Meatless Monday: Broccoli Cavatelli

Broccoli cavatelli (or with any other pasta shapes) is a favorite staple in our house.  We love how it tastes and with some sprinkle of pecorino Romano or parmigiano-reggiano, this simple dish becomes positively divine.

Before I get into the very simple recipe, I want to talk about the type of pasta I use.

I used to make this dish with regular dried pasta, usually farfalle (bow-ties) campanelle (little bells), or cavatappi/cellentani (corkscrews) because I could never find cavatelli pasta in the supermarket.  Shame on me, I only discovered about 3 years ago that cavatelli is sold either fresh at a local Italian deli or frozen in a regular supermarket.  I think there are dry versions, but I have yet to find any.

Either way, while pasta of any shape with broccoli sautéed with garlic is delicious, there is something about cavatelli that turns the dish into a succulent and more a “meaty” dish.  I don’t know if it’s the shape or fresh/frozen factor.  Which is why, I tend to use cavatelli when I’m going meatless.

This dish can’t get any more simple and easy, using just 4 essential ingredients. Broccoli, garlic, pasta and extra virgin olive oil. Oh, and some salt and pepper.Unlike some other broccoli cavatelli recipes, I skip the crushed red peppers because of the kids. I replace the chicken broth with reserved pasta water. I use a lot of broccoli, 3 large bunches of broccoli, including the stems and I chopped them up a little smaller.

I use a lot of garlic. Some recipes calls for 3 or 4 heads. I take 6 to 8 cloves of crushed and minced garlic.

I saute the garlic in olive oil until fragrant and just slightly golden. A hint to make clean up easier, I boil the broccoli first, pasta next and then use the same pot to saute the garlic before throwing everything back together. That’s why you see a little bit of broccoli with the garlic in the photo below.

The final product with some yummy cheese on top.

This one is from last year, the first time I tried to write up the recipe and just plain forgot to do it.  As you can see from the two photos, because I give my  broccoli a few chops before adding them to the garlic, there is a more blended effect.  There’s broccoli bits coating the pasta and that’s what my family loves.

Broccoli Cavatelli

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 large bunch of broccoli, head cut to smaller florets, stem peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1 pound fresh or frozen cavatelli
6 to 8 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
extra virgin olive oil
1 – 2 cups reserved pasta water
salt and pepper
grated pecorino romano or parmigiano-reggiano cheese, optional
fresh chopped parsley, optional garnish

Directions

In a large pot, bring lightly salted water to boil. Boil broccoli until just past al dente but still firm, remove from the pot, drain and set a side. In the same water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 2 cups of pasta water before draining the pasta.

Dry the pot before adding 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and heat on medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant and it starts turning lightly golden. Add broccoli and saute until thoroughly mixed. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the pasta and 1 cup of reserved pasta water and cook until the water is absorbed. Add another 1/2 cup to 1 cup if more liquid is needed and cook until the pasta and broccoli is tender.

If using cheese, add cheese to taste and mix before serving. Sprinkle a little more for garnish. If not using cheese, just serve immediately with or without fresh chopped parsley.

 

Meatless Monday Recipe: Lentil Soup

My father-in-law makes the best lentil soup and it is the most basic and simplest of recipe. I couldn’t believe how simple and easy it was because the soup itself tasted much more complex. I had him demonstrate it for me one day since I refused to believe it could be so simple.

He calls this “soffritto”, but it’s just garlic, onions and tomatoes and does not contain the more traditional ingredients such as celery, carrots and parsley.

He fries them up until they are quite golden brown. Then, he adds them to the already boiling and just about tender lentils. He adds some chopped celery and frozen broccoli and boil until everything is tender, may be another 15 minutes. A little salt and pepper and it’s delicious.

Of course, I can’t leave his recipe alone and have to mess with it.

I start with garlic and onion, too.

Add some chopped tomatoes.

Fry them up until they are tender.

And the tomatoes have really broken down.

Then, this is where I deviate. I add chopped celery and carrots.  Then, I add vegetable stock instead of water, the lentils and boil until just about tender if I’m adding chopped broccoli.  Add broccoli until fully done.  Or add the spinach when the soup is pretty much done.

I think I missed taking photo of one or two of the steps. This one shows with the lentils and vegetable stock already added.

And here is the finished product, this version contains spinach instead of the chopped broccoli. I make it both ways just for change of pace and they are both really good.

ETA: Somehow I published this without the recipe so here it is!

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Lentil Soup

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time 45 minutes – 1 hour

Serves: 8

Ingredients

olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped sweet onion
2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots, sliced into half moons or chopped
1 pound dry lentils (green or brown), picked and rinsed
2 quarts water or vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
6 ounces chopped broccoli (fresh or frozen) or baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot, fry garlic and onions in olive oil until softened. Add tomatoes and sauté until the tomatoes start to break down and release the juice. Add celery and carrots with a little more olive oil and saute for another minute. Add the lentils, water or vegetable stock and the bay leaves and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until lentils are just about tender, about 35 minutes.  If the soup becomes too thick, add more stock or water to thin out. Remove the bay leaves.

If using broccoli, add at this time and cook another 5 – 10 minutes until broccoli is tender.

If using spinach, add when lentils are fully tender. Stir in the spinach and cook for another minute or two until all the spinach has softened.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Note:  I think another lovely substitute vegetable would be swiss chard instead broccoli or spinach, but I haven’t tried it yet.  Also, this may sound strange, but we love to eat lentil soup over plain white steamed rice, a lá Korean style or Indian style with dal.  I tend to make the soup a little thicker for that purpose.  A sprinkle of fresh grated pecorino romano cheese is a nice touch.  And finally, this soup freezes very well.  I always make the full pound of lentils so I can freeze 1/2 and use for quick dinners or lunches.

Kale and Quinoa Salad

If you follow food trend at all, you would know that kale and quinoa have become really popular in the recent years. This salad combines the two super food in an easy and tasty way.  It makes for a nice hearty side or a light meal.  I imagine the left-over will make a fabulous lunch and I’ll find out tomorrow! (ETA: It did make for a wonderful left-over lunch!)

The recipe is from a member on Tasty Kitchen.  I’m re-writing it here because I’ve modified the recipe slightly to suit my family’s palate and appetite.  The original recipe’s serving size is for 8.  My family must have a bunch of pigs, but there’s no way that would feed my family with left-overs.

We ate the salad with some flounder topped with lemon capers sauce.  Perhaps because I didn’t have a starch, but the three of us almost finished the entire salad.

Go over to Tasty Kitchen or to the original recipe site, Forty Cakes for some much nicer step-by-step photos.

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Massaged Kale and Quinoa Salad

Prep time: 30 mins  Inactive Cook time: 30 mins

Serves: 4 for hearty portions, 8 for smaller sides

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 small clove garlic minced fine
2 – 3 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey for non-vegan) to taste – I used 2
*can also substitute with brown sugar, 1 – 2 tcp

For the salad
2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
1 large bunch kale, washed well, stemmed and chopped or ripped to small pieces (about 8 packed cups)
1/3 cup dried cranberries (I like Ocean Spray Craisins)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 – 2 sweet, crisp apples (Fuji or Gala good options), chopped
salt and pepper to taste

*optional non-vegan ingredient – crumbled feta cheese

Directions

For the vinaigrette
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and the agave/honey/brown sugar and set aside.

For the salad
In a large bowl, combine the kale and the vinaigrette. Massage the vinaigrette thoroughly into the kale for about 5 minutes. The volume of the kale will decrease as the kale become tender. Set aside for another 10 to 15 minutes for the kale to become more tender.

Add in the quinoa and toss together with the kale. Add the walnuts, cranberries and chopped apples. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and thoroughly toss some more.