Penne Pasta with Tuna Sauce

Great last minute dinner idea: easy and quick pasta with tuna sauce

No idea about what to cook for dinner? And no time to go to the grocery store?
Here is a great idea for you: Penne with tuna sauce.
This quick and super easy recipe is the perfect solution for tonight dinner. It only requires a few main ingredients that most likely you have in your pantry: canned tuna, (canned) crushed tomatoes and pasta.
This tasty and filling pasta will surely become one of your favorite for any last-minute family dinner!

Tip: I like to use fresh Italian parsley with many of my recipes containing fish. If you don't have a garden, like me, to grow parsley, you can always buy it and store it in the freezer.
Here is what I do: when I buy a bunch of parsley from the store or market I immediately wash it, dry it and store it in a sealed bag in the freezer. If you like, you can also mince it before storing it. It will be as good as fresh!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 can, 5 oz, of whole tuna in olive oil
• 1 small can, about 2 cups of crushed tomatoes, I like the TJ organic, and I crush it
• 1 tablespoon of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 12 oz of penne pasta

Preparation time: about 20 minutes

Directions:

Step 1: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta as soon as the water boils. In the meantime you can prepare the sauce.

Step 2: In a large skillet, saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil over medium heat.

Step 3: As soon as the onion is slightly golden, add the tuna, drained from the oil in the can.
Break the tuna with a wooden spoon and let saute' for one minute.

Step 4: Add the crushed tomatoes, and simmer aver medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is ready. Salt to taste.

Step 5: Drain the pasta, add to the skillet with the parsley. Mix well and serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!

Pearl Couscous Salad with Chicken and Grilled Peppers

Couscous salad with roasted chicken and deliciously tender, smoky and colorful grilled peppers.

Today's recipe is another of my super healthy, picnic dish ideas to make your outdoor meal memorable. Perfect to take along at the park or at the beach, or great idea for your next barbecue or casual party. I made this Israeli couscous salad yesterday for lunch for my family day at the beach. It was a huge hit with my husband and the kids!
I had some left over roasted chicken from the day before, which wasn't enough for another meal, but plenty to add to the couscous. If you don't have leftover chicken, you can always use a fresh chicken breast, marinate it with rosemary and garlic, cut it thin, and quickly grill it. Just like I did in my couscous salad with chicken and zucchini.
To make this couscous salad a complete, one-dish meal, I add some organic yellow, red and orange peppers that I roasted in the oven: this won't take too much time, nor much work and it's so easy to clean up. Here is my step-by-step, super easy recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 peppers (I used red, orange and yellow)
• 1.5 cups of cooked chicken (about one chicken breast)
• 1.5 cups of couscous (I used Israeli pearl couscous)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juice
• 6-7 leaves of fresh basil
• salt 

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Roast the peppers by placing them on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil for easy clean up, in the upper part of the oven. Remember to turn them over every 8 minutes or so. Leave in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the skin all around is dark and soft. Remove from the oven and wrap the peppers in the foil for 5-10 minutes. This way they become soft and juicy. And easy to peel!

Step 2: While the peppers are in the oven, cut the cooked chicken in small cubes.

Step 3: Cook the couscous following the direction on the box. I simmered the couscous for about 11 minutes in salted water. Drain the couscous and run it under running water to cool it off.
Step 4: Unwrap the peppers, peel them (should be very easy!!) and cut in small cubes.

Step 5: In a large bowl, mix together the couscous with the chicken and the peppers. Season with a few tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice and basil leaves cup in pieces.

Enjoy!!

Pears and Ricotta Tart

Soft, fresh and moist ricotta and pear filling, over a crumbly, sweet and lemony crust

Happy Friday!
I made this ricotta and pears cake last weekend for some friends that came over for dinner. But I've been so busy that it took me a whole week to write down the recipe and post the pictures. This generally doesn't happen, but it's the beginning of the school year and I'm swamped with volunteer work and keeping up with the new schedule.
Anyways, this tart came out really good: a crumbly sweet and lemony crust, covered with a deliciously soft and moist filling made with ricotta cheese and pears. Yummy!
Note, I used canned pears in pear juice, because much juicier than the fresh pears I found at the store. You are welcome to use fresh pears as long as they are ripe and soft.
And one more thing: for the crust you are only using the yolks of the eggs. Don't throw away the whites!! You can always make some super quick almond cookies, like I did. Or some crispy meringues! Enjoy :-)


Ingredients: to make an 11 inch round tart
For the crust:

• 2 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup (150 gr) of sugar
• 1 1/2 sticks (6 oz, 170 gr) of unsalted butter softened 
• 1/2  teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 1/2 lemon, zest
• 2 1/2 cups (400 gr) of all-purpose flour 

For the filling:

• 8 oz (225 gr) ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup (100 gr) of sugar
• 3 tablespoons of milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 lemon, zest
• 3 small pears, I used canned pears (15 oz can)

Preparation time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: In large bowl mix the egg yolks and the sugar until well blended.

Step 2: Add butter, vanilla extract, zest of half lemon, milk and salt. Mix well.

Step 3: Add the flour, one cup at the time. Blend until the flour is all mixed in.

Step 4: Grease an 11 inch tart pan with butter and flour. Place about 3/4 of the dough (the rest will be used to decorate the top) in the pan and press it to the bottom with a spoon or your hands. Make it as flat as possible. Work with your fingers around the edge to make it even. Remove any extra dough. Prick the dough with a fork.

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, blend the ricotta cheese with the sugar.

Step 6 : Mix in the milk, eggs, rest of the lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Step 7: Pour the ricotta mixture onto the crust, and decorate with the pear cut in slices. If you used canned pears, remove all the juice.

Step 8: With a rolling pin, roll the rest of the dough and cut it in thin long strips. Place on top of the tart as shown in my picture.

Step 9: Bake for about 45 minutes until slightly golden on top.

Let the tart cool down before removing from the pan. Sprinkle with powder sugar if you like.
Store in the refrigerator... unless there's no leftover :-)

Enjoy!

   

  

Classic Italian Spaghetti with Clam Sauce

Impress your guests with this delicious, classic Italian spaghetti with clams. Quick and easy.

My absolute favorite seafood pasta!

I hope you had a super fun and relaxing holiday weekend.
Mine was really great! Perfect weather, great company, lots of beach and pool time... who can complain, right?!?
For tonight, I propose an ocean inspired, Italian seafood dinner: Spaghetti with clams. Very popular dish in Italy and in Italian restaurants. And my absolute favorite seafood pasta!
It's really fast (less than 30 minutes!!) and quite easy to prepare. All you need is white wine, fresh (organic) Italian parsley, garlic and peperoncini to make it spicy. And, of course, fresh clams! I'm always skeptical of shell fish, so I only buy clams at the fish market, and not my regular grocery store. This way, I'm always sure they are top quality, fresh and super clean. Note, if you buy the clams in the morning for dinner time, like I always do, don't leave them in the closed package or bag. They might die without air. So, as soon as you get home, open the bag, place the clams in a large bowl  (with ice if possible), and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
Here is the recipe. You really can't go wrong with this!

Ingredients: for 4 people

• 2.5 lb of manila clams, super fresh!
• 1 bunch (about 1 oz) of fresh Italian parsley
• 1 cup of white wine
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 hot peppers (peperoncini)
• 3 tablespoons of plain bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste
• 12 oz of spaghetti 

Preparation time: about 20 minutes

Directions:
Step 1: Clean the clams under running water. Scrape the shells if necessary. Place the clams in a pot with two garlic cloves crushed. Cover the pot and place it over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.

Step 2: Bring another large pot with salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti as directed on the box as soon as the water starts to boil.

Step 3: In a large skillet, saute' two minced garlic cloves with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the hot peppers.

Step 4: Take all the clams that opened from the pot and add to the skillet with the olive oil and garlic. For about half, leave the clams in their shell, and the other half remove from the shell.
If you have clams that did not open, cook them in the pot, covered, for one extra minute. Add to the skillet if the clams are now open, or discard if still close (it means they were dead, and most likely not safe to eat).

Step 5: Filtrate the water left by the clams with a sifter and add the liquid to the skillet. Throw away the sandy bottom.

Step 6: Add the white wine, bread crumbs and chopped parsley to the skillet. Let evaporate the alcohol, and cook for about 5 minutes. Adjust with salt if necessary (it shouldn't be!).

Step 7: Drain the spaghetti al dente and toss in the skillet with the clams for about a minute, mixing well. Serve immediately sprinkling with some more parsley if you like.

Buon Appetito!