Hello my fellow gastronauts! It's been awhile since I've posted a a recipe. My house mate and close friend, Kara, inspired me to help prep and take pictures of this dish and post it on my blog. This recipe comes from one of Kara's cook books called 'Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi' by Yotam Ottolenghi. We definitely put a twist on it adding in the pesto chicken, but we really enjoy meat here at the house! Even though I'm trying to loose weight and I have certain foods I need to stick close to, I feel like this isn't really a cheat since it doesn't have any processed foods and its all fresh ingredients. So let's get started!
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
Pasta Dough
2 tsp saffron threads*
4 tbsp boiling water
4 medium eggs
4 tbsp olive oil
15 1/2 (3 1/2 cups) "00" pasta flour, plus extra for rolling *
1 tsp ground turmeric
Spiced Butter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4 tbsp olive oil
8 shallots, finely chopped*
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sweet paprika*
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chile flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
*Notes*
In the recipe book we weren't sure if we were supposed to keep the saffron threads in the water mixture or not.. So we kept it in. Adds a really pretty contrast of color.
We didn't have pasta flour so we used regular all purpose flour.
We also did not have shallots, we used yellow onions.
Substituted sweet paprika for regular paprika.
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
Pasta Dough
2 tsp saffron threads*
4 tbsp boiling water
4 medium eggs
4 tbsp olive oil
15 1/2 (3 1/2 cups) "00" pasta flour, plus extra for rolling *
1 tsp ground turmeric
Spiced Butter
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4 tbsp olive oil
8 shallots, finely chopped*
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sweet paprika*
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chile flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
black pepper to taste
*Notes*
In the recipe book we weren't sure if we were supposed to keep the saffron threads in the water mixture or not.. So we kept it in. Adds a really pretty contrast of color.
We didn't have pasta flour so we used regular all purpose flour.
We also did not have shallots, we used yellow onions.
Substituted sweet paprika for regular paprika.
Put saffron in bowl with boiling water to infuse for at least 10 mins.
Put flour and turmeric in a food processor.
In a separate bowl, mix eggs and olive oil together. Add in the saffron water mixture. Then pour egg mixture into food processor with flour. Mix until fully combined.
Dough needs to be silky. Not too sticky not too dry.
Ours was a little too sticky, so we added some more flour and kneeded the dough for a few minutes. Then you need to wrap the dough in saran wrap and stick it in the fridge for 30 mins.
While you're waiting for your dough to chill, you can get started on the pesto for the chicken. I don't have exact ingredient measurements. It depends on how many people you are feeding and if you want any left over. Just keep adding until you get the right flavor, color, and amount you want.
Ingredients
Basil
Olive oil
Garlic
Pine Nuts*
Parmesan
Lemon juice/zest
*Notes*
We used walnuts.
Ingredients
Basil
Olive oil
Garlic
Pine Nuts*
Parmesan
Lemon juice/zest
*Notes*
We used walnuts.
Put all your ingredients into a food mixer and blend together until you get a nice velvety/creamy consistency. It won't be perfect the first time. Keep adding to get the right taste you want.
Once you have the right flavor, put your chicken on a baking sheet and coat each piece with a healthy serving of pesto.
Heat your oven to 350 degrees and cook for 30 mins or until cooked all the way through. *The color of the pesto isn't very appealing after its been baked, but it tastes amazing!*
Now we can get to the spiced butter that will go over the pasta!
Put your one cup of butter and 4 tbsp of olive oil in a pan on medium heat. While you are waiting for the butter to melt, finely chop your shallots or onions. Then add them to your butter/oil mix. Wait for the butter to slightly brown.
In a small bowl mix together all your spices...
And add it to your butter sauce. Turn the heat off and let sit.
Roll out your dough fairly thin. The book called for a machine to do the rest of the rolling for you but we don't have one so we just eye balled it.
Once you've rolled it out, roll the dough onto its self so the center is a spiral, then cut into about 1/4 inch pieces. Find the end and unravel it.
Once you've rolled it out, roll the dough onto its self so the center is a spiral, then cut into about 1/4 inch pieces. Find the end and unravel it.
Let the pasta dry for about 10 mins. Get a medium pot and boil some water with a couple pinches of salt.
Once water is boiling add in your pasta. It depends on how thin you made your dough. It took our noodles 5 mins to cook. Do a test piece to make sure. We also had so much pasta, we had to do two batches of boiling water.
Pour your butter sauce over your pasta and mix thoroughly.
Time to plate!
Time to plate!
This dish was amazing to eat and cook! I definitely suggest doing this with your significant other or friend. It's a lot of work! Bon Appetit!
BONUS RECIPE
No dinner is complete without dessert!
Ingredients
Frozen puff pastry
3 tbsp triple berry jam*
2 tbsp water
2 honey crisp apple*
Cinnamon
Powdered sugar
*Notes*
You can use any jam you want. This was the jam we had available.
Same with the apple. Any apple will do.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Take your puff pastry out to thaw. You'll only need half the package.
Slice your apples in half from top to bottom.
Take out anything inedible.
Skin side up slice your apple from top to bottom and place slices in a bowl with water and lemon juice. *The lemon juice is to make sure your apple doesn't brown*
Microwave your apple slices for 3 mins or until flexible.
Roll your pastry out till it thin and cut into strips about 1 1/2 inches.
In a bowl microwave jam and water so it's easy to spread out. About 30 seconds.
Spread some jam onto your pastry slices then line up apple slices so half of the apple is sticking out (with the skin facing up).
Sprinkle some cinnamon on top.
Fold up the bottom half of the pastry on top of the apple slice and roll. The top of it should look like a rose.
Put in a muffin pan or ramekins.
Cook for 30 mins.
If the dough doesn't seem to be cooked yet, leave it in for another 10-15 mins.
Garnish with powdered sugar.
Really simple and super tasty!
Ingredients
Frozen puff pastry
3 tbsp triple berry jam*
2 tbsp water
2 honey crisp apple*
Cinnamon
Powdered sugar
*Notes*
You can use any jam you want. This was the jam we had available.
Same with the apple. Any apple will do.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Take your puff pastry out to thaw. You'll only need half the package.
Slice your apples in half from top to bottom.
Take out anything inedible.
Skin side up slice your apple from top to bottom and place slices in a bowl with water and lemon juice. *The lemon juice is to make sure your apple doesn't brown*
Microwave your apple slices for 3 mins or until flexible.
Roll your pastry out till it thin and cut into strips about 1 1/2 inches.
In a bowl microwave jam and water so it's easy to spread out. About 30 seconds.
Spread some jam onto your pastry slices then line up apple slices so half of the apple is sticking out (with the skin facing up).
Sprinkle some cinnamon on top.
Fold up the bottom half of the pastry on top of the apple slice and roll. The top of it should look like a rose.
Put in a muffin pan or ramekins.
Cook for 30 mins.
If the dough doesn't seem to be cooked yet, leave it in for another 10-15 mins.
Garnish with powdered sugar.
Really simple and super tasty!