In my latest quest to find quick and simple meals, I found one in the most unsuspecting of places: The Food Network. I say "unsuspecting," because let's face it, many of us tune into cooking shows, not to replicate the signature dishes of our favorite celebrity chefs, but for the simple pleasure of watching an attractive and charismatic teacher guide us through his/her mouth-watering creations--and hopefully we'll pick up one or two tricks along the way.
But the other day, Giada De Laurentiis, the petite, bubbly host of my favorite cooking show, "Everyday Italian," featured a simple, easy dish which I whipped up the other night in literally a matter of minutes. Born in Rome and trained in Paris, Giada is a master at putting new and creative twists on classic Mediterranean cooking. Yet normally I appreciate her creations vicariously, when she samples everything at the end of the show.
Fortunately, Giada balances her inventive meals with dishes like the Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese, a fusion of salad and pasta that's simple, quick, and cheap to recreate. Gus and I made it the other night with just a few minor alterations to the original recipe, costing us less than $15. Here is the "Gus and Emily" version:
1/3 box orchiette pasta (we used gemelli pasta because it happened to be the cheapest)
4 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 small jar artichoke hearts, halved
half pint cherry tomatoes, halved
feta cheese
salt and pepper
*Makes 2 very generous servings
Cook the pasta according to the box directions. Meanwhile, toss the remaining ingredients together. Drain the pasta, reserving approximately 1 cup of the pasta water. Combine the salad and the pasta in the pasta pot, adding in the reserved pasta water until the greens are just wilted. And voila, your meal is finished! The wonderful thing about this dish is that it requires no dressing and very little seasoning. Instead, the starchy pasta water fuses the flavors together, resulting in a healthy yet filling dish. Here's a picture, pre-toss:
But the other day, Giada De Laurentiis, the petite, bubbly host of my favorite cooking show, "Everyday Italian," featured a simple, easy dish which I whipped up the other night in literally a matter of minutes. Born in Rome and trained in Paris, Giada is a master at putting new and creative twists on classic Mediterranean cooking. Yet normally I appreciate her creations vicariously, when she samples everything at the end of the show.
Fortunately, Giada balances her inventive meals with dishes like the Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese, a fusion of salad and pasta that's simple, quick, and cheap to recreate. Gus and I made it the other night with just a few minor alterations to the original recipe, costing us less than $15. Here is the "Gus and Emily" version:
1/3 box orchiette pasta (we used gemelli pasta because it happened to be the cheapest)
4 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 jar roasted red peppers, chopped
1 small jar artichoke hearts, halved
half pint cherry tomatoes, halved
feta cheese
salt and pepper
*Makes 2 very generous servings
Cook the pasta according to the box directions. Meanwhile, toss the remaining ingredients together. Drain the pasta, reserving approximately 1 cup of the pasta water. Combine the salad and the pasta in the pasta pot, adding in the reserved pasta water until the greens are just wilted. And voila, your meal is finished! The wonderful thing about this dish is that it requires no dressing and very little seasoning. Instead, the starchy pasta water fuses the flavors together, resulting in a healthy yet filling dish. Here's a picture, pre-toss:
3 comments:
Yum
Looks perfect. I wonder if it would be good as a cold salad, too?
I actually just made a recipe (Italian Mac N' Cheese) from Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals (not sure if you like her...I do, but many don't). It actually took 30 minutes! It would have taken less time, but I have ADD and forgot that I needed to focus!
I'll try out your recipe soon!
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