Pasta Primavera & Succotash
Hello my lovely bloggers and thanks for checking in! I hope you all have been enjoying this seasonal change, and slowly settling in to the beginning of summer! Phew. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. REAL SCURRY!!
I've been thinking a lot recently about transitioning from college Ellen to young adult Ellen, and it has brought me to being in a place of true happiness. Being a young adult in a big, rad city has been more than I could have ever dreamed for my life after college. At this point in my life, I am feeling so blessed to be surrounded by my best friends, loved ones, and living in one of the most vibrant cities in the country. Every other person that lives here is a foodie, and either loves to make great food or loves to eat great food. I am so thankful to have friends that humor me and come to my dinner parties, because without them, I'd have less motivation to cook just for myself.
It was my friend's birthday this Saturday, and I really wanted to make a special dinner for friends to celebrate. I wanted to make something that wouldn't take a very long time, as my friends and I were trying to see the firework show for the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th Birthday Celebration. We also had plans set in stone to hit up Bow Bow, a karaoke bar in Chinatown very close to my apartment, so it had to be fairly simple to make. I knew that I wanted my dinner to be colorful, so I knew I'd be adding a lot of vegetables. I live next door to a produce store, and all of their vegetables and fruit are so fresh, cheap, and colorful. People always say the closer to home the ingredients, the better! Which, in my case, is literally next door. Supporting local stores is something I would like to do more, and have been trying to become aware of where my food is coming from recently.
I flipped through a new Food Network Magazine, and found the perfect main dish. Pasta Primavera! Literally translated to Spring Pasta. It is loaded with veggies (color, yay!), and I had never made it before so it seemed to be the perfect time to try it out. As for a side dish, I knew Edamame Succotash, which I have made once before, would be perfect. Succotash, as I recently found out, is a dish that has the main ingredient of corn or a shelled bean. Mine had both! Boom baby. And as the last dish, I made a Caprese with fresh yellow, orange, and red heirloom tomatoes, which added more to the color party!
Please, please, please try this pasta! It was a real crowd pleaser. My initial thoughts were that I had made wayyyy too much, but was extremely flattered and secretly disappointed that there were no leftovers. I doubled the recipe because I was cooking for eight people, three of which were boys with big appetites. OK, whatever, the 5 of us girls have no trouble putting great amounts of food away either :) Thanks to a delicious dinner, some birthday bubbly, and karaoke, it was an unforgettable night.
I used Debbie Lee's recipe for the edamame succotash, but omitted the bacon, because I used prosciutto in my pasta.
The Pasta Primavera is from the May 2012 Food Network Magazine, by Ted Allen, but can find it here.
Edamame Succotash
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (2-3 dollars at a local grocery store)
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
1/2 cup fresh corn
1/2 cup of finely diced red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. In a large skillet, heat sesame oil over medium heat
2. Saute the onion and garlic until softened, about 2 minutes
3. Add the edamame, corn, and bell pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot or cold
Pasta Primavera with Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Carrots
Ingredients:
1 pound penne pasta
1 pound asparagus spears, stems trimmed, cut into 1.5 inch lengths (Ted's tips say to look for firm, crisp stalks with buds on top that are smooth and tight, not frayed. Before cooking, snap off the woody bottoms. They will break naturally at the right point.)
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup snap pease
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces sliced prosciutto, sliced (I just broke it up in pieces with my fingers)
1 large shallot, sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used 2 teaspoons because I like some heat)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock, preferably low-sodium
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it generously and cook the pasta for 8 minutes; then add the asparagus, carrot, and snap peas and cook for 3 minutes
2. Check the pasta and vegetables to make sure they're cooked but still have texture, then drain
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add the ham and shallot and cook until lightly browned, 3 minutes or so
4. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, 1 minute
5. Add the cream, stock, and mustard and simmer for a minute or two
6. Add the pasta and vegetables to the pan. Toss and cook for another 2 minutes, until cooked through and the pasta is coated
7. Taste for seasoning, add salt if necessary and serve immediately
Courtesy of the greatest application in the entire world, Instagram
A picture of the complete meal
Thanks for coming, friends!
(Cue the song Sweet Caroline)
I've been thinking a lot recently about transitioning from college Ellen to young adult Ellen, and it has brought me to being in a place of true happiness. Being a young adult in a big, rad city has been more than I could have ever dreamed for my life after college. At this point in my life, I am feeling so blessed to be surrounded by my best friends, loved ones, and living in one of the most vibrant cities in the country. Every other person that lives here is a foodie, and either loves to make great food or loves to eat great food. I am so thankful to have friends that humor me and come to my dinner parties, because without them, I'd have less motivation to cook just for myself.
It was my friend's birthday this Saturday, and I really wanted to make a special dinner for friends to celebrate. I wanted to make something that wouldn't take a very long time, as my friends and I were trying to see the firework show for the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th Birthday Celebration. We also had plans set in stone to hit up Bow Bow, a karaoke bar in Chinatown very close to my apartment, so it had to be fairly simple to make. I knew that I wanted my dinner to be colorful, so I knew I'd be adding a lot of vegetables. I live next door to a produce store, and all of their vegetables and fruit are so fresh, cheap, and colorful. People always say the closer to home the ingredients, the better! Which, in my case, is literally next door. Supporting local stores is something I would like to do more, and have been trying to become aware of where my food is coming from recently.
I flipped through a new Food Network Magazine, and found the perfect main dish. Pasta Primavera! Literally translated to Spring Pasta. It is loaded with veggies (color, yay!), and I had never made it before so it seemed to be the perfect time to try it out. As for a side dish, I knew Edamame Succotash, which I have made once before, would be perfect. Succotash, as I recently found out, is a dish that has the main ingredient of corn or a shelled bean. Mine had both! Boom baby. And as the last dish, I made a Caprese with fresh yellow, orange, and red heirloom tomatoes, which added more to the color party!
Please, please, please try this pasta! It was a real crowd pleaser. My initial thoughts were that I had made wayyyy too much, but was extremely flattered and secretly disappointed that there were no leftovers. I doubled the recipe because I was cooking for eight people, three of which were boys with big appetites. OK, whatever, the 5 of us girls have no trouble putting great amounts of food away either :) Thanks to a delicious dinner, some birthday bubbly, and karaoke, it was an unforgettable night.
I used Debbie Lee's recipe for the edamame succotash, but omitted the bacon, because I used prosciutto in my pasta.
The Pasta Primavera is from the May 2012 Food Network Magazine, by Ted Allen, but can find it here.
Edamame Succotash
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil (2-3 dollars at a local grocery store)
1 cup frozen edamame, thawed
1/2 cup fresh corn
1/2 cup of finely diced red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
1. In a large skillet, heat sesame oil over medium heat
2. Saute the onion and garlic until softened, about 2 minutes
3. Add the edamame, corn, and bell pepper and saute for 2-3 minutes
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot or cold
Pasta Primavera with Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Carrots
Ingredients:
1 pound penne pasta
1 pound asparagus spears, stems trimmed, cut into 1.5 inch lengths (Ted's tips say to look for firm, crisp stalks with buds on top that are smooth and tight, not frayed. Before cooking, snap off the woody bottoms. They will break naturally at the right point.)
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup snap pease
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces sliced prosciutto, sliced (I just broke it up in pieces with my fingers)
1 large shallot, sliced 1/8 inch thick
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used 2 teaspoons because I like some heat)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock, preferably low-sodium
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it generously and cook the pasta for 8 minutes; then add the asparagus, carrot, and snap peas and cook for 3 minutes
2. Check the pasta and vegetables to make sure they're cooked but still have texture, then drain
3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add the ham and shallot and cook until lightly browned, 3 minutes or so
4. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, 1 minute
5. Add the cream, stock, and mustard and simmer for a minute or two
6. Add the pasta and vegetables to the pan. Toss and cook for another 2 minutes, until cooked through and the pasta is coated
7. Taste for seasoning, add salt if necessary and serve immediately
Courtesy of the greatest application in the entire world, Instagram
A picture of the complete meal
Thanks for coming, friends!
(Cue the song Sweet Caroline)
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