Nutty Pasta Dish. . . . . . . . .

I made a tasty pasta dish a couple of days back - recipe from Brian Glover's 

great little cook book ~ Cooking with Pumpkins and Squash ~

(pub. 2008 Ryland Peters & Small)

Brian has always been my favorite British chef having written food articles 

and shared recipes in many UK magazines besides his published cook books.

Chef Glover's dish above ~ my bowl below.

Pasta with Pan-Fried Squash, Walnut, and Parsley Sauce

Perfect for the cooler season when walnuts and orange-fleshed squashes are 

at their best. Traditionally, a version of this walnut sauce is served with pappardelle 

pasta in northern Italy, but you can use other shapes successfully if you don't have 

that particular one on hand. I used Trader Joe's Lemon Pappardelle which is great, 

and a butternut squash.

To serve 4

1-1/4 cups fresh walnut halves

3 fat garlic cloves, peeled

5 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon Walnut Oil

5 Tablespoons heavy cream or creme fraiche

Small bunch flat leaf parsley

1-1/2 lbs. peeled squash, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices or chunks

1-2 pinches dried hot pepper flakes, crushed

14 oz. pasta of your choice

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve

Preheat oven to 350F. Toast walnuts on a baking sheet for 5-6 mins. 

making sure they don't burn!

Rub vigorously in a clean tea towel to remove as much skin as possible.

Roughly chop 1/3 of nuts and set aside. Put remaining nuts in a food processor.

Blanch garlic in boiling water 2 mins., drain, rinse and add to food processor.

Add 2 Tblsp. olive oil, the walnut oil and cream. Whizz to make a paste. 

Set aside a third of the parsley, then whizz remaining two-thirds into the sauce. 

Chop reserved parsley and set aside.

Leave sauce in processor until needed.

In large frying pan heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat,

add the squash and hot pepper flakes and cook, turning squash now and then,

until tender and lightly browned, about 10-12 mins.

Meanwhile bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook pasta 

according to package directions.

When pasta is cooked, drain, reserving 4-5 tablespoons of the cooking water. 

Whizz enough of this water into sauce to make it creamy, then season with salt, 

pepper, and a little nutmeg. 

Toss pasta with the sauce, squash, remaining chopped walnuts and parsley.

Sprinkle with cheese at the table.

I was able to grab two copies of this cook book on Amazon recently. One went to 
my newly married, extremely creative granddaughter Cassie who's a great cook - visit 
her fabulous blog HERE. I'm loving my copy and plan to be rustling up more 
hearty dishes from this little cookery gem soon.

Buon appetito!

Waste not, want not…Italian style

The name of this delicious, easy to make Summer salad is panzanella. 

Said with an Italian accent it sounds almost romantic - go ahead say it in your best 

Italian accent, it's adorable.

 When you see it being made, the bowl of wet bread couldn't be more unappetizing!

Panzanella actually comes from the word pantanella meaning 'little swap'.

In the picturesque hills of Tuscany, leftover bread is used in many dishes such as 

bruschetta, crostini and the wonderful ribollita soup I enjoy making in Winter.

Panzanella salad is one of the mainstays of the long and languid Summer 

luncheon, or supper under the pergola in the flower-filled garden.

The quality of the ingredients are what make it delicious. 

Panzanella (Tomato & Bread Salad)

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

8 oz stale white Italian bread cut into 2" chunks

About 6 cups of cold water

3-4 medium size ripe tomatoes, chopped

1 small red onion sliced thinly

1 cup fresh basil leaves torn into bite-sized pieces

Cook to Cook:  Use only sturdy crumbed white Italian bread such as 

ciabatta or foccacia - not fine crumb wheat or whole grain style breads.

You can remove the crusts - I leave mine on.

Pour vinegar into a small bowl and whisk in the oil

Place bread in a large bowl, add water to cover, and soak for 5 mins. 

Drain well in a colander then squeeze bread to remove as much water as possible

Coarsely crumble bread back into large bowl

Add tomatoes, onion and basil, toss gently with enough vinaigrette to coat 

Add salt and pepper to taste

Salad can be made ahead - cover and refrigerate. Let 

stand at least one hour at room temperature before serving.

Leftover panzanella is good for another day or so.

 

The finished salad - we enjoyed it last evening with penne Gorgonzola - leftovers 

will make a quick, tasty lunch today.