A Pasta For All Seasons

Tuesday is my long day on campus this semester, and this time of year it's already dark by the time I get out of class, and I'm more than ready for dinner. Riding my bike home in the dark and the cold makes me crave comfort food. Thus, the perfect meal for my Tuesday is something that will come together quickly and easily and appeal to my comfort-food criteria. A simple pasta dish is often the answer.

The great thing about pasta is that it is incredibly versatile. You don't always have to go traditional; it's an ideal canvas for experimenting with unlikely combinations of flavors, or bringing together that random assortment of things left in the fridge toward the end of grocery cycle. The meal I made tonight is just one of those things I threw together with some pantry staples and odds and ends I happened to have on hand. Because I suppose it ought to have a name, I call it patchwork pasta. Though it's not traditional at all, the flavors echo traditional Italian, and it's hearty and familiar enough to fit the comfort food bill. Yet, it's fairly light and relatively healthy. It tastes fresh and light in a way that suggests summer, but because it's made from items that are available year round, it's suitable for any time of the year.

The tangy, salty, and spicy and subtly sweet flavors of this sauce would pair equally well with shrimp or a firm-fleshed fish like tuna. The sauce is substantial enough and the flavor bold enough to hold its own without meat; to make this vegan, omit the butter and parmesan and replace the meat with a can of garbanzo or white beans, or just let the flavors do their thing.

Patchwork Pasta

1/2 pound penne pasta (1/2 a package)

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into ½ inch cubes

3 oz baby spinach, sliced (baby spinach often comes in 6 oz bags; use half a bag)

½ cup tomato paste

2 Tbsps almonds, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

10 green olives, sliced

1/2 cup white wine

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsps – 1 Tbsp Crushed red pepper

Coarse salt to taste

Fresh grated Parmesan to garnish

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook until just al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat, and add the olive oil. Add the chicken and allow to brown on all sides. Add the almonds while chicken is browning. Remove chicken and almonds from the skillet and set aside. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper to the skillet and cook until garlic starts to turn golden. Pour in the wine and lemon juice, followed by the tomato paste and salt. Stir well to combine. When it starts to bubble, add the olives and spinach to the pan. Once the spinach cooks down a bit, return the chicken to the pan and toss. Add the pasta to the skillet and toss until it is well coated with the sauce and heated through. Serve topped with a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Four servings

Big Shrimpin'

I couldn't think of a name for this post, but since it features a shrimp recipe, I decided to name it after this show on the History channel that my brother and mother are apparently obsessed with. I haven't seen it myself, but I hear it has even more suck-you-in-ness than Deadliest Catch. And that is a show I have been sucked into for hours on end.

Anyway, it's taken me a while to get around to this; I've had a lot of things on my to-do list since I returned to Tucson a week ago. I did massive amounts of cleaning and apartment downsizing yesterday, and it occurred to me that in the process I must have lost my shopping list from last week. No big deal, really; I was pretty inefficient as a shopper last week, and I went to Sunflower three times, I think, in as many days. Also, I have a car now, which means I don't have to be as locked in to a shopping plan. Having a car is really spoiling me, though. After things start settling down around here and I get into the groove of the new semester, I hope I'll get back to biking to the store. But anyway, here's the menu I'm in the midst of right now:

Cauliflower & chickpea ragout x 4

Pork shoulder with braised cabbage and onion x 3

Miso soup with tofu and soba noodles x 3

Tuscan white beans and shrimp x 3

Gnocchi with spinach pesto x 3

Pan fried chicken with fresh "slaw" x 4

Spiced carrot and lentil soup x 4

Miso glazed shrimp with rice x 2

As you can see, I'm trying to alternate meals featuring meat with meatless meals in an effort to be...I don't know. Something. I guess I have the impression that it's a little healthier to do it that way. It's more interesting, in any case.

Last night I made Tuscan white beans and shrimp. In trolling the internet for shrimp recipes (I never cooked shrimp myself until recently, but I've decided I really like to use it), I came across several that combined shrimp and white beans. It didn't sound all that interesting of a combination to me, to be honest, but I was intrigued by how many recipes seemed to be out there. I figured there must be something in it, so I thought I'd give it a try. I came across a recipe on Dragon's Kitchen that looked like the thing I wanted, with an Italian spin. I modified Dragon's recipe in some ways because I didn't have everything the recipe called for--also, the original recipe uses a LOT of olive oil! I've got nothing against liberal use of olive oil, but this sounded excessive and like the result would be, well, oily. I did it my way, and I really liked how it turned out. This is another one of those meals that I would definitely make for a special dinner. It's light, and flavorful, and it seems very elegant, but it's actually incredibly simple to put together and doesn't take a lot of ingredients. I definitely encourage you to give this one a try.

Tuscan white beans and shrimp

2 cups white beans, such as cannellini or great northern (either canned or pre-soaked and cooked works)

12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup crushed tomato

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup packed baby spinach leaves (the original recipe calls for basil, which also sounds good--a combination would probably work well)

Juice of half a lemon

about a tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

dried basil (if you didn't use fresh), salt and pepper to taste

You need two skillets for this recipe. Put the beans in the first skillet and drizzle with olive oil. Add enough water, or reserved liquid from the can if you used canned beans, to keep the beans moist. Let them sit over low heat just to keep them warm while you prepare the shrimp. Stir occasionally to make sure they're not sticking, and add more liquid if need be. In the second skillet, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the shrimp just until it is pink and opaque, about a minute. Tossing it while you cook produces better results. Use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to a bowl. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the tomato and spinach (or basil) and stir to combine, and cook for about a minute. Add the lemon juice and spices. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss well in the tomato sauce, and cook just long enough to reheat. Toss with the beans and serve. This makes three servings, with 4 shrimp per. Enjoy!