Spinach Sformatino With Pancetta Radishes And Spring Onions Food

ROXANNE'S RIGATONI WITH MUSHROOMS, SPINACH, PANCETTA, CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat, add a generous amount of salt to taste and the rigatoni and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes, or until the pasta is almost al dente. Strain the pasta in a colander, rinse it under cold running water, and toss with 1 tablespoon of oil.
• With a slotted spoon remove the soaked mushrooms from the liquid and strain the liquid through a fine sieve lined with dampened cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a bowl. Reserve. If the Porcini mushrooms are still dirty, rinse them and pat dry. Trim the stems and coarsely chop the mushrooms.
• In a 2 1/2 quart ovenproof casserole set over moderately low heat, melt the butter and add the onions, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the onions are golden brown and tender. Transfer the onions to a plate.
• Add the pancetta to the casserole, increase the heat to moderate and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until the pancetta begins to brown. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pancetta to the plate with the onions. Add the Portobello mushrooms to the casserole, season with salt and pepper and cook the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the chopped Porcini mushrooms, strained mushroom juice, onions, pancetta, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and the heavy cream to the casserole and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until mushroom flavor is pronounced in the cream. Add the pasta, spinach, thyme, salt, and pepper and gently toss the mixture with the remaining Parmesan. Transfer the casserole to the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until cream is bubbling.

WARM SPINACH SALAD WITH PANCETTA DRESSING

Steps:

• Combine the spinach and red onions in a large bowl.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Add the mushrooms and salt to taste, and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they start to release their moisture and begin to shrink, 2 to 3 minutes. Now let the mushrooms cook undisturbed until their liquid evaporates and they have turned deep golden brown on one side, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir and continue cooking until nicely browned on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes more. With a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms from the pan and toss with the spinach and onions.
• In a separate, heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook the pancetta over medium-low heat until dark and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve.
• To the rendered fat in the pan, add the vinegar, honey and mustard. Bring to a boil and whisk to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and then pour the warm dressing over the spinach, mushrooms and onions. Add the reserved pancetta and toss to distribute the heat and dressing.
• Serve in a salad bowl, garnished with pine nuts.

SPINACH WITH ONIONS & PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, deep pan. Add the onions, cover, then gently fry for 15 mins until soft and almost transparent. Add the butter and pine nuts, turn up the heat, then fry for 5 mins more or until the onions are dark golden. Stir in the garlic, grate in a little nutmeg, then fry for 1 min. Splash in vinegar.
• Meanwhile, heat the largest pan you have until very hot. Throw in half the spinach, cover for 20 secs, then stir until just wilted. Tip into a colander set over a bowl, then repeat with the second bag of spinach.
• To serve, toss the cooked spinach into onion mix and season generously.

SPINACH WITH PANCETTA

Steps:

• Rinse the spinach well and drain it. Remove tough stems, center membranes and blemished leaves. There should be about 10 cups reasonably well-packed. Break the spinach into two-inch pieces
• Heat the pancetta in a skillet and cook until rendered of fat.
• Cut the onion into quarters. Cut each quarter crosswise into the thinnest possible slices. Add the onion pieces to the pancetta in the skillet. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until it is wilted. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice and cook about one minute. Serve immediately.

SPINACH SFORMATO

Steps:

• This step can be done in advance.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 6 individual muffin liners or ramekins, place in a larger baking dish and set aside.In a small (3-quart) saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour to the melted butter and mix until the flour is evenly absorbed. Continue to stir and cook the bechamel sauce base, until the flour begins to thicken and bind with the butter, about 1 to 2 minutes. Using a whisk, slowly add the cold milk, a little at a time, until all the milk has been incorporated. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover the surface of the bechamel sauce with plastic wrap, and allow to cool slightly.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of the olive oil.Add the spinach and sauté quickly until tender, about 1 minute. Season the spinach to taste, usually a scant 1/2 teaspoon, remove from the saute pan, spread out on paper towels and cool to room temperature. Squeeze the spinach gently to remove any excess water.Blend the remaining olive oil, béchamel sauce, parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, eggs and egg yolk, and spinach until very smooth. Fill the prepared liners 3/4 full with the batter. Pour hot water into the baking dish, filled to 2/3 of the way up the custards. Place the larger baking dish on the lower rack in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. The custards are cooked when a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Run a knife around the edge of the sformato and invert or unmold onto a small plate. Serve with your best-quality extra virgin olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

SAUTEED SPINACH WITH CRISP PANCETTA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium. Add pancetta; cook until crisp, 4 to 6 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to a paper-towel-lined plate; reserve fat in skillet.
• Add as much spinach as will fit in skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing spinach and adding more as it wilts. Continue to cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour off excess liquid; stir in lemon juice. Top with pancetta.

SPINACH FRITTATA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir red pepper and onion in hot oil until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Beat eggs and milk together in a bowl until smooth; add spinach, ham, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, salt, and black pepper. Gently stir to mix evenly; pour into the skillet.
• Place a cover on the skillet and cook until the egg mixture is completely set in the center, 7 to 10 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve.