Asparagus Pasta Salad

My daily asparagus dose was inspired by the sugar snap peas at Fairway and the fresh ricotta ravioli at the farmers market. The cooking technique was inspired (again) at 101 cookbooks.

I made a lemon garlic vinaigrette to dress it.

Whisk together (with a fork)
1 large lemon, juice and zest
1 clove garlic, crushed and minced
1 T. dijon mustard
1 T. white wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Drizzle in while whisking, 2 T. olive oil (or a little more)

Add 2 (or 4) T. chopped fresh thyme


To a boiling pot of water add 6 oz fresh ravioli and cook for 3 minutes or so. When a couple of them float up, add 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced and 3/4 lb. sugar snap peas, cut into 1/2 slices. Cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

Drain and rinse with a little cold water (the stuff doesn't have to get cold, unless you want it to).



Stir together with the dressing, 1/4 C. shredded parmesan and a handful of pine nuts.

YUM!

I did the dressing in the bottom of the salad bowl and all the boiled stuff in one pot, so it's not a bad clean up.

Verdict: A
Credits: 101 Cookbooks, Ravioli Pasta Salad
Leftovers? Delicious, but hard to save.

Notes: I think I am going to do this again this week as a vegetable side, no pasta for our fellowship group.

Paella rapida

I haven't been cooking much lately, but I wanted to get into the spirit of the summer season and eating for celebration. First stop, paella. This was modified to make it lowfat by taking out the sausage. Of course I added some sausage back in.

2 C. chicken stock + 3 cubes
1 T. olive oil
1/2 lb. medium shrimp
1/2 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast sliced into 1/2" pieces
1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage, sliced
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/8 t. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 C. arborio rice
1 jar of artichoke hearts
1 C. frozen peas
1/3 C. bottled roasted red peppers, sliced thin

Warm the chicken stock in a saucepan, set aside.

In a skillet, cook the shrimp in 1 t. of oil for 3 minutes. Set aside in a bowl. Brown the chicken and sausage in the skillet, for about five minutes. Remove from the pan and set a side in a bowl.

In another 1 t. of oil, cook the onion and garlic until soft. Stir in tomatoes and red pepper flakes. Cook for a couple minutes. Stir in the rice.



Add the chicken stock. Stir, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.



Stir in artichokes, red peppers, and peas. Add the chicken, sausage, and shrimp. Cover and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.



Serve with an inexpense but old (1999) Spanish wine.

Verdict: A
Credits: Paella Rapida in Eating Well May/June 1993
Leftovers? Yes, delicious.

Notes: The original recipe had a a 14 oz can of tomatoes. I had a larger can, so I used 1 1/2 C. of rice (instead of 1 C.) and then added a couple of extra cubes of broth. (I froze a bunch of chicken stock in ice cube trays.) It worked out great.