Linguini with Clam Sauce (and shrimp)

Spring has finally sprung in Kansas so I wanted to make a dinner that was light but hearty.  I was enjoying my new patio furniture with a glass of sauvignon blanc and thought that a seafood linguini sounded amazing.   I had clam juice hanging out in the pantry (you can always substitute water and a sprinkle of salt for the juice if you do not share my odd habits in stocking a pantry) and shrimp in the freezer so I went to work. The end result is a sweet light sauce with a little kick of spice that my Hubs raved about.

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1/4 package linguini - do yourself a favor and use on a product that is made with Durum Wheat.  It just TASTES better and the Italian government actually requires that all pasta made there is made with it.
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 bottle clam juice (or about half cup of water with a pinch of salt)
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 TBSP basil
• 1 TBSP parsley
• 8 large shrimp, deveined and detailed
• 1 can clams, drained
• 1/4 cup dry, drinkable white wine
• 1 TBSP lemon juice

Instructions

1. Cook linguini according to the package instructions.  This is usually about 10-12 minutes which is just enough time to make your sauce (not  counting water boil time).
2. In a large skillet, combine olive oil and sliced garlic.  Cook until garlic is opaque, approximately 2 minutes
3. Add red pepper and clam juice.  Allow mixture to come to a boil and then bring the sauce to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes
4. Add basil, parsley, wine, lemon juice, clams and shrimp then stir.  Let simmer a minute and a half, then flip the shrimp.  Continue cooking another 2 minutes.
5. Serve over a bed of linguini, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and enjoy with the rest of the white wine you used while cooking :)

Linguini all'Amatriciana

The husband took us to Italy last month... or should I say, we ate our way through Italy last month and it was amazing.  I picked up a sauce cookbook while over there and I learned some very valuable information regarding Italian food.  The two most important things I learned was to "respect" garlic and buy quality pasta.  I'll get in to how to "respect" garlic in another post but the pasta bit is quite interesting.

Why?  Well the Italian government actually regulates commercially manufactured pasta in that they require a certain quality of flour and dictate the percentage of soft wheat flours used (or sub-quality flours that are commonly found in large quantities in US pasta) used.  This is why it tastes SOOOO drastically different and SOOO much better than what we have here in the States.  It also explains why I was not as sensitive to wheat during my travels in Italy.

So back to cooking.  The book I picked up was simply called Pasta: All The Recipes and it has everything from sauce to noodle and ravioli recipes.  It's basically my new Italian Bible. I had some pancetta in the fridge so I decided to make a modified all'Amatriciana (or alla matriciana as the romans say) sauce... which basically just means I took out the parmesan cheese and used the olive oil sparingly.

Ingredients
5 Roma tomatoes or 1 can of diced tomatoes... whichever is easier
1/2 cup pancetta
1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 onion
1 TBS freeze-dried or fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese I did not use this in the recipe... lactose and I are not friends
1 pound linguini (or bucatini if you want to be authentic but a long noodle is best)
Salt

Okay so I have my important ingredients

Now to cook!

Directions
1.  Start your water for the pasta.  Once boiling, add a little bit of sea salt to prevent the noodles from sticking to one another
2.  Blanch the tomatoes, then peel and chop them to your desired consistency
3.  Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and brown the pancetta until crispy (approximately 5-7 minutes).  Scoop the pancetta out of the pan, but leave the drippings in

MMMMM pancetta!

4.  Turn the heat down and add the onion and sauté until opaque (approximately 4-5 minutes)
5.  Add the tomato, basil and let your sauce thicken, stirring occasionally, while you cook your noodles
6.  Before you serve the sauce, add the cheese to it and combine.  Pour it over the noodles and mangia mangia mangia!

All'Amatriciana, sans cheese

Eggplant "pasta" with chicken

So I'm not saying I "gave up" on the Whole30,  just decided that I am not one of those people who can live without wine.  Let's be honest, I cook with wine and bake with tequila so although I am a healthier person... it just did not fit my lifestyle.  I can get my wedding body together without sacrificing that.  Seeing as I cannot eat cheese and most gluten anyways, I'll keep the one thing I enjoy the most about eating... wine.

Anyways, so on to dinner.  Tonite I had a wicked craving for pasta.  Since I am keeping up with the whole mantra of "no carbs at night", I decided to faux it out and call it a night.  I had a nice eggplant sitting in the vegetable bowl so I figured I would slice it up and give it a go.  Amazingly, the meal came out delicious (or at least, I think so... Zack is out of town so the opinion is one sided).

Ingredients
for the eggplant
1 large eggplant
kosher salt
1 Tbs grape seed oil

for the sauce
1 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
1 small jar of organic roasted red peppers, chopped
1 Tbs fresh basil
2 cloves minced garlic (I really hope you bought that large jar of it already...)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp marjoram

for the chicken
2 organic chicken breasts
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional... if you cannot stand heat)
2 tsp grape seed oil

Directions

1. Prep your eggplant - slice the top and bottom off of your eggplant, then slice the eggplant in 1/4 inch wide planes (from top to bottom). 
2. Sprinkle kosher salt on both sides of the eggplant slices and place on a cookie rack.  Let the vegetable bleed for about 30-45 minutes
3. Prep your chicken - cut the breasts into strips (optional... this just makes it cook quicker) and place in a glass dish.  Add garlic and red pepper to the glass dish, stir and let sit in the fridge while your eggplant bleeds
4. For the sauce, add all ingredients (under sauce) to a smaller sauce pan.  Let the sauce simmer over medium-low heat.  Stir as needed.
5. At this time your eggplant should be ready.  Rinse the eggplant strips under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.  Slice the eggplant strips into fettuccini size slices then set aside for cooking.
6. In a non-stick medium sauté pan, add 2 tsp of grape seed oil and heat over medium heat.  Once warm, add the chicken mixture to the pan.  Cook thoroughly
7. In another sauté pan, add 1 Tbsp of grape seed oil and heat over medium heat.  Add the eggplant fettuccini and cook for about 7 minutes.  Stir constantly to ensure even cooking
8. Serve and enjoy!

Makes 3 servings (or two, if you're hungry) at 350 calories 

Puttanesca Sauce

Dinner in a pinch?  Keep these ingredients handy for a hearty and healthy meal!

Ingredients

2 tbs Olive Oil

1/2 cup white onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 (32 oz) can crushed tomatoes, with juice

15-20 large olives, chopped- if you like the taste of kalamata, use those but black is fine as well

2 tbs capers, drained

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbs red wine

Pasta

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute until tender.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for about 2 minutes.  Throw in the remaining ingredients (can't forget the splash of vino!), then heat until bubbles appear.  Lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the sauce is simmering, cook pasta according to box instructions.

Serve!