Tag: pasta recipes

Recipes, Lunch, Dinner

Linguine Amalfi

by Jenn MandellLeave a Comment on Linguine Amalfi
Linguine Amalfi

Pasta with Chopped Tomatoes, Black Olives, Capers, Fresh Mozzarella

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes. I used to eat it almost every Sunday night at Grazie. I also always keep the ingredients in my refrigerator in case I have a craving. This pasta dish is one of the original ones put on the menu in the early 1990’s. I have had many requests for the recipe so I hope you enjoy making at home as much as we enjoyed making it for you at the restaurant. The flavors balance each other so perfectly in this dish. I love the contrast between the sweet grape tomatoes and the salty capers and black olives. I like to use a lot of garlic in this dish. I slice the garlic clove in thin slices and then light brown them in the oil before adding the tomatoes, black olives and capers. The flavors all combine together with the vegetable broth to make the most delicious tomato sauce. This pasta is perfect to serve in the Summer or Winter. It is an interesting take on a vegetarian pasta. Linguine Amalfi also makes great leftovers. My nieces Kayla and Alexa love saving a little so they can reheat it a day or two later. I must admit that I definitely agree with them. The sauce seeps into the pasta and makes it so delicious. If I leave a bowl of Amalfi in my fridge I watch it disappear because my family loves heating up a bit as a snack. You can just spoon some into a bowl and a quick 2 minutes in the microwave and you have lunch, dinner or an afternoon snack.

My lunch the next day. Linguine Amalfi sprinkled with grated parmesan. See how the parmesan sticks to the pasta? So good….

You can prepare this pasta in a matter of minutes and your whole family will enjoy it. I also recommend serving it when you have company coming over. The colors look so beautiful on the plate and the ingredients are vegetarian friendly. I would love to hear your comments.

Rate this Recipe
5 from 3 votes
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Linguine Amalfi

Linguine with tomatoes, capers, black olives, fresh mozzarella
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course, pasta, lunch
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pasta, vegetarian
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 674kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 lb linguine – I prefer Rustichella D'abruzzo brand
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic – peeled and sliced thin
  • 1 pint yellow and red cherry tomatoes – cut in half
  • ½ cup kalamata olives – pitted and cut in half
  • ¼ cup capers
  • 6 oz fresh mozzarella – cut into cubes
  • 4 leaves fresh basil – chiffonade
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • ½ cup pasta cooking liquid
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Cook linguine according to directions
  • In a large pan add olive oil
  • Saute garlic until light brown on both sides
  • Add tomatoes, capers, basil and olives and saute for a few minutes
  • Add vegetable broth, pasta liquid, tomato paste, butter and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes
  • Add linguine and toss well
  • Add fresh mozzarella, toss and serve

Notes

You can buy Rustichella D’abruzzo brand pasta on Amazon but you can use whatever brand you prefer. My nieces, Kayla and Lexie, also love this pasta reheated the next day after the sauce has been absorbed by the pasta. Top the pasta with fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Sodium: 1127mg | Calcium: 279mg | Vitamin C: 29mg | Vitamin A: 1133IU | Sugar: 8g | Fiber: 6g | Potassium: 606mg | Cholesterol: 34mg | Calories: 674kcal | Saturated Fat: 7g | Fat: 21g | Protein: 26g | Carbohydrates: 94g | Iron: 3mg

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Recipes, Dinner

Great Lasagna

by Jenn MandellLeave a Comment on Great Lasagna
Great Lasagna

Lasagna was one of the first dishes I learned to make. I ate a lot of lasagna when I was in college and working late in restaurants. I found it very helpful to make a big lasagna and then refrigerate or freeze it in portions that I could heat up whenever I was hungry and had no time to cook. Lasagna is a great one dish meal and pairs perfectly with a simple salad.

When I got married and had children I continued to make lasagna on a regular basis. I typically make lasagna on Sundays when I never quite know if my kids will have a friend stay for dinner or my Dad may call and want to have dinner. If you make one big lasagna in the afternoon you will have enough for 6 hungry people. If you have fewer people just save it for another night. Lasagna reheats perfectly.

So let’s not overcomplicate this recipe but I insist that you make the lasagna with béchamel and not ricotta cheese. It makes the dish so creamy and delicious. When I was in Italy years ago I had the best lasagna and the owner of the restaurant told me to always make béchamel for your lasagna so since then I do. Try it and you will see why. You can also add pesto or ground beef to this recipe so consider this Lasagna recipe a base for whatever else you would like to add. If you would like to add ground beef and make it lasagna bolognese all you have to do is brown the ground beef, drain the oil and add the tomato sauce to the beef before layering the lasagna. When adding pesto you should mix it with the béchamel or the tomato sauce. You only need a tablespoon or so. I hope you enjoy. Share your comments!

Simple Tomato Sauce
Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce
Check out this recipe
Tomato Sauce
Lasagna
Rate this Recipe
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe

Lasagna

the greatest lasagna
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Resting Time10 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: pasta
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 325kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 cups simple tomato sauce
  • 3 cups shredded Mozzarella
  • 1 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
  • 1 box lasagna noodles (no boil is fine)

Bechamel Sauce

  • 2½ tbsp butter
  • 2½ tbsp flour
  • 2½ cups milk
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp salt

Instructions

Make The Bechamel

  • melt butter in saucepan
  • add flour and make a paste
  • whisk in milk, salt and pepper
  • whisk until thickened
  • remove from heat

Make the Lasagna

  • preheat oven to 375
  • put some tomato sauce on bottom of baking dish
  • lay lasagna noodles over sauce
  • spoon more tomato sauce to cover the noodles
  • spoon in some of the bechamel
  • sprinkle some mozzarella and parmesan
  • keep repeating layers so you have 4 or 5 layers
  • Top Lasagna with tomato sauce and mozzarella (no parmesan or bechamel)
  • cover with foil and bake for 50 min
  • remove from oven and let stand covered for 10 min then serve

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Sodium: 986mg | Calcium: 577mg | Vitamin C: 6mg | Vitamin A: 979IU | Sugar: 9g | Fiber: 1g | Potassium: 450mg | Cholesterol: 68mg | Calories: 325kcal | Saturated Fat: 12g | Fat: 20g | Protein: 23g | Carbohydrates: 13g | Iron: 1mg

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