Showing posts with label side dish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label side dish. Show all posts

Broccoli Rabé with Cavatelli


Spectacular broccoli rabé, sometimes misunderstood, always wonderful, and so easy to prepare and healthy to eat. This recipe will tell you how to get the bitterness out, and join it to creamy cavatelli for a flavor-punched side or main dish.

Ingredients

1 large head broccoli rabé, trimmed, rinsed in cold water, and drained well
4-6 large cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 lb. fresh or frozen cavatelli pasta
1/4 c. grated imported Parmigianno Reggiano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Process

1, Boil a large pot of water big enough to hold the entire head of broccoli rabé.
2. Immerse the broccoli in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes, or until tender. (This will reduce and/or remove bitterness from the stems.)
3. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water.
4. Remove broccoli from boiling water, immerse immediately in ice water to preserve bright color and stop cooking.
5. Drain broccoli well, pat dry with paper towel to remove moisture.
6. In a large sauté pan, add olive oil, butter, broccoli and garlic. Sauté until wilted and shrunk, to desired tenderness. Remove from heat.
7. Boil cavatelli according to package directions, drain well and mix with prepared broccoli and garlic.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper, top with shaved or grated cheese.

Buon appetito!



Orzo with Brown Butter and Sage Sauce

Fresh sage in the garden? We planted sage early this spring in our new container garden, along with basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender and parsley. Everything is growing like weeds, and we are having fun cooking with them.  For dinner last night, we roasted a chicken on high heat (400F) for two hours, using rosemary, thyme and extra-virgin olive oil.  It fell succulently off the bone, and the herbs were amazingly crispy and a perfect accompaniment to the chicken.

Tonight ... leftovers.  We decided to dress up one of our favorite pastas -- orzo -- and prepare it with a sage/brown butter sauce (noisette au beurre), mixed with heaping portion of freshly-grated Parmigianno Reggiano.

You can serve this flavorful side dish with chicken, pork, grilled fish, or just a big radicchio and romaine salad. Best of all, it takes only 10 minutes to make. Kids love it -- it's pasta, after all -- and the adults in your household will go back for seconds.

Ingredients
10-15 fresh sage leaves, bruised slightly
2 cloves garlic, chopped
8 oz. (1 stick) butter
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmigianno Reggiano cheese
2 tsp. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
3/4 c. orzo pasta
6 c. water to boil

Process
1. Boil 6 cups water and add 1/2 tsp salt. and orzo. Boil for 10 minutes or until al dente.
2. While orzo is boiling, melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic, and sauté gently until butter is browned but not burned.
2. Add sage leaves, sauté until wilted, and stir in lemon juice and parmesan cheese.
3. Drain orzo, turn into a heated casserole, and pour sauce over all. Serves 4.

Orzo with beurre noisette and sage sauce served with roasted chicken