Chorizo and Baby Bella Baked Pasta

Every once in awhile it's nice to make a one-pot meal.  Life gets a little busy and throwing everything in one dish and popping it into the oven is great.  This technically classifies as a good old casserole, but it's a darn sight tastier than tuna casserole - no offense to those of you who think that's the bee's knees.  While you can pair it with a salad (a nice arugula with a lemon vinaigrette would be lovely), that would be a bonus and not essential in my book.  This originally came from a 1992 Bon Appetit recipe.

Chorizo and Baby Bella Baked Pasta

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 12 ounces onions, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, quartered
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (you can use sweet or hot, but smoked is preferable)
• 1 pinch cayenne (or more if you want it really spicy)
• 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 3 cups low salt chicken broth
• 1/2 cup white wine (see below)
• 12 ounces chorizo - the fresh variety, not the cured
• 12 ounces dried angel hair or spaghetti pasta (if you can, get pre-cut in small pieces)
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

If you prefer a vegetarian option - there is a good soy chorizo available at Trader Joe's and you can easily substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Heat olive oil in heavy deep 12" skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook until tender, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes.  Add mushrooms and green pepper and sauté 4 minutes.  Add paprika and cayenne and stir until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chorizo and sauté 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and sauté another 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth and wine and bring mixture to simmer.  If you have whole pasta, break pasta in half and add to pan otherwise, just add pasta pieces to pan.  Cook until the pasta is tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.  Set pan in oven and bake until all liquid is absorbed and pasta is crusty, about 25 minutes.  Sprinkle generously with parsley and freshly cracked black pepper.

We tend to drink the rest of the white wine we used in the recipe with this.  The most widely recommended white wines with spicy food are Reislings or a Grüner Vetliner.  One of our current favorite Grüner Vetliners is Höpler.

Quick Waffles

Here is a quick and easy waffle recipe that can take on all kinds of flavors.  This morning I zested a tangelo into it.  Divine orange flavor permeated the batter reminding me of winter in Tucson when the tangelos come ripe right off the tree.

Quick Waffles

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup milk (can substitute club soda, orange juice, or some combination of these)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 Tablespoons cornmeal
• Optional flavorings:
 
• zest of an orange, tangelo/minneola, or lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary or thyme
• Club soda, as necessary

Preparation

Place all ingredients into a blender in the order given above.  Liquids must go first into a blender or things will not blend properly.  If you are going to add a seasoning, such as grated orange zest, add it now. If you are going to use fresh herbs, I'd recommend leaving out the sugar or scale it back to a pinch. Blend until all flour is absorbed, scraping sides as necessary.  The batter should be the thickness of unwhipped heavy whipping cream.  If it is too thick add more milk - or better yet club soda (I've also substituted tonic water in a pinch or orange juice on a whim).  The soda will lighten the waffles.  I've even substituted all the milk for club soda and it makes a light crispy waffle.  You're now ready to pour the batter into your preheated waffle maker.  As the batter sits, it may thicken up.  If so, add a little more milk or club soda to keep it at the right consistency.

You can use different flours than regular all-purpose flour, but you may have to adjust the quantities.  Straight whole wheat flour will weigh down the waffles so I wouldn't recommend using 100% whole wheat - try mixing it with some regular flour.  You can also substitute a hot cereal grain mix for the cornmeal. If you do that, I recommend letting the batter sit for at least 10 minutes and adjust the liquid to ensure it is still the thickness of unwhipped heavy whipping cream. Cereal grain tends to absorb more liquid than the cornmeal.

This makes a little more than 4 waffles in our waffle maker. We sometimes double it so we have extras for the freezer. Put a sheet of waxed paper between each waffle before freezing so that they are easy to get apart to heat just a few at a time.

Spicy Mince and Peas

We often have a hankering for hot, spicy food, especially in the winter. One of our favorites that is easy to make and delicious is Spicy Mint and Peas from an old, out of print Pakistani cookbook.  The best version is made with minced lamb, but beef also works. One caution is that it takes fresh ginger and garlic. I once tried to substitute powdered and it was sorely disappointing. Dried mint totally works, but fresh ginger and garlic are essential. I also highly recommend freshly grinding the dried spices (coriander, cumin).  Buy yourself a cheap coffee grinder and use it solely for grinding spices.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground lamb (or beef)
• 4 ounces canned or fresh chopped tomatoes
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1" peeled fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more if you want it hotter)
• 1/2 teapsoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon dried mint flakes (if using fresh, increase to 3 teaspoons, minced)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces frozen or fresh peas
• 1/4 pint yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Put the lamb (or beef) in a heavy-based saucepan over low heat and, stirring occasionally, let it cook in its own fat until all the moisture has evaporated.  Chop the tomatoes.  Add the chopped tomatoes and their juice, chopped onion, garlic, ginger, powdered spices, mint, salt and the peas.  Mix them all well, cover and leave to cook over low heat for 45-50 minutes until the ingredients are well blended and the mince and peas are tender.  Pour in the yogurt and lemon juice.  Stirring constantly until the yogurt and lemon juice are well absorbed.  Transfer to a heated serving dish and serve piping hot over rice.