Ginger-Soy Rice Noodle Salad

I saw a rice noodle salad somewhere several days ago I thought looked pretty good, so I thought I'd try to put one together (mostly, I wanted one for lunch, and this is the outcome that worked fairly well).

As far as a meal like this goes, whether it's room temperature or cold, this type of dish can be nice light meal for a warm summer afternoon or evening- that's where I was going with it.
Or you could add shrimp, chicken, or beef to make it a little more robust.

For this recipe, things are left pretty open- it's mostly lists.
Amounts are to taste as the additions to each individual dish, though I'd say maybe 4-5 oz of noodles for 2-3 people, but anything extra is an easy meal the next day.
Vegetables can be raw, blanched, or given a quick saute.

 

(But whatever you do, as is quite often the case, the best part of the salad is the end since all the goodies that aren't tangled up with everything else fall to the bottom of the bowl to be captured at long last.) 
Quite honestly, after photographing I added a bigger mess of herbs, more vegetables, and I stirred in a bit more sauce before devouring.

A word of warning: the amount of dressing will certainly cover more than two salads- more like four or more. But that's ok.
If you're at all wary about any of the ingredients and the amounts, perhaps add what you like, let it sit to blend, then taste. The dressing by itself could potentially be whack-you-in-the-face strong to some, but when tossed with the bland noodles, it's great... I think I could eat it on lots of things so I'm perfectly fine with the leftovers (stored in a jar in the fridge). Again, go easy on certain ingredients and/or the amount you use when dressing the noodles it if you're at all concerned.
(And don't spill any fish sauce on yourself. A wonderful flavor in smaller doses, great as part of a whole, it's pretty rank by itself and if you spill you'll probably have to change your clothes.)

 

Ginger-Soy Rice Noodle Salad
(Dressing serves at least 4)
Rice noodles (whatever style you choose)

Ginger- Soy Dressing:
1 1/2 T freshly grated ginger
1/4 c (60 ml) tamari or soy sauce
2 t (10 ml) fish sauce
1 1/2 t (8 ml) sriracha (optional if you like a little heat)
1 T plus 1 t (16 g) sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
Zest of 1/2 lime, plus 1 T (15 ml) juice 

Vegetable options:
cubed avocado
thinly sliced red pepper
sliced sugar snap peas
cucumber batons
grated or julienned carrots

Fresh herbs:
green onion
basil
cilantro
mint

To serve:
chopped peanuts
caramelized shallots
lime wedges
sriracha

Extras:
cooked shrimp, chicken, or beef



*As there are different types of rice noodles, make sure to cook them according to package instructions. Drain, shock under cool running water, drain well again, and set aside.

Stir together the dressing ingredients in a bowl and let sit at least 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of your salad ingredients. 

When ready to put salads together dressing noodles, add enough dressing to moisten and loosen the noodles, and toss well to distribute. 

Place noodles in bowl (or bowls) and add vegetables and herbs as desired.
Top with peanuts and shallots, and add extra dressing, lime, or sriracha if you wish.

Pesto

At the end of the summer, August or September, pesto is a good use of all that overgrown basil you might have.

It wouldn't grow at the beginning of the season, and now you're drowning in it...

You can freeze it for a little later in the year for some summery flavor, too. Just make sure that air doesn't get to it. Oxidized basil ain't so pretty, folks.

However, blanching the basil will help keep it a brilliant green.

Freshly made pesto is so much better than jarred.

Use it on pasta, gnocchi, risotto, polenta, in dips, on a tomato salad, for bruschetta, on chicken or fish... thin it with a little more oil and it can be a fantastic bread dip.

The technique of turning garlic cloves into garlic paste helps give the strongest garlic flavor possible. If all the cells in a clove of garlic are broken down, then the compounds which give garlic it's garlickyness are released. Plus, it's smooth and more easily incorporated into the rest of the sauce.

Little bits of pine nuts, yes.

Little chunks of raw garlic? Whew. I'm not sure I'm a fan of those.

And so, to make garlic paste, start with minced garlic on a cutting board. Sprinkle the bits of garlic with kosher salt, and smash the garlic by adding a little pressure and dragging the flat side of the knife over it, the blade facing away from you. Scrape, pile it up, scrape in a different direction... and continue until it's a relatively smooth consistency.

Depending on what you want to do with it, you can leave the sauce thick and spreadable, or make it more loose with a little extra olive oil.

Pesto Genovese

makes about 2 c

4 c fresh basil, packed (about 6 oz by weight)

3 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt

2/3 c pine nuts, lightly toasted in a dry pan (only a few minutes, warmed through and very lightly colored)

2/3-1 c olive oil

2/3 c finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 c finely shredded Pecorino Romano cheese

Freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once the water boils, prepare an ice water bath in a large bowl and set aside. Add the basil leaves to the boiling water and quickly remove them to the bowl of ice water after 30 seconds. Cool and drain well.

Have the minced garlic ready on a cutting board and sprinkle with 1/2 t kosher salt. Find a large chef's knife with a wide blade and place the flat side of the knife on top of the garlic, blade facing away from you. Apply some pressure and drag the knife across the garlic. Scrape it all together, and drag the knife across again. Continue until the garlic is a relatively smooth paste.

In the bowl of a food processor combine the blanched basil, garlic, pine nuts, and 2/3 c olive oil. Process until well-combined and the basil and pine nuts are broken down. Add the Parmesan and Pecorino Romano cheeses as well as 1/2 t black pepper, and pulse until incorporated.

Add extra olive oil to thin to desired consistency. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper.

To store: Place in jars or other containers in the refrigerator covered with a thin, extra layer of olive oil before closing. It should last in the refrigerator at least a week.

To freeze: Place desired amounts of pesto in small freezer bags, containers, or jars (maybe about 1/2 c per lb. of pasta or gnocchi?). Make sure all of the air has been removed before sealing the bags or add a thin layer of olive oil to top off the containers. Defrost in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Pesto should last several months frozen.

Summer Pasta

Classic, right?

This is a little adaptation of a Barefoot Contessa Recipe.

The sauce is uncooked, making for a very colorful dish, and takes advantage of summer freshness.

There are relatively few ingredients and the only cooking required is boiling water for the pasta.

Make sure to get the parts of the sauce prepared a few hours before dinner, and the meal is a cinch.

I think this sauce is best with pasta that's cupped or somewhat hollow so it's able to "catch" bits of tomato and basil.

Basil is easy to chiffonade with a sharp chef's knife.

Stack up several leaves on top of one another, roll them into a cigar shape, and slice the roll in thin and even cuts.

Voilà! Chiffonade.

*I had what I thought was a perfect video in this spot.

But I got rid of the video and posted the link instead because the video would play whenever it was on screen, even when it wasn't the post you were looking at.

If you still want to check out the video, see above (there'll probably be a commercial before the video).*

When cooking the pasta, it's important to make sure it doesn't turn into mush. You want it to be "al dente."

The easiest way to do this is to undercook it by a couple of minutes (depending on the time given on the package), taste, and leave it in a little longer if necessary.

Remember that pasta will continue to cook and steam itself a bit once it's off the heat, plus it'll soak up some of the liquid from the sauce.

Summer Pasta

serves 4-8

(really, it depends on who you have eating and whether it's a side or a main)

3 pt. cherry or grape tomatoes

5 large cloves of garlic, minced

3/8 c olive oil (or scant 1/2 c)

3/4 t kosher salt, plus more for salting pasta water

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1/2 t red pepper flakes

18 large fresh basil leaves, chiffonaded, plus extra to be used prior to serving

1 lb. pasta (I use campanelle)

1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving, if desired)

Halve the cherry tomatoes and place them in a large bowl with olive oil, minced garlic, the 18 basil leaves, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Stir gently to combine and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let macerate at least 3 hours at room temperature, tossing occasionally.

When you're ready to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Salt liberally, stir to dissolve the salt, and bring back to a boil. Add the pasta, stir, and cook to al dente according to package instructions (or be like me and cook for less time than the package instructs).

Drain the pasta well and add to the bowl with the tomatoes. Toss together with the Parmesan cheese and extra fresh basil leaves.

Serve with extra Parmesan cheese if desired.

Pasta Primavera

I know I can't speak for everyone, but sometimes I just want vegetables. Of course, it wasn't always that way.

I had an older, wiser cousin who taught me and my older sister how to discreetly get rid of broccoli in a napkin once when we were at Grandma's. How convenient.

It didn't work though... the one and only time I tried (that same fateful and educational day) I think I was caught.

Many kids aren't that interested in veggies and perhaps have a nightly battle of the wills with a parent or two. The kid will be stuck sitting at the table until they finish the hated vegetable, a few bites of the vegetable, or until the parent caves and the child is freed from the confines of their chair.

I'm sure this happened on occasion to me, but it was probably never an extreme case. I can't say it was really worth it.

The real fruit and vegetable desire happened around the time I was in college.

For the most part, many college dorm cafeterias leave something to be desired in the produce department. In fact, many are notorious for their not-so-great food. And so, when I was home I really wanted FRESH fruit and vegetables.

Pasta Primavera is full of fresh vegetables, and so colorful.

This can be soooo good, and will be best if you make sure to take your time so that the broth reduces and the flavor intensifies.

The quickest way to reduce is to make sure you're using a pan that's as wide and shallow as possible to make sure that evaporation will happen easily. Really- it works better.

Greater surface area for the heat distribution will save time and frustration.

As a dutch oven, the pan I used this time around would not be classified as shallow.

And (Maisie) it can easily be made gluten-free if you just make sure the broth and pasta you choose are gluten-free.

Pasta Primavera

3 1/2 c vegetable stock

6 sprigs fresh thyme

Kosher salt

2 c carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds

1 lb asparagus, tough ends removed and chopped into 1 inch pieces

2 c zucchini or yellow squash, cut in a large dice

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips and chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 c peas, fresh or frozen

1 1/2 lb. dried pasta

4 T butter

Freshly ground black pepper

2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the pasta per package instructions until al dente (I usually undercook just a little because the pasta will continue cooking with the sauce later).

While the pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan bring 2 cups of the stock to a boil. Add the thyme and a little salt. Add the carrots and cook for three minutes. Make sure the stock continues to boil before you add each additional vegetable. Add the asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Add the peas and cook until all vegetables are just barely tender. By this time most of the stock should have evaporated. Add the butter and cook over medium heat for a minute and then add the remaining stock. Cook until all the vegetables are tender but not mushy.

Drain the pasta in a colander and toss it with the vegetables and broth. Cook for a minute or so of the broth seems a little soupy. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Toss with 2 cups of Parmesan to help thicken the sauce.

Serve the pasta with additional Parmesan.

Brown Butter and Pine Nut Pasta

There are a variety of pasta shapes out there, and they were created with different purposes in mind...

...or the sauces were paired with the pastas because they were complimentay for one reason or another.

Large shells are meant to be stuffed with a meat or cheese, as are canneloni.

Very small pastas are good as an addition to soups (just like rice or barley might be).

Pastas with ridges "catch" bits of meat and sauce.

Personally, I totally prefer pasta shapes to pastas in a long, thin noodle form. I think I just like the textures.

This is a very nice, simple pasta, and I chose the farfalle because the folds will catch little pools of sauce and a pine nut or two.

Make sure not to overcook the pasta in the boiling water. When the pasta is added to the hot sauce, it will continue to cook a bit and soak up the sauce. In fact, for this reason I tend to undercook the pasta by a couple minutes. I want the texture to be perfectly al dente.

Brown Butter and Pine Nut Pasta

serves 6-8

1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) pasta

kosher salt

2 sticks plus 2 T butter (18 T)

1 c pine nuts

1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg, plus extra for serving

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch fresh parsley, stems removed and roughly chopped

fresh Parmesan cheese for serving

Heat a large pot of well-salted water to boiling.

While water heats, melt the butter in another large pot over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the pine nuts, stirring often, until they nuts are a deep golden brown (about 10 minutes). Turn off the heat, remove the nuts from the butter with a slotted spoon or sieve and set aside.

When the pasta is "al dente," remove about 1/2 cup of the cooking water to a cup or a bowl, drain the pasta from the water and add it to the brown butter. Add the reserved water, most of the pine nuts, a sprinkling of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, and chopped parsley, and stir to combine.

Serve the pasta with fresh Parmesan cheese and a grating of fresh nutmeg. Sprinkle a few of the reserved pine nuts on top.

Mushroom Risotto

I think this is my favorite risotto recipe.

I love mushrooms though. I had a roommate once who would not eat mushrooms since they happen to be a fungus, and that was just against her personal philosophy or something. Not that she'd tried them and hated them, but she just refused to try them. Too bad for her (because there are so many kinds of them and they're so good). Oh, well.

Dried Porcini mushrooms aren't much to look at, but they add TONS of flavor to chicken broth. And the color goes from a weak, watery gold to a more robust, ruddy brown.

It's an earthy and special dish, really good for cold weather, and would make a great vegetarian dish if you wanted to use vegetable broth...

I used 3 types of mushrooms in this one: dried porcini, white button, and baby portobellos (aka crimini mushrooms). To me more types of mushrooms = more complexity. But, I won't say we have to go overboard here.

The white mushrooms are nice (as always), but the portobellos add a nicer flavor (in my opinion, anyway). They're the same mushroom, but the white variety is actually a cultivated anomaly of the browner and more mature portobello.

So, perhaps it's my imagination, but I think they're meatier and earthier.

If all you can find, or all you want to use is white button mushrooms, that's just fine!

When making risotto, it's very important to use risotto rice: Carnaroli, Arborio, or Vialone Nano. In the U.S. however, you're likely to find it labeled as "risotto rice." These types are short- grained, starchy, able to absorb a lot of liquid, and will yield a firm, chewy, and creamy risotto. If you were to use generic white rice, you'd end up with something a little more akin to mush or gruel. Mmmmm, lovely.

It's important to keep stirring! You want the grains to cook evenly, stay in contact with liquid so it can be absorbed evenly by the grains, and you want to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot! However, "drowning" the rice in too much broth isn't a good idea either if it happens to seem like a remedy to this situation. One of the keys to a creamy risotto is slowly adding the hot broth. And really, it doesn't take that long to make risotto, patience is possible.

Plus, if you decide to increase the amount of risotto you're making, the good news is that it doesn't add much extra time to your cooking.

Oh! And you may not need to use all of the broth for the rice- that's ok!

Confused about whether it's done? Taste it!

P.S. I'm aware that rice is not pasta, but that's just how I decided to classify it because it can fill the same need.

Mushroom Risotto

6 side-dish servings

6 c chicken stock

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1/4 c unsalted butter

2 c chopped onion

10 oz pkg baby portobellos, washed and sliced

8 oz white button mushrooms, washed and sliced

(*at least 1 # of mushrooms total- it could be ALL white button mushrooms if you wish)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 c risotto rice, preferably Arborio

2/3 c white wine

2/3 c finely grated, fresh Parmesan cheese

salt

fresh pepper

Bring the broth to a simmer in a heavy medium-sized saucepan. Add porcini mushrooms, cover and set aside for at least 15 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms and chop finely. Cover the broth and keep warm over low heat.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, porcini, and garlic. Saute until the mushrooms are tender and most of the juices have evaporated, about 1o minutes.

Stir in the rice and cook, while stirring a few minutes so that the grains are coated with butter and mushroom. Add the wine and cook, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed- this should only take a couple minutes! Add 1 cup of broth and stir the rice mixture. Simmer the risotto over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed. Add more broth by the cupful as it is absorbed by the rice. Continue cooking, adding broth, and stirring until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy, about 30 minutes or so.

Mix in the Parmesan cheese and season the risotto with salt and pepper to taste.