Scallops and Spinach over Pasta

Ingredients

• 12 ounces spaghetti
• 3 pounds bay scallops, raw
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• garlic powder to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. In a medium skillet, saute spinach in olive oil until heated through. Add lemon juice, garlic powder and water.
3. Add scallops and cook for 3 minutes or until done. Be careful not to overcook. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Place strained spaghetti in dish and place the scallops and sauce on top. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 221 | Total Fat: 2.5g | Cholesterol: 37mg

Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce

Here's a true crowd pleaser: pasta shells in a simple sauce of ground beef, tomatoes, and pesto, layered with mozzarella and Parmesan and baked until bubbly. Fusilli or orecchiette would work well here, too.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

1 pound ground beef

2 cups chopped canned tomatoes, drained (from one 28-ounce can)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup store-bought or homemade pesto

3/4 pound medium pasta shells

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan DIRECTIONS Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Oil a large baking dish (about 9 by 13 inches). In a large stainless-steel frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Drain off any excess fat. Add the tomatoes and salt to the pan and bring to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the pesto. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the shells until just done, about 10 minutes. Drain and toss with the sauce. Put half of the pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with half the mozzarella and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining pasta, mozzarella, and Parmesan. Bake until bubbling, about 15 minutes. Variation: Almost any relatively soft, mild cheese will taste good here. You might try fontina in place of the mozzarella, or even Gouda or Havarti.

World's Best Lasagna

Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 427 Total Fat: 19.9g Cholesterol: 80mg

Pasta with purple sprouting broccoli

Ingredients

• 1kg/2¼lb purple sprouting broccoli

• 1 medium sized fresh red chilli (not too hot)

• 2 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 small tin of anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained

• good quality olive oil

• 350g/12oz pasta fusilli, oriecchiette, penne rigate or conchiglie are the most suitable shapes

• parmesan or hard pecorino cheese to grate

• salt and pepper

Preparation method

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil with a little salt.

2. Trim the outer leaves and woody stalks from the broccoli, you will lose at least half the vegetables by this process. Wash the good bits and chop into 1cm/½in sections. Cut the chilli in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds and the attached pith. Chop the chilli flesh, the garlic and the anchovies finely. In another large pan warm 4tbsp/60ml/2fl oz of olive oil over a medium flame and add the chilli, garlic and anchovies. Sweat these for a minute or so and add the broccoli, season with a little salt and pepper, then continue to cook gently whilst the pasta boils.

3. Drop the pasta in the boiling water and stir immediately. Cook until just tender with a little bit of resistance to the bite (al dente). This could take anything between 7 and 12 minutes depending on the type of pasta you choose (orecchiette is the slowest and incidentally the absolutely authentic type for this dish).

4. Grate 4tbsp of the cheese and reserve. After the pasta has been cooking for 5 minutes transfer a small ladle of the cooking water to the broccoli. Keeping over a high heat, add another 2 tbsp/30ml/1fl oz of oil and add the cheese. Toss and serve immediately.