Category Archives: Main Courses

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Pea Pesto with Pasta

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This dish was created after a plethora of peas in our garden! I have played around with it a bit, and my family seems to love this !

Pea Pesto with Pasta

What You Need

  • 4 cups fresh peas, pods removed
  • 2 lrg. garlic cloves
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cups of toasted pine nuts
  • 1/2 c. very good grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • 1/3 c. high quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. pasta of your choice

How to Prepare

Blanche peas for 30 seconds in boiling water.  They should be bright green and still very firm.  Stick in food processor with blade running, drop in garlic cloves and finely chop.  Turn processor off and add nuts, cheese, and turn processor back on.  Working very quickly add oil through chute until it is well blended.    Add salt and pepper to taste ( I like Kosher or sea salt).

Cook pasta until al dente.  When finished, drain, but reserve some of the water in another bowl.  Rinse cooked pasta with cool water .  Add pea pasta and water as necessary to obtain the desired consistency.

Sprinkle with extra cheese if desired!

Enjoy!!!

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Spinach Empanadas

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Preparation Time: 4 hours (includes 3 hours of refrigerator time)

Cooking Time: 12 minutes

What You Need

For the Pastry Shell

  • 2 – 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese
  • ¾ cup of softened unsalted butter
  • 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

For the Filling

  • ¼ cup finely chopped onion
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 4 to 5 slices bacon- cooked and crumbled (reserve at least 1 tblsp. of bacon drippings)
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 2 cups steamed fresh spinach
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 egg beaten

How to Prepare

The Pastry Shell

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth.  Gradually beat in the flour.  Knead the dough lightly by hand.  Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.

The Filling

In a medium skillet, heat up the reserved bacon drippings.  Add onion, garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onion is tender, but not brown.  Stir in the crumbled bacon, the spinach, cottage cheese, pepper and nutmeg.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Pre-heat oven to 450*. 

On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry until it is 1/8 inch think.  Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut out as many pastry circles as possible.  Place 1 teaspoon of the filling on ½ of each pastry circle.  Moisten the edges of the circle with the egg wash.  Fold the other ½ of the circle over the filling. Very gently, seal the edges of the empanadas with the tines of a fork (may need to flour the fork to prevent sticking).  Brush the empanadas with the egg.  Using the tines of the fork, prick a small vent into each empanada.  Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes until they are golden.  Serve hot as an appetizer, or make larger ones and serve as a main course.

Enjoy!!

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Orzo and Spinach Salad

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Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

What You Need

orzo salad

Orzo Salad

  • 12 oz. uncooked orzo
  • 2 tblsp. olive oil
  • 2  tsp. lemon juice
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 3 tblsp. white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1/8 tsp. dried thyme
  • ½ tsp. dried oregano
  • ¼  tsp. ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 16 oz. Spinach torn into bite size pieces
  • ½ cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into matchstick size pieces
  • 2 scallions minced
  • 1 tblsp. capers rinsed and drained
  • 2 oz. feta cheese crumbled

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How to Prepare

Cook orzo according to directions on packaging.  Rinse with cold water and drain again.  Combine with 2 tblsp. olive oil and toss to coat. 

To make the dressing combine lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil, wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, thyme, oregano, cumin, and salt and pepper.  Whisk until well combined.  Add to orzo and toss.

Add the spinach, olives, bell pepper green onions, and cappers.  Toss to combine.  Add feta and toss again.  Taste, correct seasonings, and refrigerate until time to serve.

Enjoy!!

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Chicken with Asparagus, Mushrooms and Water Chestnuts

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Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

What You Need 

  • 1 lb. Chicken cutlets, cut into strips
  • ½ lb. Asparagus cut into pieces
  • 2 cans sliced water chestnuts
  • ½ lb. sliced mushrooms
  • 5 scallions chopped
  • 2 tblsp. Veg. oil
  • 1 teas. Chopped garlic
  • 2-3 tbl. Stir fry sauce (I use Kikkomans) or oyster sauce 

How to Prepare

Heat vegetable oil over a moderate heat in a saute pan.  Cook chicken until cooked through, add chopped garlic.  Add scallions and asparagus.  Cook for 3 minutes.  Add mushrooms, water chestnuts and stir fry/oyster sauce.  Cook until heated through.

I like to serve this with basmati rice, but it really works well with anything.

Enjoy!