Categories
Creative Cookery

4 Alternatives to Ordinary Pasta

If you’re like most people, you probably love pasta. It’s a delicious and versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of dishes. However, if you’re getting a bit bored of the same old ordinary pasta you always use, or you want to try something healthier with fewer carbs, there are plenty of exciting alternatives available. In this post, I will share four of the best substitutes for pasta. So whether you’re looking for something new to add to your menu or you’re just curious about what else is out there, read on for some great suggestions!

4 Alternatives to Ordinary Pasta

Orzo

What do you get if you cross rice and pasta? Orzo! If you’re looking for a low-carb alternative then this isn’t the best option because it’s made with the same dough as ordinary pasta. However, Orzo is excellent if you want to use pasta in innovative ways. It’s the same dough as pasta but it is in the shape of small grains. It’s great for salads and soups, and it can also be used in place of rice in stir-fries if you like. Check out this greek orzo salad recipe, for example. Introducing orzo into your repertoire is a great way to change the way that you use pasta and keep things more interesting.

Rice Noodles

If you’re looking for a truly healthy alternative to pasta then rice noodles are the way to go. They’re made from rice flour and water, so they’re gluten-free, low in calories, and have a very low glycemic index. This means that they won’t cause spikes in your blood sugar levels like some other carbs can. Rice noodles are perfect for stir-fries, soups, and salads. They cook quickly and absorb the flavors of whatever they’re cooked with, making them a versatile and delicious option. They pair perfectly with these delicious Asian Turkey Meatballs.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a winter squash, much like a pumpkin or acorn squash, but its meat has the consistency of — you guessed it — spaghetti. Thus, its name. You can bake it, roast it, cook it in a slow cooker or instapot, and then serve it with pasta sauce. It is low-calorie and a good source of fiber. It is cholesterol-free, gluten-free, low in saturated fat and sodium, fat-free, and a good source of vitamins C, several B vitamins, manganese, and potassium. Give it try!

Spiralized Vegetables

Want to make some spaghetti but want to avoid the carbs? Spiralized vegetables are the perfect solution. You can use a spiralizer to turn all sorts of vegetables into noodles, from zucchini to sweet potatoes. Spiralized veggies make a great base for all your favorite pasta sauces, and they’re also delicious when stir-fried with some protein. If you’re looking for a healthy and delicious alternative to pasta, give spiralized veggies a try.

There are plenty of exciting alternatives to pasta available, so if you’re looking for something new to try then be sure to check out some of the options listed above. Whether you’re looking for a healthier option or just want to change things up a bit, there’s sure to be an alternative that suits your needs.

Categories
Cooking Techniques

How to Cook Perfect Pasta Every Time

Pasta is one of those dishes that’s easy to make but can be challenging to master. Italian chefs built up their expertise over the generations. But if you’re relatively new to the stuff or you haven’t been trained by a grand master, then it can be tricky to get right.

Fortunately, cooking up the perfect pasta dish is easy, so long as you’ve got the right tips at your disposal. Take a look at these chef-inspired essentials.

boiling Italian pasta
Source: Max Pixel

Add Mountains of Salt to the Water

When you order linguini from a restaurant, you expect it to be seasoned perfectly and taste delicious. And when it arrives, it usually is. However, when you get home and try to recreate the intense flavors yourself, your efforts fall short. Why?

One of the things that chefs do is use a mountain of salt when they cook their pasta. You might think that a couple of grinds of the salt mill in the boiling water will suffice, but very little of that salt will ever make its way into the pasta. Professionals, therefore, use around a tablespoon of salt to flavor the water. Ideally, the water should taste like the sea.

I’ll admit, in my effort to reduce salt in my diet, I stopped using salt in the boiling water. Boy, what a difference it made! I’ve gone back to adding it to the water and reducing salt in other areas of my cooking.

Chop Your Veggies Finely

chopped veggies
Source: Pixabay

The perfect pasta recipe is one where the sauce does the majority of the talking. But if you’ve got big chunks of pepper or mushroom sticking out, then it can ruin the appeal of the dish. The first thing you’ll need to chop your veggies finely is the right knife. If you don’t have a decent set of chef’s knives, look out for a Kamikoto giveaway and save yourself a bit of money in the process. Next, proceed to the chopping board and chop your mushrooms, chilis, peppers, onions and garlic as finely as you can using your best knife skills. Saute them in the pan until they are soft before adding your pasta. You should find that when you do it this way around, your veggies stick to your noodles, creating the perfect ensemble.

Add Your Pasta to Your Sauce – Not The Other Way Around

Professional pasta chefs cook the pasta until it is al dente (nearly cooked) and then add it to the sauce to finish it off. The reason they do this is so that the starches in the pasta can become incorporated into the sauce, giving it a richer, more luxurious texture.

Add Pasta Water To The Sauce

Chefs will also add a couple of tablespoons of the starchy pasta water to the sauce itself. Again, this is so that the glutinous starches can bind with the vegetable ingredients to make them more gelatinous, helping them stick to the noodles. The last thing you want is to add the sauce and a large puddle to appear at the bottom of your bowl.

Try Adding A Bit Of Fat

You might think that the idea of adding tahini or cashew paste to your pasta is a little strange. But it turns out that adding some fat is the perfect way to bring starchy noodles and watery vegetable sauces together. Fat helps make the pasta rich and decadent.

So give these tips a try and let me know how you fare in a commment below!

Categories
Taste Tests

Product Review: Newman’s Complete Skillet Meal for Two

Newman's Own pasta
Newman’s Own Chicken Parmigiana & Penne with a side salad

A few weeks ago I received some coupons for various Newman’s Own products in the RedPlumb weekly flyer, so I decided to give the products a try.

newmans-own2On Monday, I tried out the Supreme Thin & Crispy pizza. I was dubious about it because I prefer my pizza crusts to be thick and bread-y. To be honest, the crust wasn’t too bad, it was just crispier than I prefer. But what lost it for me was the spiciness of the pepperoni — I went to bed with an upset stomach. I’ve never tasted pepperoni so hot!

newmans-own1Then, last night my boyfriend and I tried out the Complete Skillet Meal for Two in the Chicken Parmigiana & Penne flavor. You’ll see how I served it with a side salad and Parmesan cheese above.

World of difference! I would totally recommend this product. It took all of 10 minutes to prepare. The chicken was tasty. The penne was just the right amount of al dente. And the sauce was perfection — and I’m not crazy about tomato-based sauces!

This is a perfect meal for two if you get creative and add on a side or two. I chose to serve it with salad (recipe below) and top it with a mix of Parmesan, Romano and Asiago cheeses. My boyfriend was surprised at how quickly I pulled together a delicious and elegant meal. Thanks Newman’s Own!

== Carma’s Quick Salad ==

1 bag of butter lettuce
1/4 chopped red onion
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/4-1/2 cup Ranch dressing

In a large container with a lid — a Rubbermaid or Tupperware works (I use a recycled, large lunch meat container) — add in the lettuce, onion and cheese. Close the lid and shake well.

Open the container and add in the salad dressing. Close and shake until well mixed.

Serve in bowls.

Optional garnishes: Parmesan cheese, cilantro or diced green onion.


You can find a good container for mixing salads on Amazon.com. See suggestions here:

Categories
Food Fiction & Essays

A few of my favorite foods

gula melaka
Photo by Vernon Chan via Flickr
The other day I received a package filled with yummy-looking gluten-free pasta dishes to review of this blog. And I’ll be reviewing them over the coming weeks. But that got me to thinking of all the foods I truly love … foods that make me almost wax poetic with colorful adjectives describing how nearly orgasmically delicious they are. So I thought I’d share that list with you … and I’d LOVE to hear what’s on your list!

Pesto with Spinach and Feta Cheese
I was first introduced to pesto when I was 16. I thought the name was so funny. But once I tasted it I wondered why hadn’t Mom made this before! The garlic … yum! The smoothiness of the virgin olive oil … mmmm. And just a touch of crunch from pine nuts. I’m in heaven. Then, in my 20s I decided to experiment and added some spinach and feta cheese to the mix. Ah! Perfection. The tartness of the feta mixes nicely with the bitter of the spinach and the awesomeness of the pesto. I get chills just thinking of it.

The Chorizo Potato Burrito
When I first lived in Phoenix (I’ve lived there two separate times), I lived walking distance from a little shack-like Mexican restaurant called Eriberto’s. For breakfast, the served this burrito, which also had some eggs. It was DA BOMB! It was so good, I would beg my husband to take me there so I could have one … no matter what time of day it was! Later, I’d buy chorizo and some form of potato product (hash browns, fries or even tater tots) and make my own tortilla-less version. I’ve been to many Mexican take out places since, but found none that mix those three ingredients with the panache that Eriberto’s does. I miss you!

Categories
Cooking Techniques

Cooking The Perfect Pasta

homemade ravioli
Photo Public Domain via pixabay.com
O.K. Last post I promised to finish the recipe. And then I took the week off — my back spasmed and I really needed to avoid the computer for a few days. Any, here is the rest of the recipe, along with some tips on cooking pasta. See! I’m giving you two posts in one!

Homemade Pasta, Part II
Using your hands, flatten the first ball of dough in your palm. You want the finished thickness to be roughly half an inch. If you are using a slot machine, you want to be sure that the width is the same size or smaller than the width of the pasta machine slot. When feeding the pasta machine, make sure you keep hold of your pasta, but avoid pulling it as it goes through the machine. You usually want the setting of the machine to be at a one.

Categories
Recipes

Italy and Pasta

home made pasta
Photo Public Domain via pixabay.com
Did you know that Italians are probably the world’s most prominent pasta eaters? Many of today’s pasta recipes, such as spaghetti and lasagna, were originally developed in Italy.

Did you know that Italian lasagna looks different from American? In the U.S., we tend to use lasagna noodles with ripples in the end. Whereas in Italy, lasagna noodles are usually un-rippled.

Did you know that the two main ingredients — tomatoes and pasta — of much of Italian cuisine are not native to Italy? Noodles were imported from Asia and tomatoes from the New World. But, they embraced those ingredients and made them their own.

Categories
Well Stocked Pantry

Celebrate the Noodle

noodles
Photo by qoo monster (Flickr)
[CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Did you know that March is National Noodle Month? If not, don’t worry — neither do many other people when asked. Why does the noodle have its own honored month? Well, pasta is one of the top foods in the United States. Heck, Mac ‘n’ Cheese is practically a national dish!

Pasta History

The very first commercial pasta plant within the U.S. was founded in 1948 in Brooklyn, New York. Many more plants were build over the next few years that the manufacturers and retailers decided create the National Pasta Association. This way they could pool their resources and help each other with issues in marketing and manufacturing. The NPA was founded in 1981.

But noodles got their start much, much earlier than that. In the 4th century B.C., pasta was eaten by the Chinese and was even mentioned in Greek Mythology. There are two notable figures who have been credited with the introduction of pasta. Marco Polo, who brought noodles from Asia to the Western world, and Thomas Jefferson, who brought the first “maccaroni” maker to America n 1789 and later invented a pasta machine of his own.

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