sauce to start bubbling away. Reduce the heat slightly, season with a good pinch of salt, and let the sauce simmer / thicken as you cook your pasta. Drop the pappardelle in to the boiling water and cook to just about al dente perfection. Strain the pasta directly in to the skillet with the sauce, reserving your pot of pasta water. Start folding everything together, constantly tossing and folding the pasta which will release starches, thickening your sauce and helping it cling to the noodles. Do this for a couple minutes, or until the sauce is rich and creamy with perfectly cooked noodles.
Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the burner. Pluck out the cheese rind & thyme sprigs and add the grana padano, parsley, and a ladle of pasta water. Start tossing once again until the cheese has emulsified and the noodles look glossy and gorgeous. Taste and adjust the salt & pepper if needed / desired.
Serve each portion with some shredded grana padano and fresh parsley. ENJOY!
If you have leftovers, pack in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. When reheating, do is in a pot with some liquid of choice and toss in the pot over the heat until properly warmed through.

HAPPY VEG

0 Comments

Deconstructed Pesto Fusilli

10/8/2024

0 Comments

Deconstructed Pesto Fusilli

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: Approx. 20 Min

Yields: 4 Servings

What You Need

1/4 C EVOO
1 Tbsp. Unslated Butter
3 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
1 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes *
Yellow Onion, finely diced
Small Handful Basil Leaves, torn
1 C White Wine ( I Used Pinot)
2 x Hard Cheese Rind **
400g Dry Fusilli Pasta
2/3 C Grana Padano, shredded
1/3 Fresh Parsley, chopped
Fresh Basil, torn
1/2 Lemon, zest & juice
1 C Pizza Mozzarella, shredded
Himalayan Salt & Cracked Pepper
GARNISH - Toasted Pine Nuts, Fresh Basil, Chopped Parsley, Grana Padano, Pepper Flakes

Notes

* I love heat in everything, especially a simple dish that features simple flavours like this one. With that being said, if you're sensitive to heat, reduce the pepper flakes to a half teaspoon.

** I just happened to have two reserved rinds in the fridge so I tossed them both in. One rind eould be more than enough if that's all you have handy.

*** When combining the pasta water with the cheese at the end of the pasta, it's imperative that you remove the pan from the heat. If you do so on the heat, the cheese will burn to the bottom of the skillet as opposed to becoming an emulsified, glossy saucy.

Directions

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Once boiled leave covered until needed.
To toast the pine nuts, simply add about 1/3 C + to a dry skillet and heat to just below medium. Watch them as they toast and flip / stir them often once the skillet is heated. Watch for golden browning and remove as soon as they're nice and toasty. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Begin heating the EVOO, butter, pepper flakes, garlic, and 6 or 7 cracks off your pepper mill in a large skillet set to just below medium. Once heated, stir and let everything sizzle together for about a minute without burning of course. Add the onion and some torn basil leaves. Season with salt & pepper, stir, and let those cook for about 5 - 6 minutes, stirring as needed.
Pour in the wine and drop in the cheese rinds, seasoning again with a good pinch of salt. At this time, drop your fusilli in to the boiling water and cook until about a minute before al dente perfection. In the meantime, let the skillet continue to simmer as the pasta cooks, adding small ladles of pasta water if needed to keep the skillet simmering away. Once the pasta is ready, strain directly in to the skillet and start tossing the pasta, releasing starches and combining everything in the skillet nicely. Do this for about 2 minutes, or until the fusilli is perfectly al dente.

Turn off the heat and remove the skillet to a cool surface and pluck out the rinds. Add the grana padano and a good ladle of pasta water. Begin tossing and stirring the pasta to emulsify the cheese in to a glossy sauce for the fusilli. Squeeze in the lemon and add stir in some torn basil and the chopped parsley. Taste and season with additional salt / pepper if needed / desired.
Preheat your oven to BROIL 500F / HIGH. Top the skillet with the shredded mozz and place under the preheated broiled until melty and gorgeous. Carefully remove to wire cooling rack. Garnish the skillet with the toasted pine nuts, some fresh herbs, grana padano, and pepper flakes. Serve each helping garnished with additional toasted pine nuts, parsley, and grana. ENJOY!

HAPPY VEG

0 Comments

Stuffed Paccheri Pasta Bake

10/5/2024

0 Comments

Stuffed Paccheri Pasta Bake

Prep Time: 40 Min
Cook Time: Approx. 1 Hour 20 Min

Yields: 3 - 4 Servings

What You Need

40 Dry Paccheri Noodles
1 C Pizza Mozzarella, shredded

SAUCE

1/4 C EVOO
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 Yellow Onion, diced
2 stalks Celery, diced
1 Carrot, peeled & diced
1 Bell Pepper (not green) , diced
2/3 C White Wine ( I used Pinot Grigio)
1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
796ml Whole San Marzano Tomatoes
Fresh Basil
1/2 Tsp. + Himalayan Salt
Cracked Pepper

FILLING

475g Full Fat Ricotta
1/4 C 4% Cottage Cheese
2 cloves Garlic, crushed & finely minced
1 Large, Free-Range Egg
1/2 C Grana Padano, finely shredded
1/4 C Fresh Parsley, finely chopped
1/2 Lemon, zested
1/2 Tsp. Himalayan Salt
1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
Few Dashes Ground Nutmeg
Cracked Pepper

GARNISH

Grana Padano, Basil Parsley

Notes

I originally wanted to bake this in a 7" x 11" dish. However, once I started filling the noodles, I realized I didn't have enough filling. I ended up using a square 8" x 8" dish which was just right.
I suggested 40 noodles just in case a few break. You'll likely end up filling around 35 in total.
It doesn't look like a lot, but I was able to get 4 pretty decent sized servings. Serve them up with good bread and some green salad for a complete meal.
Because I moved the noodles to a new dish, the dish was too big for my small oven so I couldn't cover it. Ideally, you'd want to cover the dish for half the cook time but it worked out just fine without covering. The cheese on top got a little blistered, but that's honestly what held them together. Either method would work just fine!

Directions

Bring a large pot of cold, heavily salted water to a boil. Once your sauce is simmering, boil the paccheri noodles and remove them about one or two minutes before al dente as they will continue to cook in the oven. Once strained, do not rinse, simply arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment to allow them to cool without rinsing the starches off.

SAUCE - Begin heating the EVOO, garlic, and pepper flakes, in a large skillet set to just about medium heat. Once that starts sizzling, stir and let that go for about a minute and a half. Add the onion, pepper, celery, and carrot, along with a good pinch of both salt & pepper. Stir and let those veggies cook for about 8 - 10 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir in the tomato paste. Let that simmer until reduced by about half or so. Pour in the tomatoes, rinsing out the can and pouring that water in to the skillet as well. Break up the whole tomatoes a bit in the skillet as it comes to temperature. Once it starts bubbling away, add the 1/2 tsp. salt and a small handful of fresh basil leaves. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 25 minutes. Carefully blend using a vortex blender or immersion blender until smooth. Leave on low.

FILLING - Combine all of the ingredients and mix together until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a piping bag (in batches likely) with a large, open tip.
ASSEMBLY - Preheat your oven to 375 F. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray and ladle enough sauce in to the bottom of the dish to coat nicely. Starting in the corner, place a noodle upright in the dish and fill it with the piping bag directly in the dish. Continue until all of your noodles are filled and the dish is full of stuffed noods. Ladle some sauce over the dish and top with the shredded mozzarella.
Bake uncovered for 40 - 45 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top. Check the notes for alternative baking method. Carefully remove the dish and place it on a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Cut in to 4 equal sized pieces and serve. Spoon some sauce in to the center of your plates and nestle your servings in to the sauce. Garnish with grana padano, parsley, and basil. ENJOY!
Reserved sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days, or the freezer for 3ish months.

HAPPY VEG

0 Comments

Forward>>

R E C I P E S

Creamy Mushroom Pappardelle

Creamy Mushroom
Pappardelle

What You Need

Notes

Directions

HAPPY VEG

Deconstructed Pesto Fusilli

Deconstructed Pesto Fusilli

What You Need

Notes

Directions

HAPPY VEG

Stuffed Paccheri Pasta Bake

Stuffed Paccheri Pasta Bake

What You Need

Notes

Directions

HAPPY VEG

Archives

Jonathan - Happy Veg

Categories

R E C I P E S

Creamy Mushroom Pappardelle

Creamy Mushroom​Pappardelle

What You Need

Notes

Directions

HAPPY VEG

Deconstructed Pesto Fusilli

Deconstructed Pesto Fusilli

What You Need

Notes

Directions

HAPPY VEG

Stuffed Paccheri Pasta Bake

Stuffed Paccheri Pasta Bake

What You Need

Notes

Directions

HAPPY VEG

Archives

Jonathan - Happy Veg

Categories

Creamy Mushroom
Pappardelle