Category Archives: Pasta

Corn, Broccoli, and Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta

I have always struggled with transitions. The bridge between summer and fall is a tough one for me. I don’t put on socks until November. 

Markets here in Ottawa are still selling local sweet corn and I’ll be buying for as long as they’re selling. I’m in no hurry to say goodbye to summer. 

The fall produce is starting to arrive but I’m not quite ready to be rushed into pumpkins and squash. I’ll start slow with a verdant head of fresh broccoli. 

This Corn, Broccoli and Spicy Italian Sausage and Shells is the perfect dish to make for dinner this week. It bridges that gap between summer and fall perfectly. 

Featuring sweet local corn, it satisfies our desire to stretch the summer season for as long as possible. Hearty spicy Italian sausage (I used plant based) and earthy broccoli are firmly rooted in the comfort food zone of fall. 

I adapted this recipe from Chris Morocco’s Corn and Sausage Pasta from the September 2022 issue of Bon Appetit. I added a large head of broccoli, cooked it for 2 minutes in boiling water and then chopped it up into rubble sized pieces so that each bite has lots of broccoli bits. There is never enough broccoli for me.

The second change I made to Chris’ recipe was too add some Crunchy Garlic Breadcrumbs as a garnish. I love to play with textures, and these light, fluffy and crunchy crumbs make the perfect garnish. Totally optional, but worth the extra few minutes of time.

The pasta cooking water, Parmesan cheese and a small knob of butter make for a creamy and satisfying sauce. 

Click here to print recipe for Corn, Broccoli, and Spicy Sausage Pasta.

Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Asiago and Pine Nuts

If you are of a certain age, you may recall when sun-dried tomatoes were ubiquitous. This was way back in the last century, mid 80’s to mid 90’s. They became so mainstream that they found their way into bagels and cream cheese, wheat thin crackers, flour tortillas and potato chips. They got abused and ultimately there was backlash and they disappeared from our pantries.

I’m on a mission to bring them back. They are little flavour bombs, packed with umami and during most of the year, when tomatoes are sadly lacking in flavour, sun dried tomatoes have a place at the table.

I learned a version of this recipe at one of my very first professional cooking jobs. I was working in an upscale take-out food shop in Toronto’s Yorkville area called Dinah’s Cupboard. I learned so much from Dinah Koo, the shop’s owner. She demanded perfection and precision. She cooked with big flavours and was a master at presentation. I am forever grateful to her for teaching me so much.

It was my job to make a vat of this cold pasta salad every morning. The original recipe called for angel hair pasta, and there were no fresh tomatoes or olives in it. It was one of the most popular items in the shop and sold out every single day. Unlike most pasta salads, which are insipid in seasoning, this salad is an umami flavour bomb, owing to the sun-dried tomatoes and asiago cheese.

My mom, all my sisters and my sister-in-law made and served this at every family get together during this era. Eventually, we all got sick of this salad and it was retired from the rotation. I made it again, last summer, for the first time in 25 years, and everyone was so excited to taste it again.

It’s a perfect dish to make ahead for entertaining. I would suggest adding the fresh basil and pine nuts just before serving, but the rest of the salad keeps very well in the fridge for several days.

Tips for success:

  • Cook the pasta for 2-3 minutes less than the package recommends. The spaghetti will continue to soften as it sits in the sun dried tomato pesto.
  • Use oil packed sun dried tomatoes for the best flavour.
  • Try to seek out asiago cheese. It is widely available now and has a pungent flavour that is hard to replicate.
  • Please, toast your pine nuts!! Untoasted nuts have the texture of sawdust and will ruin the dish.
  • Add fresh basil and pine nuts just before serving.

Click here to print recipe for Spaghetti with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Asiago and Pine Nuts.

Pea, Arugula and Pistachio Pesto

I have an early summer twist on a traditional pesto for you today. Instead of basil, peas and arugula take the starring role. Frozen peas are perfect for this recipe. I find that unless you have access to fresh peas immediately after they have been harvested, they always taste starchy to me. Frozen peas are packaged immediately after harvesting and that fresh verdant pop is preserved.

Peas are quite sweet, so the addition of arugula, which is peppery and slightly bitter, is a really nice contrast. Pine nuts are traditional in pesto, but I love the richness and colour you get from pistachios.

The pesto comes together while the pasta is cooking. I love spaghetti for this pesto, but a short tubular shape would also be great, like penne or rigatoni. An extra sprinkling of cheese is not optional, in my opinion, but I’ll leave that up to you. For the photos , I garnished mine with some green pea and purple radish shoots that I found at Produce Depot (Ottawa) this week. I also reserved some of the blanched frozen peas and chopped pistachios to sprinkle on top. I like garnishes that tell a story of what the dish contains.

Sausage and Kale Stuffed Shells

If you search the archives of this blog, you will discover that there are no recipes for stuffed pasta of any sort. I have always assumed that they are too much work to make. As I typed that last sentence, I realized how bizzare that sounds, coming from someone who often posts cakes that take all day to create.

I was inspired to give stuffed shells a whirl after watching Jeff Mauro make these Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Shells on The Kitchen a few weeks ago. The base of most stuffed shell recipes consists of ricotta, mozzarella, and an egg. You can choose your own flavour adventure. I decided on kale and plant-based spicy sausage. Jeff made a delicious looking vodka-tomato-cream sauce to lay his shells on, but I took the easy route and pulled out a jar of Rao’s Marinara Sauce (Not sponsored, just love it! Great price at Costco this week, by the way.)

Remember to cook the shells for a minute or two less than the package directions, as they will continue cooking in the oven with the sauce. You can put the filling into a disposable piping bag if you like, but honestly, it didn’t take that long to actually fill them with a spoon.

Sprinkle a bit of extra cheese on top of the shells before baking.

The recipe for this serves 4-6. if you are just cooking for two, make the full recipe but divide it into 2 smaller casserole dishes. Bake one for dinner that night and freeze the second for another time. You can bake it frozen without thawing. Freezer meal make me happy.

Osso Buco Pasta Sauce

Osso buco, literally translated in Italian means “bone with a hole”. The hole refers to the marrow hole at the center of the cross-cut veal shank. Traditionally, the cross-cut veal shanks are slowly braised in stock, wine, tomatoes and vegetables and then served with some polenta or perhaps risotto. I decided to take the braised meat off the bone, shred it up and mix it back with the flavourful braising liquid and vegetables and serve it over pasta. Any pasta that has little nooks and crannies to trap the delicious bits of this chunky sauce would be fine.  Warm, hearty, rich, tangy and just a little bit spicy, this dish really is a celebration of fall.

I especially love this dish because once the chopping and browning are done, the whole thing is covered and popped into the oven for 2 hours, leaving you time to do something else. (A little late to the game, but so obsessed. Those eyes!!! Anyone else watching?)

I blogged about this recipe before, in 2011, but it’s still a favourite of mine. I make a big pot of it every fall and have enough sauce leftover to freeze for those dark winter days when you just don’t feel like cooking.

Because there’s nothing I like better than a good makeover, here’s the image I shot in 2011. Same delicious recipe, but new and improved photography skills!

Veal shanks are dusted with flour and sautéed in oil, over high heat, until golden brown.

Carrots, onions, celery, red pepper, thyme and a hefty pinch of red pepper flakes are the supporting cast in this recipe. They don’t disappoint.