Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

 

I love one pot meals.  I love being able to build layers and layers of flavor in one dish.  And it’s usually in the form of pasta for me.  I usually do meal prep for at least two days on Sundays.  Being able to reach in the fridge without having to do any additional food preparation is really a help with an impatient toddler.  

This dish is quite decadent.  For a friend lunch I had at home, I was able to serve this with sandwiches and salad, without any leftovers.  It’s a great side dish you would similarly get in a cafe or bistro that you can make yourself at home.

For dinner, this pasta dish would be wonderful with grilled chicken or a great piece of salmon.

Pasta, Pesto, and Peas

adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fusilli pasta
• 1 and 1/2 cups pesto
• 1 (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 and 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/3 cup pine nuts (I used sunflower seeds because it’s what I had on hand)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Cook the fusilli pasta in salted water to al dente per the pasta instructions.  Drain and cool to room temperature.
2. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, puree the pesto, spinach, and lemon juice.
3. Add the mayonnaise and puree.
4. Add the pesto mixture to the cooled pasta.
5. Add the Parmesan, peas, pine nuts, salt, and pepper.
6. Mix and test for salt and pepper.  Serve at room temperature.

 

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Cardamom Clementine Pancakes

Try saying that name five times fast.

Let’s say this together – hiatus. This is the longest I have ever not blogged. Why? Many reasons. Mainly, it’s been a whirlwind around here. In addition to the craziness that happens with running a business, house, husband, baby, extended family and my own sanity, we had to put down our family dog of 18 years and, for the first time ever,had a judge dismiss one of the most important cases of my career. So between Monday through Friday, I was doing damage control upon damage control, while maintaining as much control as possible.

Then, Saturday morning came. And, per usual, I embarked on my pancake project. One may guess that I was setting myself up for failure. However, this Saturday, I put aside the worries and disasters of the week for our now-typical Saturday breakfasts.

I therapeutically mixed the ingredients with hopes of nothing more than avoiding another failure. The pancake stars aligned and we have another winner. Starting with a solid recipe for a base and adding ingredients purposely yielded a beautifully light and flavorful pancake.

I absolutely adore cardamom and drink it often with my regular cup of chai. I was inspired to the same flavor and combined it with the refreshing juice of clementines. The pair work wonderfully together and the proportions of each allow you to enjoy the flavor of both without being overpowered by one.

Cardamom Clementine Pancakes
adapted from Barefoot Contessa

– Makes about 10-12 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups of flour
• 3 tbsp turbinado sugar (you can use regular sugar)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup almond milk (you can use cow’s milk)
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• juice of one clementine
• zest of one clementine

Directions:

1. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom powder, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream, almond milk, eggs, vanilla extract, clementine juice and zest.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
4. In a non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
5. Ladle 1/4 cup worth of batter onto the skillet. Cook each pancake 3 minutes on each side.