Pasta With Currants And Pine Nuts Food

COUSCOUS WITH PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the shallots and cook them over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the chicken stock, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat. Stir in the couscous, cover the pan, and set aside for 10 minutes. Add the pine nuts, currants, and parsley and fluff with a fork to combine. Serve hot.

PASTA WITH ANCHOVIES, CURRANTS, FENNEL, AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add anchovies; mash with back of fork. Add onion, fennel, and red pepper. Sauté vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, pine nuts, and currants. Reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes to blend flavors; season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite.
• Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Add saffron to reserved liquid and stir to dissolve. Return pasta and saffron water to pot. Add tomato mixture; toss over low heat until sauce coats pasta. Mix in breadcrumbs and transfer to bowl.

SPAGHETTI WITH SICILIAN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For Sauce:
• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juices and 2 tablespoons basil; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until sauce thickens, breaking up tomatoes with fork, about 1 hour. Mix in 2 tablespoons basil. Season with salt and pepper. Set sauce aside.
• For Meatballs:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil baking sheet. Mix crumbs and milk in medium bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Mix in Parmesan, onion, basil, egg, garlic and pepper. Add sausage, pine nuts and currants; blend well. Using wet hands, form mixture into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place on baking sheet. Bake until meatballs are light brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Add to sauce.
• Cook spaghetti in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Mound in dish. Bring sauce and meatballs to simmer. Spoon over spaghetti.

PASTA WITH ROAST CHICKEN, CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange thighs in a large roasting pan, preferably nonstick. Thickly sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika, and dot with butter. Bake until just cooked through and skin is crisp (if oven has a convection feature, use it), about 35 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When chicken is done, let cool slightly, then use hands (rubber gloves are helpful) to pull meat and skin from bones, making bite-size pieces. Reserve meat and skin in roasting pan; discard bones.
• Meanwhile, add pasta to boiling water and cook just until tender but not mushy. Reserving 1 cup cooking water, drain pasta and add to roasting pan with chicken meat and skin. Add 1/2 cup pasta cooking water to roasting pan on stovetop and turn heat to low.
• Add rosemary, currants and pine nuts to roasting pan and toss, adding more salt and black pepper to taste, and more cooking water if mixture seems dry. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately in shallow bowls.

SPINACH AND PINE NUTS WITH PENNE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add penne and boil for 10 minutes or according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a heavy 12-inch skillet heat butter and olive oil until foamy. Add pine nuts and saute, stirring continuously until they turn golden. Add garlic and saute for a minute to release the aroma. Add spinach in two batches if you must and toss together just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon or so of water to get spinach steaming. Drain pasta and serve in bowl. Toss with wilted spinach and garnish with port soaked currants.

PASTA WITH CURRANTS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Heat oil in pan, add garlic and onions, cook stirring until onions are soft.
• Add spices, cook stirring until fragrant.
• Add chickpeas tomatoes, currants and extra olive oil stir until combined and heated through.
• Add pasta to large pan boiling water, boil, uncovered until just tender, drain.
• Combine chickpea mixture and pasta in bowl sprinkle with nuts and basil.

HOMEMADE HERBED PASTA WITH FETA, LEMON AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• For the pasta: Sift the flours into a pile on a clean work surface. Create a 6-inch well in the middle. Add the parsley, olive oil, eggs and yolks, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons pepper to the well. Whisk gently with a fork. When the center is combined, begin to incorporate the flours into the eggs a little at a time. Once you can no longer use your fork, use your hands to knead the dough. When the dough is shaggy, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 2. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
• Roll out the dough, using semolina flour as needed. The pasta should be about 2 centimeters thick. Fold the pasta in half lengthwise, then in half again. Slice into 3/4-inch wide ribbons, or desired width. Shake out the noodles and hold in nests.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it ferociously. Cook the pasta to al dente, about 3 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 2 cups pasta water.
• For the feta, lemon and pine nut sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles when flicked across the surface. Add the pine nuts and garlic and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the preserved lemon and 1 cup mint and cook, stirring, for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta water. Allow it to cook down and reduce for another minute. Add the cooked pasta to the skillet, reduce the heat to low and toss the pasta to coat it evenly in the mixture. Add more pasta water if it needs a bit more sauce. Add about 20 turns of black pepper and top with the feta, a few pinches of crushed red pepper and the remaining 1 cup mint. Serve immediately and enjoy.

FUSILLI WITH EGGPLANT, PINE NUTS, CURRANTS AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Place sliced eggplant on a large baking sheet.
• Sprinkle with salt and let stand for 20 minutes.
• Turn slices over and sprinkle with salt.
• Let stand 20 minutes.
• Rinse and pat dry with paper towels.
• cut into 1/2 cubes.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.
• Saute onion for about 4 minutes until golden.
• Add garlic and saute 1 minute.
• Add eggplant and saute about 10 minutes.
• Stir in pine nuts, capers and currants and saute 1 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook pasta in a large pot according to directions.
• Drain and return to pot.
• Add eggplant mixture, basil and 1/4 cup of cheese.
• Toss.
• Serve with remaining cheese separately.

CREAMY SPINACH, PINE NUTS AND RAISINS WITH PASTA

Steps:

• Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in covered pot for orzo.
• Mince shallots in food processor.
• Wash and trim tough stems from spinach, and set spinach aside.
• Mix together yogurt and sour cream.
• When the water boils, cook orzo for 9 to 11 minutes.
• Heat oil in a nonstick pot large enough to hold all the ingredients but the orzo. Saute the shallots in the oil until they begin to turn golden. Stir in the pine nuts and currants, and cook over low heat until pine nuts begin to brown; set aside.
• A few minutes before the orzo is cooked, add spinach to shallot mixture; cover, and cook until spinach wilts.
• Remove from heat, and stir in the yogurt mixture; season with salt and pepper.
• Drain the orzo, and stir in the spinach mixture.

SPAGHETTI WITH FENNEL, ANCHOVIES, CURRANTS, PINE NUTS & CAPERS

Steps:

• Quarter the fennel bulbs. Remove the coarse outer leaves and trim the tips (cut off and reserve any fronds). Remove and discard the core from each quarter, then chop the rest of the fennel.
• Cook the spaghetti in a pan of boiling, lightly salted water. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the fennel until soft, then add the garlic and cook gently until pale gold. Add the anchovies, press with a wooden spoon, then add the chilli. When the anchovies fall apart, toss in the currants, capers, parsley and most of the pine nuts.
• Drain the pasta and immediately add it to the frying pan. Add the lemon juice and season to taste. Toss together, then serve straight from the pan or transfer to a large warm serving bowl. Scatter over the remaining pine nuts and any fennel fronds.

PASTA WITH BACON, CHEESE, LEMON AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Put the cheese, herbs and red pepper flakes on the table. Zest the lemon and put the zest on the table in a small serving bowl. Cut the lemon in half.
• Put bacon in a medium-size heavy pot and turn the heat on low. Cook, turning occasionally, until fat has rendered and bacon is chewy-crisp, about 10 minutes. Lift out bacon pieces and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Keep warm on top of the stove.
• When the water boils, add pasta, stir well and cover. When the water comes back to the boil, uncover and stir again.
• Put 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan and melt it over medium-low heat. When it foams, throw in the pine nuts and cook, shaking the pan, until they turn brown and toasty. Turn off heat and squeeze the lemon into the pan, cupping your hand underneath to catch any pits. Stir and set aside. Transfer bacon to a serving bowl and place on the table.
• As soon as the pasta is tender (it will cook a bit more later on), drain it, reserving a cup of the cooking water. Immediately return the pasta to the pan over low heat. Toss in a chunk of butter. Add a splash of cooking water and a pinch of salt, stir well, cover and let rest 1 minute. Taste and adjust the seasonings until the pasta is completely cooked and tasty (but plain).
• For those who like plain pasta or pasta with just butter and cheese, set aside a good amount in serving bowls. For others, pour the pine nuts and butter into the pasta remaining in the pot, add another splash of cooking water, and toss to combine. Serve from the pot or in a serving bowl, passing the various toppings.

PASTA WITH TUNA, ANCHOVIES, PINE NUTS AND CURRANTS

Steps:

• In a heavy skillet saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil over medium heat until they are pale golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the garlic. Add the mashed anchovies and, stirring with a wooden spoon, let them melt over the heat, dissolving in the oil. Stir in the tomatoes, pine nuts, currants, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 7 to 10 minutes. Set this mixture aside.
• Bring the water to a boil in a large pot, add the sea salt and cook the pappardelle until it is al dente. Reserve some cooking water in case you need it to thin the sauce.
• Flake the tuna with a fork, add it to the anchovy-tomato sauce and mix it in well. Toss the pasta with most of the sauce, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil if needed and pour the remainder of the sauce over the top. Serve immediately sprinkled with the parsley and toasted bread crumbs.