Fusilli with Ham and Cream

Here comes another one of these no-fuss pasta dishes I just love. It's done in no time. The sauce can be prepared while your pasta is cooking. I like the addition of goat's cheese and green olives to this simple ham and cream sauce - gives it a salty twist. With the addition of different herbs and a bit of peperoncino, the flavour becomes more interesting. 

Recipe
(Original in German: here)

Ingredients for 3 persons

300g Fusilli (or other pasta)
150g cooked han, cut into streaks
3dlcream
1 tbsp creamy goat's cheese
6-8 green olives, chopped
fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, ...), chopped
2tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tbsp chili pepper, chopped
3/4 tsp, vegetablestock
salt, pepper, groundnutmeg
grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, for serving

Pour the pasta into salted boiliing water and cook al dente. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic, but take it out again before it gets brown. Now, add the ham streaks and fry. Add the chili und the chopped herbs. As soon as the chili begins to smell, add cream and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, then, reduce the heat and add the goat's cheese. Stir until it's melted. Add the olives and season your sauce according to taste. Set your sauce aside. When your pasta is ready, drain it and add to the sauce. Serve with some grated parmesan or pecorino cheese.

Pasta with Saffron, Celery, Capers and Raisins

I have bookmarked this recipe quite a while ago. The combination of ingredients seemed intriguing to me. I can imagine that this dish is not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it a lot. It's an interesting combination of sweet, salty and sour flavours. It's easy to make and good both hot or cold, as a pasta salad. I like it served with pecorino cheese.

Recipe
(from: here)

6 stalks celery (around 180g)
90ml olive oil
30g pine nuts
40g capers, plus 2 tbsp of their brine
10 large green olives (40g), pitted and cut into 1cm dice
1 good pinch saffron, mixed with 1 tbsp hot water
1½ tsp white-wine vinegar
100g raisins, soaked in water
250g pasta
30g chopped parsley
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated parmesan (or pecorino), optional

Trim any leaves from the celery (save them for later) and cut the stalks into 1cm dices. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan and add the diced celery and pine nuts. Over high heat, fry, stirring all the while, for a minute or two until the nuts begin to brown (take care as they can easily burn). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the capers and their brine, the olives, saffron and its water, the vinegar and the drained raisins. Set aside.

Cook the pasta until al dente, drain into a colander and shake well. Tip the pasta into the pan, place over medium high heat and, stirring gently, quickly heat through. Once hot, stir in the parsley, lemon zest, garlic and lots of black pepper. Taste and add salt if needed.

Transfer to serving plates or bowls, scatter the reserved celery leaves on top and finish with a little cheese, if you like.

Ricotta stuffed Conchiglioni

It's awfully cold outside... Time for some warming comfort food. I love these baked pasta dishes! This one here is simple and still, it's something else than the usual lasagna because of the conchiglioni. I think they look cute. The tomato sauce is super - easy-peasy to make and absolutely delicious! I don't have to say anything about the ricotta filling - you guys know that I love ricotta ;-) I like to make this dish for guests because you can prepare most of it a bit in advance. Later on, you only have to put it in the oven which leaves you time to talk to your guests and enjoy an appetizer. You can also variate the ricotta filling just the way you like it. I, for instance, used dried tomatoes instead of the porcinis.

Recipe
(from the lovely Once Upon A Cakestand)

about 16 conchiglioni (large pasta shells) - I usually make a bit more, of course then you need a bit more filling as well.

Filling:
200g ricotta
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 rashers of streaky bacon, cut in small strips
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
a good hand full dried porcinis, soaked in hot water and chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper

Tomato sauce:
1 medium red onion, diced finely
1 carrot, diced finely
1 tablespoon of tomato purée
2 cans diced tomatoes
some flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese

For the tomato sauce heat some olive oil in a deep sided pan, add onion, carrot and tomato purée - mix and let sauté for a bit until it softens and caramelises. Then, add the canned tomatoes and increase heat. Season with salt and pepper and let it cook until the sauce has thickened. Add chopped parsley and remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Cook the pasta shells in salted water for about 8 minutes until they are soft but still have a bite and are firm enough to be filled. Drain and allow to cool.

For the filling, place ricotta, grated parmigiano, thyme, chopped porcinis, bacon, a little salt and freshly ground pepper into a bowl and mix. Fill the pasta shells with the ricotta mixture and place in an ovenproof dish.

Spoon a little of the tomato sauce over the stuffed shells (if you don't use all of your sauce you can safe it for another pasta dish). Generously sprinkle with grated parmigiano cheese.

(I usually make the tomato sauce well in advance. I cook the pasta shells and prepare the filling. Then, I fill the cooled pasta shells with it, place them in my ovenproof dish and put that in the refridgerator. Just before baking, I spoon the tomato sauce over it.)

Bake for about 20 minutes in the middle of the oven. Add some freshly grated parmigiano cheese before serving. I usually serve this together with a salad. It serves 3-4 people.

Pasta alla Norma

I haven't posted a savoury recipe for some time now. It's not that I don't cook, it's just that most of the time I don't have the patience to photograph my freshly cooked meals when I'm hungry :-) This is one of my all-time favourite pasta recipes! The sauce goes perfectly with a big helping of ricotta... and I love to serve it with grated pecorino cheese instead of parmesan.

Recipe:
(from: Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Italy, a German version for instance here)

2 big aubergines
1tblsp dried oregano
1tsp chili flakes
2 garlic cloves
1 big bunch of basil (stalks chopped for the sauce)
1tblsp white wine vinegar
400g tinned tomatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper
150g ricotta
spaghetti or other pasta

Divide aubergines lengthwise into 4 quarters and cut into slices (about 1cm thick, like fingers). Heat olive oil in a heavy frying pan and put about half the eggplant slices into it together with the oregano. Roast until golden brown, then let drain on kitchen paper. Do the same with the other half.
Roast the eggplant slices together with the garlic, chili and the chopped basil stalks. Pour in the white wine vinegar, then the tomatoes. Season your sauce with salt and pepper and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
Cook the pasta in salt water.
Before serving, add the basil leaves to the sauce. Mix the sauce with the pasta. Spoon some ricotta onto each serving.

Salmon Lasagne with Saffron

I have a great savoury recipe for you! With this lasagne you can impress guests and guess what, it is extremely easy to make. It can be prepared in advance so that you will only have to put it in your oven when your guests arrive.

The combination of salmon and saffron works perfectly... and I like the yellow color.

Recipe:
(Source: Betty Bossi Magazin 10/2009)

300g cream curd ("Rahmquark")
180g sour cream ("saurer Halbrahm")
120g grated Sbrinz cheese (1/3 kept aside)
1 sachet of saffron
1 tsp salt
a pinch of pepper

250g fresh lasagne sheets (NOTE: Take fresh pasta sheets, not the firm ones. There are also firm pasta sheets which do not require per-cooking, but according to a friend of mine, the lasagne was too dry in the end. For my friends from Switzerland: There is also rolled out pasta dough available at MIGROS for instance.)
400g salmon filet without skin, grey fat layer removed

Preheat oven to 200°C. Chop the salmon into pieces and set aside. Mix curd, sour cream, Sbrinz, saffron, salt and pepper.

Butter an oven-safe pan of about 2.5l capacity. Layer lasagne sheets, salmon and curd batter. End with the curd batter and cover with the rest of the grated Sbrinz.

Bake for about 25 minutes (you can prepare this lasagne up to a day in advance, in that case, you'll probably have to leave it in the oven for about 5 more minutes).

I usually serve it with a salad. Serves 3 - 4 people.

Vermicelli with Ham and Creamy Saffron Sauce

I'm flying to Sicily tomorrow to visit Mauro's family and I am so exited! I wanted to inform you that I won't post anything on my blog for about a week and a half. But I'm not leaving you without another recipe.

What would fit better now than pasta!? I have a simple recipe for you that is basically a carbonara sauce with the addition of saffron. Trust me, it is extremely good!


This is what I call comfort food... not only is it nourishing, it is also heart-warming. You get happier with every bite you eat. I love the vermicelli pasta with this dish because you can really shovel big bites onto your fork and it looks very nice with the ham streaks. If you don't have vermicelli, you could use thin spaghetti or linguine.

Recipe:
(from Ursula Ferrigno - Pasta Passion)

serves 4

350g vermicelli (or other) pasta (if you are hearty eaters, I would say a little more, maybe then also a bit more ham and cream)
a large pinch of saffron strands
150g cooked ham, cut into strips (I roasted the ham strips in a frying pan before adding them to the sauce)
200ml cream (I used 25% fat, the original calls for double cream)
50g grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
2 egg yolks
sea salt
pepper

Heat up a saucepan of water. Put the saffron strands into a smaller saucepan and add two tablespoons of water. Bring this to a boil. Then, remove from the hot plate and leave it to sit for a bit.

When the water is boiling, add salt and then the pasta. While the pasta cooks, add ham to the pan containing the saffron. Also pour in cream and parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Stir well. When the cream bubbles, remove the pan from the hot plate, add the egg yolks and beat well. Taste and season again according to your taste.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Mix well and serve.

Spaghetti with creamy Zucchini and Lemon Sauce

I have another simple pasta recipe for you. I cooked this pasta for dinner on Tuesday. While I photographed the dish, Mauro actually complained and asked whether I make food only for photography purposes or whether he might eat it eventually. But I got my shot in the end - and Mauro got his helping of spaghetti ;-)


for 4 persons:

1 - 2 zucchini (250 - 300g)
1dl vegetable stock (bouillon)
1.5dl cream (25% fat)
2 bio lemons, grated zest
salt and pepper
400 - 500g spaghetti

Cut zucchini into dices and cook in the vegetable stock for about 5 minutes until it is soft. Add cream and puree with a hand mixer. Add lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.

Cook spaghetti al dente, drain the water and then mix with the sauce.

Recipe source: www.saison.ch

Notes: This sauce has a really lemony taste. I liked it, but if you don't, just use one lemon. Also, I added some chopped pistachios for decoration, they go well with this sauce.

Cravattine with Ricotta and Peas

I realized yesterday that I hadn't cooked a decent pasta in a long time! So yesterday's lunch was a pasta dish with one of my favourite light summer sauces. I can cook this pasta spontaneously almost anytime because I always have the ingredients at home. See, this is one of the reasons I love ricotta, you can make a simple but most delicious pasta sauce with it in no time! And frozen peas also always belong in my freezer. I use them very often for spontaneous "creations".


Recipe (for 2):
I always cook this dish "freestyle" so I'm not absolutely sure about the exact measures but I think these should be about right. The original recipe comes from Donna Hay's "Instant Entertaining".

ca. 350g cravattine (or other pasta)
about 120g of frozen peas
about 125g ricotta
olive oil
lemon juice
salt
pepper

Cook the pasta in saltwater for about 10 minutes. While the pasta is boiling, cook the frozen peas in a little water also for about 10 minutes. When the pasta is al dente, drain it together with the peas and put it all back into the pan you cooked the pasta in. Add a few splashes of olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add ricotta and mix it all well. Then, put onto two plates and grate some parmesan cheese onto it if you like. Decorate with herbs, such as basil. Donna Hay seasons this pasta with mint leaves which I haven't tried but I'm sure tastes also good.

Spaghetti with Ricotta, Spinach and Parmesan

There are not many dishes that I love more than dessert :-) but with pasta it's different... Pasta is always a good choice: if you have guests, if you feel bad and need something to cheer you up, if you've had an exhausting day, if you're ill, or - like today - just as a simple lunch for two.


I found this recipe on Jamie Oliver's homepage. Go get it here!

I've changed some things however: I used - as you might have guessed - ricotta instead of mascarpone :-) and I used cream with 25% fat. It turned out quite nourishing still.

I suggest you try this one out! Trust me, it makes you happy! It's really easy and somewhat tasty! I'm going to cook this again very soon!