Peruvian Stir-Fried Chicken & Noodles (Tallarín Saltado)

This chicken and noodle stir-fry dish, tallarín saltado, is a classic Peruvian dish. According to Milk Street, simple stir-fry dishes like this are a staple of the Chinese-influenced cuisine known as chifa. Chifa cuisine combines South American and East Asian flavors and ingredients.

This recipe was adapted from Milk Street, contributed by Malcolm Jackson. Jackson uses balsamic vinegar in place of the more traditional red wine vinegar and substitutes a jalapeño or Fresno chile for the ají amarillo chile that would be used in Peru. The dish was fresh, fast and fabulous. We loved it!

We ate the stir-fry with roasted broccoli- a strange combination- but it was ultimately a nice compliment. 🙂

Yield: Serves 6

• 12 ounces spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 1/2 T oyster sauce
• 3 T light soy sauce
• 3 T balsamic vinegar
• 4 T grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 5), trimmed and cut into 3/4 strips
• 1 large red onion, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
• 6-7 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 large red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
• 1 Fresno or jalapeño chile, stemmed, halved, and thinly sliced lengthwise
• freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime, plus wedges to serve
• 1/4 cup plus 2 T lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Meanwhile, prep all remaining ingredients.
2. Add the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to the boiling water; cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain. (I cooked my pasta for 5 minutes.)
3. In a small bowl, stir together the oyster sauce, soy sauce and vinegar; set aside.
4. In a 14-inch skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until barely smoking. (I used a stainless steel skillet.)
5. Add the chicken, onion, and garlic, distributing the ingredients evenly, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, without stirring, until the chicken is well browned on the bottom and releases easily from the pan, about 4 to 5 minutes. (See Tip)
6. Add the oyster sauce mixture and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until the sauce is syrupy, 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Add the bell pepper and chile; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes.
8. Add the pasta and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and cook, tossing constantly, until the noodles are al dente, 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Off heat, stir in the lime juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
10. Place half of the stir-fry in a serving bowl and sprinkle with half of the cilantro. Repeat with the remaining stir-fry and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges on the side, as desired.

Tip: Don’t stir the chicken too soon after adding it to the skillet. Left undisturbed, it forms a fond, or browned bits that stick to the skillet. The dish’s flavor develops when the oyster sauce mixture deglazes that fond. After adding the pasta water, stir vigorously; this helps the sauce come together.

Spicy-Sweet Sambal Pork Noodles

This tasty and quick dish is listed as one of Bon Appétit’s Most Popular Recipes of 2019. It’s a great list! 🙂 The dish is inspired by pad kee mao, known as drunken noodles.

I used fresh noodles from an Asian grocery that were the most similar to fresh ramen noodles. This dish was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Chris Morocco. I modified the proportions and method. Great.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

• 2.5 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 lbs ground pork, divided
• 1 2 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks or finely chopped
• 10 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 T granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 T tomato paste
• 2 sprigs basil, plus more for serving
• 6 T hot chili paste (I used sambal oelek)
• 5 T soy sauce
• 5 T unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 lbs fresh ramen noodles or 16 to 20oz dried spaghetti
• Kosher salt
• 2 1/2 T unsalted butter

1. Heat oil in a large wide heavy pot over medium-high. (I used a large enameled cast iron Dutch oven.)
2. Add half of pork to pot, breaking apart into 6–8 large chunks with a wooden spoon. Cook, undisturbed, until well browned underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until pork is browned on 2–3 sides, about 5 minutes longer.
3. Add ginger, garlic, sugar, and remaining pork to pot and cook, breaking up pork into small clumps, until meat is nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.
4. Add tomato paste and 2 basil sprigs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until paste darkens, about 2 minutes.
5. Add chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened and flavors have melded, 30–45 minutes.
6. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute short of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. (I cooked 1 pound of noodles at a time for 1 minute each, removing the first batch with a bamboo strainer.)
7. Add to cooked noodles to the pot with sauce along with butter and a splash of pasta cooking liquid. Simmer, tossing occasionally, until sauce begins to cling to noodles, about 1 minute. Pluck out basil sprigs.
8. Adjust consistency with additional pasta water, as desired.
9. Divide noodles among plates. Top with torn basil.

Orecchiette with Greens, Mozzarella & Crispy Chickpeas

I love a recipe that gobbles up the greens from my CSA share. I have made this dish a couple of times using whatever combination of greens I had available. Recently, I used turnip greens, kale and spinach but I have also used chard and baby collard greens in the past. The classic combination of basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella was a nice complement to the sautéed greens as well.

This quick dish was adapted from a Food and Wine staff favorite recipe, contributed by Marcie Turney. I doubled the recipe, decreased the red pepper flakes, and increased amount of fresh mozzarella. SO delicious.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

• 1 pound orecchiette
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and patted dry
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• coarse salt and ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 pound greens such as Swiss chard, kale, turnip greens, spinach, stemmed and leaves coarsely chopped (or more, as desired)
• 1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 16 large basil leaves, torn or chiffonade

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the orecchiette until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium, deep skillet, heat 1/4 inch of vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the chickpeas and cook over high heat until crisp, 4 minutes. Transfer them to a paper towel–lined plate, sprinkle with the cumin and coriander and season with salt and black pepper. Discard the oil and wipe out the skillet.
3. Add the olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper to the skillet. Cook over moderately high heat until fragrant, 30 seconds.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook until softened, 3 minutes.
5. Add the greens and cook, stirring, until wilted, 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
6. Add the pasta and 1/2 cup of reserved cooking water to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring until incorporated.
7. Add the mozzarella and basil and toss. Add more pasta water, if necessary.
8. Spoon the pasta into bowls, sprinkle with the chickpeas and serve.

One Year Ago:

• Spinach Späetzle with Bacon & Sage

Two Years Ago:

• Greens & Chayote Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

Three Years Ago:

• Classic Creamed Spinach

Four Years Ago:

• Fresh Fettuccine with Peas, Garlic, and Ricotta Salata
• Linguine with Asparagus Pesto

Spinach Spaetzle with Bacon and Sage

This comfort food dish is truly season-less. It’s the easiest fresh pasta recipe EVER. These little German dumplings, or batter noodles, are cooked in minutes. The noodles can be prepared several hours in advance- finishing the dish by sautéing them with bacon and sage just prior to serving.

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by David Tanis. I modified the cooking method by using a potato ricer to form the noodles. In addition, I increased the spinach as well as the water in the batter. We ate it as a main dish but it would also be delicious as an indulgent side dish.

Yield: 6 servings

Time: about 1 hour

• 6 ounces baby spinach leaves
• 4 eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• coarse salt
• ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces bacon or pancetta, cut crosswise into thin slices
• 4 T unsalted butter
• 12 fresh sage leaves
• grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving

1. Drop spinach leaves into boiling water to blanch, about 30 seconds, then transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain spinach and squeeze dry.
2. Put cooked spinach in a blender or food processor with the eggs and yolks and blitz briefly to make a green purée.
3. Put spinach purée in a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, the nutmeg and the pepper.
4. Beat in flour and 3/4 cup cold water to make a wet, sticky batter-like dough. Beat for 5 minutes, until lump free. If the mixture seems too stiff, beat in a few more tablespoons cold water. (Because I used a potato ricer, I thinned the batter to a more runny consistency by incorporating an additional 3 T of water.)
5. Leave batter to rest at room temperature, covered, for 15 minutes. Prepare an ice-water bath. Place a colander within the ice-water bath.
6. Bring a large wide pot of well-salted water to a boil.
7. Holding the potato ricer over the boiling water, fill it with 1-2 ladles of batter; close and press the batter into the water. 
8. Let the spaetzle cook for 1 minute or so, until they rise to the surface. Remove with a skimmer and immediately cool in the colander in the ice water. Continue until all batter is used. Drain cooked spaetzle and blot dry. (I placed the spaetzle on a rimmed baking sheet which was lined with several layers of paper-towels.) *Note: The recipe may be prepared up to this point several hours before serving.*
9. Just before serving, set a large wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and let it render without browning much, about 2 minutes. Pour off fat and leave bacon in pan. (To decrease the mess, I wiped out the fat with paper towels.)
10. Add the butter and let it foam, then add sage leaves and let sizzle for 30 seconds.
11. Add the cooked spaetzle and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon until heated through and lightly browned.
12. Transfer to a warm serving bowl, if desired. Serve immediately with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

One Year Ago:

• Orecchiette with Carrot-Hazelnut Pesto

Two Years Ago:

• Whole Wheat Potato-Spinach Gnocchi with Kale-Walnut Pesto

Three Years Ago:

• Gnocchi with Bacon & Tomatoes
• Swiss Chard Stuffed Shells

Strozzapreti with Roasted Tomatoes

My husband is SPOILED. He said that this dish was “standard” fare. “We always eat fresh tomatoes and basil, ” he said. What could be better than two (plus) pounds of local farm stand tomatoes smothered in backyard basil, garlic, and loads of cheese? (That’s what I say!) Yummy!

Well… It would have been better is I had made fresh pasta, I suppose. I substituted store-bought (but special) pasta. I did include the directions to make the homemade strozzapreti because it would bring this tasty dish to a new level. It was absolutely delicious with dry pasta too! This recipe was adapted from the New York Times, contributed by Chris Warde-Jones. I tripled the recipe, reduced the oil, and used dry (store-bought) pasta.

BTW- I am so proud of my backyard basil! I told my kids (who ALWAYS want to set up a lemonade stand) that they should have a basil stand! 🙂

Yield: 6 servings

For the Sauce:

• 2 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
• 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more to taste
• 15 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups finely grated pecorino cheese
• 3/4 cup, firmly packed, fresh basil or parsley leaves

• 14 to 16 oz strozzapreti (or fresh pasta- recipe below)

For the Fresh Pasta:

• 1 cup grano duro flour or unbleached all-purpose flour, more as needed
• 2 large eggs
• Salt

To Make the Sauce:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, 3 tablespoons oil and 12 minced garlic cloves. Toss well, then spread tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut sides up.
3. Roast until soft and collapsing, about 45 minutes; do not allow to dry or brown.
4. Meanwhile, in a food processor combine remaining minced garlic, cheese, and basil (or parsley). Process until very finely chopped.
5. When tomatoes are soft, immediately spread cheese-herb mixture on top and lightly mash with a spoon so cheese melts. Drizzle with 2 more tablespoons oil (or more to taste), and set aside.

For the Fresh Strozzapreti: (I substituted store-bought pasta.)

1. On a wooden counter or large cutting board, mound 1 cup flour and make a well in center. Break eggs into well.
2. Using your hands, mix eggs in well, gradually pulling in more and more flour to make a pasty dough. Knead dough briefly, using lightly floured hands if dough is very wet; it should be moist but not sticky.
3. Scrape wooden board clean. Using a wooden rolling pin (and a very light dusting of flour if necessary), roll dough out as thinly as possible into an approximate rectangle.
4. Using a knife, score rectangle into strips an inch wide and about three inches long. Pick up one piece of dough and press it around a bamboo meat skewer about the diameter of an umbrella spoke. This is most successful if done quickly and not too carefully, so that dough fits tightly round skewer with an overlapping, visible seam. Slide skewer out of pasta and set pasta aside on a plate. Repeat to use remaining dough. Pieces should be irregular in size and shape.

To Finish the Dish:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. If desired, return baking sheet of tomatoes to a 300-degree oven just to reheat.
2. Add strozzapreti to pot and cook until tender, slightly chewy and no longer raw in center. This is best done by tasting after strozzapreti float to surface; be careful not to under- or overcook. Alternatively, if using store-bought pasta, cook according to package directions.
3. Drain cooked pasta and pour into a large bowl; immediately add tomatoes. Toss quickly and serve hot.

One Year Ago:

• Roasted Tomato & Pancetta Penne

Two Years Ago:

• Fresh Tomato Sauce over Pasta
• One-Pan Pasta

Three Years Ago:

• Cilantro Pesto

Curry Noodles with Shrimp & Coconut

I lucked out when I chose this recipe to serve to my brother. As I prepared it, he filled me in on his latest Asian noodle obsession- and all of the fabulous ramen noodle hot spots in Brooklyn and NYC. Fun! Thankfully, this dish was equally amazing-  I don’t like to be outdone… 😉

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by David Tanis. Tanis also suggests substituting chicken, tofu, or vegetables for the shrimp, if desired. A perfect summer meal. Quick, fresh, and tasty!!

• 12 to 14 ounces rice noodles (vermicelli)
  
• ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
  
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  
• ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
  
• 6 allspice berries
  
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  
• 1 medium onion, finely diced, about 2 cups
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped lemongrass
  
• ½ teaspoon grated garlic
  
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
  
• Salt and pepper
  
• 1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
  
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
  
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
  
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  
• 2 cups coconut milk
  
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  
• ½ cup slivered scallions
• cilantro, basil and mint leaves, for garnish

1. Cook rice noodles according to package directions, then drain and rinse well with cool water. Set aside. (I boiled a pot of water, removed it from the heat and soaked the vermicelli for about 10 minutes.) Keep a pot of boiling water on stove for reheating noodles later.
   
2. Toast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and allspice berries in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, then grind in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle.
   
3. Put coconut oil in a wide skillet (use a skillet that has a lid- for later) over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Add lemongrass, garlic and ginger to softened onions and cook for 2 minutes more.
   
5. Season with salt and pepper, then add ground coriander, cumin, fennel and allspice. Add turmeric, cayenne, lime zest and juice, fish sauce and coconut milk. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
   
6. Season shrimp and cherry tomatoes with salt. Add to pan and cover until shrimp are cooked, 3 to 4 minutes.
   
7. Dip noodles briefly in hot water to reheat, then drain and divide among bowls.
8. Spoon shrimp, tomatoes and sauce over each serving.
9. Sprinkle with scallions and garnish with cilantro, basil and mint leaves.

One Year Ago:

• Summer Vegetable Tortilla Casserole

Two Years Ago:

• Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas with Creamy Tomatillo Sauce and Melted Cheese
• Indonesian Coconut Rice with Chicken and Zucchini

Roasted Cabbage and Bacon Pasta

I love finding new uses for cabbage. I was so excited to read about roasting cabbage with bacon on Cottage Grove House. I had never roasted cabbage before. Genius!– and I had two types of CSA cabbage sitting in my refrigerator waiting for a plan! 🙂 The original recipe was for a side dish but I thought it would be fabulous over pasta as a main dish. This recipe was adapted from cottagegrovehouse.com. It was DELICIOUS!!

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

• 1/2 head green and/or red cabbage, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1/2 head savoy or napa cabbage, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 6 slices of thick cut bacon, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• drizzling of avocado or olive oil
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmesan, for serving
• 3/4 to 1 pound fresh pasta noodles, such as Trofie or dry pasta noodles, such as Strozzapreti

 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (convection).
2. Place the cabbage, bacon, oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and toss until well coated. Spread evenly onto two large, rimmed baking sheets. 
3. Roast, turning regularly with a spatula, about 30 minutes, or until well roasted and bacon is crispy, yet still meaty.
4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Cook the pasta according to package directions.
5. Combine cooked pasta with cabbage mixture. Top with grated cheese and serve.