Moments in Time: Pasta

Summer is almost here and our farmer's market is filled with colorful heirloom tomatoes, corn in shades of soft yellow and fresh fragrant basil. What's better on a warm summer day than a simple pasta dish filled with summer time veggies and bacon? This recipe is so simple and fast, it will soon become your favorite summer go-to dish.

Enjoy!

Recipe:

1 tsp olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

3 slices thick cut bacon

1 lb heirloom cherry tomatoes

1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 medium sized corn)

1 14.5oz can low sodium chicken stock (or 2 cups homemade stock)

8 oz pappardelle pasta (or pasta of your choice)

small bunch of fresh basil

salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

2. Slice the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces. And mince the garlic.

cook bacon in pan with a little olive oil

3. Coat your pan (I'm using a large cast iron skillet) with olive oil, drop in the bacon and cook on medium heat until slightly brown.

4. When the bacon is almost done, use a spoon and take out about half of the fat (I keep the extra fat in a container in the fridge and use it in other dishes).

5. Add in garlic and tomato and coat everything in bacon fat.

add tomato, garlic and chicken stock to the pan with bacon

6. When the garlic is starting to turn light brown, add in 1/2 can (1 cup) of chicken stock, and season with salt and pepper. Let the stock come up to a boil, then turn your heat to medium low and let the tomato cook for about 8 - 10 minutes. Some of your tomato will burst and some will stay intact.

add pappardelle or any other past into boiling water

7. This is a good time to drop your pasta into your boiling water.

8. Cut the kernels off two medium sized corn, it should yield about 1 1/2 cups of fresh corn kernels.

add corn and more chicken stock to the sauce

9. At this point some of your tomatoes should have burst and your chicken stock is almost reduced down to nothing. Add in the rest of your chicken stock (1 cup) and all of your corn kernels. Bring to boil and let it simmer while your pasta finishes cooking. This is also a good time for you to taste and adjust seasoning.

10. Once the pasta is al dente, transfer it directly to your sauce. Don't worry if you get a little pasta water in your sauce. Do not throwout your pasta water just yet.

11. Toss pasta with sauce, and let the sauce and pasta simmer together for one more minute. If your pasta looks too dry, add in a little of your pasta water to loosen it up.

12. Turn off heat and use your hands to tear up a few basil leaves directly into the warm pasta. Toss everything together. The warm pasta will welt the basil, and its sweet fragrance will permeate the entire dish.

Bon Appetit!

XOXO

Yan

I absolutely love adding an over-easy egg on top of any savory dish, the runny egg yolk adds a wonderful richness and makes your dish extra yummy. While watching Worst Cooks in America a few weeks back, I came across this recipe for Raviolo al Uovo….can someone please teach me how to pronounce this?!? The recipe called for adding an egg yolk on top of a bed of creamy ricotta filling, all wrapped inside a freshly made pasta. I'm a busy working mom, there will be very rare occasions where I will have enough time (and patience) to make my own pasta, but I still very much wanted to try to make this dish. So I went to our local grocery store and found pre-made potsticker wrappers...still patting my back for this genius substitute! Since these potsticker wrappers are a lot smaller than Chef Anne Burrell's version, I tweaked her original recipe a little as well. I also cut out the bacon completely (even though I love bacon!), and used low fat ricotta to save on a few (or more than a few) calories. Here's how I did it.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
8 leaves of Sage
1 tbsp of fresh thyme
1 cup low fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano
1 large egg plus 4-12 large egg yolks *
1/2 stick unsalted butter (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup chicken stock

Salt & pepper to taste
*the recipe for the filling can make about 10 – 12 raviolis, however I am only making 4 since we are a family of 3

Instructions:

a mixture of ricotta cheese, thyme, eggs and seasoning.

1. Start by mixing together the ricotta , thyme, grated parm, 1 large egg, a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl.

pot sticker wrappers to use instead of freshly made pasta

2. These are the pre-made pot sticker wrappers. You can also use Wonton wrappers if you don't mind the square shape.

adding ricotta filling to the pre-made pot sticker wrappers

3. Add about a tablespoon of ricotta filling to the middle of the pot sticker wrapper.

use spoon to make a dip in the middle of the ricotta filling

4. Use a spoon and make a little dip in the middle of the ricotta filling.

separate the egg whites into a separate bowl

5. Separate the egg white in a separate bowl. The left over egg whites are perfect for a healthy breakfast scramble.

drop the separate egg yolk on top of the ricotta filling

6. Drop the egg yolk on top of the dip you made in the ricotta filling.

4 ravilois ready to be covered with top layer of pasta

7. We are a family of three, and Sofie won't be eating this, so I only made four total. The recipe for the filling can make between 10 to 12 raviolis.

roll out the top layer pot sticker wrapper

8. Since the top wrapper needs to be bigger than the bottom to cover the egg yolk, I used a rolling pin to roll out about 1cm wider all around. Make sure to dust your rolling pin and counter with flour so it doesn't stick.

use a little water to seal all the edges on the ravioli

9. Dip your finger into a little water and wet the edges of the bottom wrapper.

gently press down on the top wrapper to seal ravioli

10. Gently drop the rolled out wrapper on top of the egg. Use your fingers to gently press together all sides.

use a fork to tightly seal all edges on the ravioli

11. Use a fork and press down on all edges with a little bit of force. You want to make sure all edges are tightly sealed so your egg yolk does not leak out.

raviolis are ready to be cooked in boilling salted water.

12. These little beauties are ready to be dropped in a pot of boiling salted water.

13. Melt the butter in a small pan, and add in sage and chicken stock. Cook on medium heat until the sauce has thickened and reduced by half. Turn off flame and set aside.