Favorite Thing

Rana Pastas

On a whim I bought a package of this product a few months ago. I've never been very impressed with supermarket pastas like this. I can go to a local Italian market and get quality frozen fresh-made pastas. But this stuff is really good! My market only carries 3 or 4 varieties, but there are many. You'll find them in a refrigerator case. They are not frozen and they keep in the fridge quite a while. They also sell "Family" size packages. I've seen them at Sam's and Cosco. Check out their website. They have lots of recipes for using their product.

Rana Pasta USA

The pasta has a nice tooth to it and the 4 cheese filling is quite delicious - not bland at all. It makes for a quick meal with simple sauces. I've also bought the sausage filled ravioli and they are good as well.

There are about 15 large ravioli in the package. They do get larger after you boil them so a package can feed 2 to 3 people depending on how you prepare them. You can use what you need and keep the rest refrigerated or freeze them. Some times I just do a simple olive oil, butter and garlic with some grated parmesan. Other times I made a simple marinara. The last time I made them I placed them on some non-stick foil on a cookie sheet. I spread a little marinara meat sauce on top then topped that with grated mozzarella cheese. Then I put them under the broiler until the cheese melted. Yummy.

I'm toying with the idea of using them to make a lasagna - replacing lasagna noodles and ricotta cheese with layers of these ravioli (parboiled a few minutes, but not completely cooked) and meat sauce and mozzarella. It would probably take at least 2 packages to make a small lasagna.

Do I dare?

Click to download recipes.

...............................................................

Super Thin Crispy Pizza

It was one of those evenings. Dinner time was approaching and I hadn't a clue what I wanted to have for dinner. Chicken again? No. A pasta dish? Just had it? Something with rice? Had rice twice already. Pizza? Yea - that's it. I love pizza! I always have tortillas in the fridge and they make a great, thin and crispy pizza without a lot of work. You can obviously use whatever you want or have handy on a pizza; you could just make a simple sauce and cheese pizza with some fresh basil, but here is what I did ... 

I preheated the oven to 425 degrees. Placed 2 tortillas on a round, perforated pizza pan (you can use a baking sheet) and once the oven was hot I put them in the oven for 5 minutes. When you take them out move an oven rack to the bottom shelf.

Meanwhile I fried up a small piece of breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean) and chopped it up, sliced up some green bell pepper and grated some mozzarella cheese. I put the cheese in a bowl and added about 1/4 cup of grated parmesan, 2 teaspoons of oregano and a teaspoon of caraway seed. (The parmesan keeps the mozzarella from clumping and adds flavor as do the additional herbs.)

I opened a small can of tomato sauce and added a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste plus a teaspoon of oregano and a teaspoon of garlic powder. Mixed it up in a bowl, covered it and microwaved it for 1 minute. Then stir to mix well. (I always keep tomato paste in the freezer. I open a can, spread it out on a piece of plastic wrap to about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap it and freeze it. When I need a little I just cut off a piece and return the remainder to the freezer.)

I spread the tortillas with the tomato sauce, added the cheese, and then the sausage and green pepper. Then I placed the pan on the bottom rack. In about 15 to 20 minutes the cheese is bubbly and brown around the edges. The crust is super crispy. Eat up! (A version of this recipe is in my cookbook.)

...............................................................

Cannelloni

My father loved the cannelloni served at Ferd’s, a local Italian restaurant that sadly no longer exists. He ordered it almost every time we ate there. It can be an extremely rich dish depending on the cannelloni filling and the sauces you use. This recipe is a recreation of that version so loved by my father. I will offer other options as well. Cannelloni are a tubular pasta similar to manicotti. Typically, manicotti are stuffed with ricotta cheese and other ingredients and baked in a marinara. You can use cannelloni in a like manner. There are many recipes using various fillings. You can buy cannelloni tubes in a box or use some of the no-bake lasagna noodles or buy some fresh or frozen pasta sheets at a local market. Tubes are more difficult to fill than sheets which are simply rolled up around the filling.

This recipe will make about 10 to 12 cannelloni, depending on the kind of pasta you use.

• If you use the box pasta, cook 12 of them only 1/2 the time as directed on the box. Drain and set aside to cool so you can handle them. Do not rinse them under cold water. 
• If you use the no-bake noodles, boil 12 of them in some water just to the point they become pliable (about 3 minutes), remove to a sheet pan and keep them apart or they will stick together. 
• If you use frozen pasta sheets, let them thaw and come to room temperature. Cut them in 3 inch by 6 inch pieces. 

Oven Temp - 425 degrees F. 

Cooking Time - about 40 minutes

Tools: 9” by 13” broiler-safe ceramic or metal baking dish (not glass)

Serves: 5-6 (2 cannelloni per person)

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 cannelloni tubes or a box of no-bake lasagna noodles or pasta sheets as described above

THE FILLING 

• 1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage (ground or if in casings, remove casings) 
• 12 ounces ricotta cheese 
• 1/2 box of frozen spinach thawed and water completely squeezed out 
• 2 eggs 
• 4 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley 
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 

PARMESAN CREAM SAUCE 

• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese 
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 5 tablespoons flour 
• 4 cups milk 
• 1//4 teaspoon nutmeg 

TOPPING: 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Brown the sausage in a skillet. Once almost browned, use a potato masher to break it up. Remove and drain off the fat. Set aside. 
2. In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, spinach, egg, parmesan, mozzarella and parsley. Mix in the cooled cooked meat. Set aside or refrigerate covered until you are ready to fill the pasta. 
3. In a large saucepan melt the butter on medium heat. Add the flour and stir to blend. Let the roux cook for 2 minutes. Now slowly add the milk while stirring constantly. Add a little at a time. Bring to a boil while constantly stirring. Once it comes to a boil, turn it off and remove from heat. Mix in the parmesan cheese. 
4. Grease a broiler-safe baking dish with some butter or cooking spray. 
5. If using the cannelloni tubes you will need a small zip-lock type bag to create a piping bag. Fill the bag about 2/3rds full with some of the filling mixture. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Cut 1/2” off one of the bottom corners. Hold the piping bag in one hand and squeeze the filling into the pasta tube until it is filled. Place it, seam side down, in the baking dish. Add more filling to the piping bag as needed. 
6. If using pasta sheets, place 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling near the end of shortest side of the sheet and shape it into a log. Then gently roll up the pasta to create a tube. Place it, seam side down, in the baking dish. 
7. Arrange the tubes evenly in the baking dish. Leave some space between them so you have room for plenty of sauce. Pour the sauce over the tubes. Do not completely cover the tubes with the sauce. Leave a little of the tops exposed. Sprinkle top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. 
8. Cover dish with foil and bake at 425 degrees F. until it is bubbling. Remove the foil and turn on the broiler. Lightly brown the top. Remove and let cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with some additional grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley for garnish. 

VARIATIONS:

• You can use a simple marinara instead of the parmesan sauce. In that case you will not use the broiler at the end so you can use a glass baking dish.
• Omit the sausage in the filling, use a whole box of the frozen spinach for a meatless version. You can use either the parmesan sauce or a marinara.

Click to download recipes.

...............................................................

Pesto and Pasta

A Pesto is a "crushed" sauce that usually has 3 or more ingredients and is mixed with pasta. The most familiar pesto sauce comes from Genoa, Italy and is a combination of basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese. These are placed in a food processor or blender and pureed into a thick sauce which is tossed with hot pasta. You can make a pesto with any herbs, nuts and cheese of your choosing. 

I am not fond of basil so the traditional pesto is one I have played with to find something I enjoy. To simplify, here are some possible ingredients for a pesto sauce. 

• Use some herbs or greens: basil, parsley, arugula, spinach. 
• Some garlic gloves. Raw garlic can be "hot" and strong. If you prefer a milder garlic flavor simmer garlic in a little olive oil until soft.
• Some kind of nuts: pine nuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts. Nuts should be warmed in a skillet on medium heat to bring out the oils and flavor. Almonds and pine nuts should brown slightly.
• Some olive oil - extra virgin for a lighter oil flavor or regular olive oil for a heartier oil flavor
• Some grated hard cheese: parmigiano-regianno, pecorino romano, asiago

You can use a combination of items in each category like some basil and some parsley or just one of them. You can use some parmesan cheese and asiago or just one of them. Experiment with flavors you like. 

One night I had a lot of fresh baby spinach so I used that, some garlic, olive oil, walnuts and parmesan cheese. It was tasty!

TO MAKE A PESTO FOR 1 SERVING:

1. Figure of handful of greens or herbs or mix of the 2. Basil has strong flavor with a hint of licorice, Parsley has a bright, green, earthy flavor. Arugula has a peppery flavor. Spinach has a very "green" flavor.  

2. 2 or 3 cloves of garlic. Use less if raw, more if you sauté it first in a little olive oil because it will be milder. But use what you want depending on how much you like garlic. 

3. 1/4 cup of nuts 

4. 1/4 to 1/3 cup of grated cheese. You will want some more grated cheese to put on the pasta after you toss the hot pasta and pesto. 

5. Some olive oil. How much you use depends on your ingredients. Start with about 1/4 cup of oil but have more on hand. 

6. You can use spaghetti, linguine, ziti - any shape pasta you like. Enough for 1 serving - about 4 to 6 ounces. 

7. Place your ingredients in a blender or food processor. A blender and food processor create a pesto differently. A processor works best, but a blender can work as well. 

If using a blender you will put on the lid, but remove the small inner cap and pour the oil through the opening. If using a processor you will use the feed tube to add the oil.

8. Put the device on puree and start drizzling in your olive oil through the feed tube or the opening of the blender lid. Stop when it becomes a thick paste but not so thick that it does not move in the blender/processor. It should be a little loose, but not runny. You want it thick. 

9. Cook your pasta. Drain it, but DO NOT run it under cold water. First, you want hot pasta and secondly you wash off the starch which helps the pesto stick to it. Don't over shake or dry the pasta when you drain it. You want it to be a little wet. And, by the way, DO NOT add oil to pasta water. It makes it slick and sauces will not stick to it. If you stir pasta in the first 2 minutes it is boiling it will not stick to itself. 

10. Return the pasta to the warm pot, but off the heat. Put in some pesto and toss. If you think it needs more pesto, add more. Serve in a warmed bowl with some additional cheese on top and a little drizzle of olive oil. 

Click to download recipes.

...............................................................