Whole Wheat Pasta with Peas and Roasted Portobello Mushrooms

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I thought it was time to do a pasta recipe, especially one that is healthy, filling, and vegetarian. This is a great, easy summer dinner, inexpensive to make and quite tasty!

Ingredients
4 Portobello mushrooms
Salt and white pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic chopped
Pinch saffron (very optional, but very nice)
8 ounces whole wheat pasta, some manner of short shape (bowties, pennette, Fusselli)
10 oz box frozen peas
1/2 cup white wine
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated fine
Chopped parsley, thyme, basil, rosemary or mint, to taste (optional, but nice)

Procedure
Preheat oven to 400. Put up three quarts of salted water on to boil. Rub the mushrooms clean of dirt with a towel or paper towel. Cut off the stems if they're long (but use them). Slice the mushrooms and toss them in a bowl with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons olive oil . Heat a heavy pan over high heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil to the pan, and when it's hot enough to shimmer but not quite smoke, add the mushrooms. Let sear briefly, then put pan into oven. In another pan large enough to hold all the peas, mushrooms and pasta, heat the oil over low heat and add the chopped garlic. careful it can burn. Add saffron, if using. If the garlic starts to brown, take the pan off the heat. Check on the mushrooms. Give the pan a toss. You're looking for nice browning and, eventually, for them to have cooked and shrunken enough to be almost chewy, about 20-25 minutes total. Put back in oven and continue to roast. Cook pasta in the boiling, salted water. When the pasta is nearly done, put the garlic-oil pan back over high heat. Add the peas and heat through with a few tablespoons of pasta water. Season with salt and plenty of pepper. Take the mushrooms from the oven and deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring to dissolve all the brown bits, and bring to a boil to cook off the alcohol. Add to the peas. Stir in the raw minced garlic and herbs, if using. Drain the pasta once finished and add to the peas. Toss all together, stir in the cheese, taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and maybe a little red pepper flake. Serve right away.

Mint Love Letters with Spicy Lamb Sausage a la Battali

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
I really think this dish is amazing. The mint keeps the dish tasting light and fresh, and the sausage gives it depth and complexity.

Ingredients
Kosher salt
1 pound shelled sweet peas, fresh or frozen
2 cups mint leaves, 16 leaves reserved for garnish
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 recipe Basic Pasta Dough
1 recipe Basic Tomato Sauce (I used a jar of Newman's)
1 pound merguez (spicy lamb sausage), cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1/4 pound Grana Padano cheese, for grating

Procedure
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Set up an ice bath nearby. Submerge the peas into the boiling water and cook until tender yet still bright green, 1-2 minutes. Remove the peas with a slotted spoon, reserving the boiling water, and plunge them into the ice bath to cool. Once the peas have cooled, remove them from the ice bath and allow to dry on a plate lined with paper towels.

Using the same water, blanch the mint leaves for just 10-15 seconds. Transfer immediately to the ice bath. Drain well. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the peas, mint, Parmigiano-Reggiano and heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper and pulse to form a smooth paste.

Using a pasta machine, roll out the pasta dough on the thinnest setting and then cut the pasta sheets into 3-inch squares. Place 1 tablespoon of the pea filling on each square and fold over to form rectangles. Continue filling and shaping until all the pasta and filling are used. Cover and refrigerate until needed or place on baking sheets between layers of dish towels and freeze overnight. The next day, place in freezer bags and store up to 1 week.

In a medium saucepan, bring the tomato sauce to a boil. Add the sausage, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour, skimming off the fat as it is rendered from the meat. Remove the sauce from the heat, cool briefly, and pulse it in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a 12-inch skillet and keep warm.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Cook the pasta in the boiling water until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the sauce. Toss gently over high heat for 1 minute. Add the reserved mint leaves, toss 1 minute more, then divide evenly among eight warmed dinner plates. Grate the Grana Padano over each plate and serve immediately.

Pasta Dough

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, plus 1 for egg wash
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Cornmeal, for dusting

Procedure
In an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to mix. Drizzle in 1 tablespoons of the olive oil and continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Sprinkle some flour on work surface, knead and fold the dough until elastic and smooth, this should take about 10 minutes. Brush the surface with the remaining olive oil and wrap the dough in plastic wrap; let rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.

Cut the ball of dough in 1/2, cover and reserve the piece you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with a little flour. Press the dough into a rectangle and roll it through a pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at widest setting. Pull and stretch the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue tightening until the machine is at the narrowest setting; the dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick (you should be able to see your hand through it.). Dust the sheets of dough with flour as needed.

Tofu and Sugar Snap Peas in Lemongrass Broth

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Okay, don’t laugh, we are doing a tofu recipe. Prepared correctly, tofu is delicious; handled poorly, it's useless, tasteless, and not worth eating. Deborah Madison knows how to do it right, and here is her recipe for Tofu and sugar snap peas in a lemongrass broth from Vegetarian Suppers which is very easy and delicious. I have added some options to make it Weight Watchers-appropriate. If this is not an issue for you, ignore those parts.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons fresh chopped lemongrass (available with the fresh herbs in most supermarkets)
2 slices fresh ginger
Grated zest of 1 lime
2 cilantro sprigs, plus some extra leaves for garnish
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon soy sauce or Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar, maple syrup, or sugar-free maple syrup
1 carton of soft packed tofu, drained
1 teaspoon peanut oil or olive oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 scallions, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1/2 Jalapeno pepper, diced
A handful of sugar snap peas or asparagus tips
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 cup noodles or rice optional (brown rice or buckwheat noodles are “core”)
Lime wedges for garnish

Procedure
Put the first 4 broth ingredients in a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water and a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Now simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, or until mixture is reduced to about 3/4 of a cup (about by half). Now strain out the flavoring solids and add the soy sauce and the maple or sugar. Taste to make sure you like the flavor. While the broth is simmering, drain the tofu and cut into cubes. Next, in a sauté pan, add the little bit of oil and get it hot. Add the garlic, onion, scallion and chile. Cook over high heat for 30 seconds, then add the sugar snap peas and the turmeric and the tofu. Pour in the reserved broth and simmer till the peas are bright green and tender. This will just take a few minutes. Taste for salt. If using, add the rice and or noodles now, personally I just leave them out. Pour into warmed bowls and garnish with cilantro leaves and a lime wedge. A tasty, healthy treat with all kinds of flavors — thank you, Deborah!