Linguine Fini in Creamy Arugula-Walnut Pesto Sauce with Crispy Prosciutto

I went grocery shopping yesterday, the second time for the week, and bought prosciutto di parma, arugula, walnuts and other basic ingredients. I could not wait to get home as I already have something in mind that I wanted to eat. Went home and started making arugula-walnut pesto which is a variation on the original pesto sauce with the substitution of arugula and walnuts in place of basil and pine nuts. It is a less pricey alternative to the expensive pine nuts and basil (darn, I need to grown my own as these babies are getting pricier each time I shop for them)and pine nuts but taste just as good. Arugula usually has a rich, peppery taste but surprisingly mellows when placed in combination with the other ingredients in pesto sauce.

After I finished making the pesto sauce, I proceeded to making a creamy pesto pasta with crispy prosciutto. Uhhmmm...yummy good. Nothing can beat a crispy piece of pork, right? Prosciutto di parma is a little bit pricey at $20+++ per pound but so worth it. I usually like to wrap it in around melon slices and eat as an appetizer...ahhh, that one taste heavenly...hehehe. Prosciuttio is Italian for ham. Some of the most famous places where prosciutto are made includes Parma and San Daniele. It makes one think what is up with these Italians and food, right? Hahaha, they must have been blessed by the food gods or something. Anyways, the creamy pesto is quite easy to make and didn't take me long to finish the dish.



Ingredients:

Arugula Pesto Sauce:
2 cups fresh arugula leaves, stems removed
1/3 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup walnuts
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place walnuts andarugula in food processor.
2. Process until it is grinded. Scrape the sides with spatula.
3. Add olive oil in steady stream while continuing to process using a food processor.
4. Add garlic and grated parmigiano reggiano. Blend until well incorporated.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer to a container then set aside

Pasta:

1/2 lb linguine fini

1. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Add salt and oil before adding pasta.
2. Cook according to direction.
3. Save some of the pasta water before draining water from pasta using a colander.
4. Set aside.

Creamy Pesto Sauce with Crispy Prosciutto:

3-4 pieces of prosciutto
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup arugula walnut pesto sauce
2/3 cup heavy cream


1. Heat pan over medium low and add olive oil. Fry prosciutto until crispy then remove from heat and transfer to paper towel lined plate.
2. Discard all but 1 Tbsp of the oil from the same pan where you fried prosciutto.
3. Add pesto sauce and heat gently.
4. When pesto sauce has warmed thoroughly, add cream. Mix well to make sure that pesto is incorporated well into the cream.
5. Simmer for 2 minutes before tossing pasta in. Coat pasta with the sauce.
6. Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.
7. Top with crispy prosciutto.

Orange and Pistachio in Orange Blossom Water

Ahhh...what a wonderful morning... is what I am hoping *crashes back down to the land of the living and my reality*... hehehe... had to wake up early today because I have so much to do and too many errands to take care of. I really need to get moving again so I thought I would start my day by walking a little bit...whew easier said than done especially when it is humid. After all that sweating and walking, I need something to refresh me and get me ready to face this day. I like this dish because it does not involve any cooking. Its my take on grapefruit breakfast except that I am using oranges instead of grapefruit. To me, they are the same. Both are rich in Vitamin C although some studies have suggested that grapefruit can help you lose weight. Hmmm, does it? I have no idea. Personally, I prefer oranges better in terms of taste. Grapefruit tends to to have a bitter taste, or is it just me? Even pink grapefruit does taste slightly bitter to me. Not for lack of trying, believe me I have tried plenty and they all taste bitter. Maybe I just have not found a sweet grapefruit yet. Anyways, I still think oranges taste better...hehehe...


I am using orange blossom water as a "dressing" which I purchased from monieur Marcel at the the farmer's market in Third and Fairfax yeaterday. Orange blossom water are made from Seville orange blossoms which are left to steep for 2-3 weeks. Who has the time to do this? I would probably do it if I have access to orange blossom but since I don't, I bought some ready made orange blosson instead. Orange blosson water is commonly used in Persian and Arabic cooking.

Ingredients:
2 oranges
2 Tbsp pistachio, shelled and chopped roughly
1 Tbsp orange blossom water

1.Peel oranges using a knife to remove skin and pith. NOTE: You can save the skin (without the pith or the white part) to be used in another dish if you wish.
2. Slice into 1/2 an inch thickness. Try to save some of the juice that have accumulated while slicing the oranges.
3. Combine juice and orange blossom water and pour it over the sliced oranges.
4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Remove from the refrigerator and sprinkle chopped pistachio on top.



Adapted from The Three Ingredients Cookbook by Jenny White

Baklava

Baklava is a rich and sweet Greek dessert made of buttery sheets of phyllo dough and nuts drizzled with syrup or honey. It is sometimes flavored with cinnamon and cloves. Its origin is unknown but some think that it originated from Turkey.

For those who has never worked with phyllo dough, this can be a little daunting since they easily dry out and tear. The key is to make sure you cover the dough in damp (not soaking wet) towel while you assemble. If the dough is frozen, make sure to thaw it completely. I usually thaw mine in the refrigerator for a day before I use them. It just makes it easier to handle since they easily separate from one another. When you brush the butter, just apply a light coating instead of drowning the sheet.


Ingredients:

16 oz. package of phyllo dough
3/4 cup melted butter

Filling:

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Syrup:

1 cinnamon stick, broken into half
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
3 strips of lemon rind (about 2-3 inches long each)

To make the syrup:

1. Using a begetable peeler, peel the outer skin of the lemon. Make sure you are only taking the yellow portion and not the pith (white part)

2. Heat sauce pan over medium. Add water and sugar. Heat while stirring occassionally until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add cinnamon stick, lemon peel, vanilla, and honey
4. Continue to simmer for about 10-20 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and strain to remove cinnamon stick and lemon peel.
6. Let it cool completely before using.

To assemble Baklave:

1. Mix pecans and walnuts in a bowl and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Butter the bottom and side of a 9X13 baking dish.
4. Place a layer of phyllo dough at the bottom of the baking dish then lightly butter. Add another layer and butter the top again. Continue to do this until you have around 6-8 layers of buttered phyllo dough.


5. Sprinkle mixture of walnut and pecans over the top of the phyllo dough stack and pour about 2-3 Tbsp of cooled syrup.

6. Place another later of phyllo dough over the nuts layer and brush with butter. Repeat this 3 times then add a layer of mixed nuts and syrup.
7. Stack another 3 layers of buttered phyllo dough then a layer of nut mixture and syrup. By now you have 3 nut layers.
8. For the top layer, stack 6-8 layers of buttered phyllo dough.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes. NOTE: This solidifies butter thus making it easier to cut.
10. Cut the uncooked Baklava into 2X2 inch squares (or, diamond if you prefer).

11. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the top turned golden brown.
12. Remove from the oven and drizzle syrup all over the hot baklava. NOTE:You don't have to use all of the syrup is you don't want it to be too sweet.


13. Let it cool for about 1-2 hours(preferrably longer to allow the baklava to soak up all of the syrup) before removing from tray and serving. Do not cover while you are letting it cool.

Pecan-Cinnamon Roll

Ahhh...this is my favorite but have not made it since I had my injury and surgery because the residual pain can't handle the repetitive motion of kneading. Thanks to the no-knead dough recipes, I am able to bake goodies that I love again. The recipe for the No-Knead Dough is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff and Zoe. The recipe for the No-Knead Dough is found here.


Ingredients:

1 cantaloupe-sized No-Knead Dough
flour for dusting

Filling:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Take out the dough and place on a floured surface. shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Leave it out for about 20 minutes




2. Filling: In a separate bowl, mix together the first three ingredients for filling then set aside.




3. Topping: Over low heat, melt butter and brown sugar. Cook until it is melted then remove from heat. Add corn syrup and mix well. Place this caramel topping at the bottom of your baking dish. Add Pecans on top.




4. On a floured surface, roll out your dough into about 1/8 inch thick. Spread your filling evenly and then sprinkle pecans on top. Roll into a log. Using a floured serrated knife cut roll into 8-12 equal pieces. Arrange on top of the topping. cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 1 hour. It will rise into almost double its original size.

NOTE: In my excitement, I forgot to take picture when I rolled the dough out, put toppings and rolled it into a log :)





5. Baking: Preheat your oven to 350 degreesfor about 10-20 minutes. Bake your roll for about 30-35 minutes or until it turns golden brown. After it has finished cooking,remove from the oven and invert it into a serving dish immediately.




NOTE: If you wait until after it cools down to invert, your caramel topping would have hardened by then and it will be impossible to remove your roll from the pan.

Banana Nut Bread

I don't know what I was thinking when I went grocery shopping...bought tons of unripe bananas which ripened all at the same time. I haven't had the chance to eat them and it would be a waste to toss them out...Otoki? I put on my thinking cap on and viola! I thought of banana nut bread... Flour, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon, banana...darn, no baking soda and sour cream which means I have to make another trip to the supermarket... hahaha...



Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda. Set aside.



3. Mash banana using a fork and set aside.



4. In a separate bowl, mix eggs and sugar. Beat until light and frothy.




5. Add melted butter to the egg mixture and mix well.

6. Add vanilla and mashed bananas. Mix well.





7. Add all the dry ingredients. Make sure that everything is mixed in.




8. Transfer to an oiled loaf pan and bake for an hour. This proportion makes 1 loaf.



9. Remove from the oven and cool before removing from the baking pan.