Penne With Chard And Leeks In A Walnut Cream Sauce Food

PENNE WITH SICILIAN SHEPARD'S SAUCE

Steps:

• Mince together the celery and carrot, adding the herbs towards the end to chop only coarsely. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the salami and cook to release a little of its fat. Stir in the minced celery blend, the onions, a little salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Turn the heat down to medium and saute to golden brown.
• Stir in the garlic and hot pepper, cooking a few minutes. Add the wine and slowly simmer the mixture until it is almost completely reduced, scraping up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with your hands as they go into the pan. Cook, uncovered, at a lively bubble (turn the heat up if necessary), stirring and scraping down the sides of the pan with a spatula. Cook 10 minutes, or until thick. Taste for seasoning, cover, and remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in rolling boiling water, stirring often, until slightly underdone. Drain in a colander.
• Add the pasta to the sauce and toss together over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, tasting for hot pepper and salt. Spread about 1/3 of the pasta in a heated serving bowl and daub with a third of the ricotta. Layer in more pasta and ricotta, then the remaining pasta, finishing with a few spoonfuls of ricotta. Serve hot.

SALMON WITH FENNEL, SWISS CHARD AND PENNE

Steps:

• Bring large pot of water to boil, add salt to water just before pasta and boil pasta until a 2 minutes short of done according to directions.
• Heat a pan until very hot, add about 2 tbsp olive oil season both sides of salmon with Cajun seasoning and then cook the salmon chunks on first side until browned and cooked half through. It's easy to tell when half-done because the flesh becomes pale as it cooks through. When flesh is lightened half-through, flip and cook another few minutes until just browned on the other side. A really hot pan is needed for this. I prefer my salmon cooked medium and still a little pink in the middle. Remove salmon and if you want cooked through more, place in oven at 350F until cooked through.
• In a separate pan heat oil in pan and cook fennel and swiss chard.
• In fish pan add garlic, tomato paste and a little water to thin out for sauce. Add vegetables back in and cook through. Add pasta to finish cooking, taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary.
• Serve pasta with salmon on top and a bit of lemon squeezed over at the last minute and some fennel fronds as a garnish.

WHOLE WHEAT PENNE PASTA WITH CREAMY VODKA SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in large saucepan. Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. Saute until soft, about 6-8 minutes. Add basil, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Add butter, and remove bay leaves.
• Process sauce in blender or food processor, in batches, until smooth.
• Add vodka to tomato sauce and simmer or low for an additional 30 minutes. Sauce will reduce and thicken. Stir in cream and Parmesan and simmer until cheese is melted and sauce blended.
• Cook pasta to al dente in boiling, salted water. Drain and transfer to large bowl. Pour sauce over cooked pasta and toss. Serve immediately.