Friday, September 23, 2016

Pasta with Rapine, Portobello & Pine nuts

Friday, September 23, 2016
Pasta with Rapine, Portobello & Pine nuts


Growing up in an italian household, pasta was a weekly occurrence in my house. While my amazingly talented mother made her homemade red sauce & meatballs a majority of the time, she sometimes made a similar version of this. 

The flavors in this dish are just incredible together. If you are not a huge fan of rapine (it is naturally bitter) then you could probably substitute it out for broccolini...but the rapine is personally my favorite part! 

There is the bitterness of the rapine, saltiness of the parmesan cheese, earthiness of the mushrooms, and wonderful smokey flavor of the toasted pine nuts. AMAZING. I used green lentil penne by POW foods from Acient Harvest. I have lentil pasta here and there when I am looking for extra protein and fiber, especially if there is no meat in a dish. This pasta came out great, and was super filling due to the high fiber! You can absolutely use any type of pasta in this dish. Rigatoni or spaghetti are awesome options as well. For vegans, you can easily leave out the parmesan cheese and it would be equally delicious!

I will be honest, I never measure for this recipe! In my opinion, pasta is a hard dish to mess up. I learned that the best way to cook is to follow your instincts and always taste as you go (thank you mom!!) Therefore, I tried my best to give measurements to certain things such as the oil & cheese..but this is where you can be creative with it and follow your own taste buds! ENJOY :)

INGREDIENTS

1 Box pasta (your choice)
1 Bundle rapine (broccoli-rabe)
2 Large portabello mushroom caps
2 tbsp Minced garlic
1/4 cup Raw pine nuts
1/4 cup Grated parmesan cheese 
2-3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper
Red pepper chili flakes


METHOD

1. Wash and chop the rapine into small bites. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips. 

2. Heat 1tbsp oil with the minced garlic over medium high heat.

3. Once garlic starts to sizzle and turn golden, add the rapine and mushrooms. Stir to mix.

4. Add salt, pepper & chili flakes to taste. (I love the little heat from the chili flakes, but you can totally leave it out! They are very hot, so a little goes a long way.) 

TIP: You may need to add approximately 1/4cup water for moisture. It will get absorbed as it cooks.

5. While the veggies cook, begin to boil the pot of water for the pasta.

6. Now we will toast the pine nuts. Take out a small stove top pan and put it on medium heat. Add the pine nuts, stirring them often, and watch closely for them to turn golden. Do not burn! Once toasted, remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.

7. Once the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to instructions. Keep stirring the veggies and add more seasonings if needed (taste!) Do not be afraid to over-cook the veggies. If you like them with more of a crunch, cook less. If you like them soggy, cook longer. Told you, it is hard to mess up!

8. Once the pasta is done cooking, drain and then place back in the same pot. Add about 1tbsp olive oil + the parmesan cheese and stir to coat.

9. To serve, plate the pasta, then add as much of the veggies as you like, then sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts. You can also add more parmesan to garnish, like I did :)



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