weeknight meals

​Every family should have at its disposal nutritious, easy to prepare meals. Here are two that my husband and I recently enjoyed. We both could eat pasta every night of the week. Recently  I found on the NYT Cooking website, a recipe for  Butternut Squash Pasta with Bacon and Parmesan. The recipe serves 4 to 6; for us it became a quick encore meal.
 
For the recipe you’ll need butternut squash, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, red onion, thick sliced bacon, short twisty pasta (campanelle or cavatappi), Parmesan cheese, fresh chives and fresh parsley. For my preparation I changed the bacon to finely diced pancetta I purchased at my local food store.  

The squash and onion are roasted in the oven at medium high heat until tender. As the pancetta was finely diced, it was added the last 15 minutes of roasting to caramelize. While the vegetables and pancetta are roasting, I prepared my cavatappi pasta and reserved a cup of the pasta water. When the pasta was done, the vegetables, ½ cup of Parmesan cheese and ½ of pasta water are added drained pasta, which created the sauce. The pasta was delicious, light, yet filling; overall a great weeknight meal.
 
Every Wednesday morning, I check my Whole Foods app to see the weekly specials. Ending tomorrow is a special on Sustainable Wild-Caught
Fresh Atlantic Cod Fillets on sale for $10.99/lb. As Lent began last Wednesday, I wanted to serve fish on Friday night. I found a wonderful recipe on www.epicurious.com for Broiled Cod with Fennel and Orange. The combination of ingredients and flavors may seem a bit unusual, but believe me the taste is scrumptious!
 
For the recipe you’ll need mayonnaise (yes, mayonnaise) red pepper flakes, fresh garlic cloves, orange zest, salt, skinless cod fillets, 1 fennel bulb, 1 bunch broccolini, an orange (preferably blood orange, which is in season now), cannellini beans, olive oil, rosemary leaves and sliced almonds. I was able to purchase all the items for this dish at Whole Foods, which made for easy shopping too!
 
This sheet pan meal starts by blending mayonnaise, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, orange zest and salt in a bowl. The mixture is spread over the fish. The fish is surrounded by the balance of the ingredients and is broiled under high for 5 minutes. A sprinkle of sliced almonds on top and a then quickly toasted for another minute under the broiler. To make sure all the vegetables were thoroughly heated, I turned off the broiler and turned the oven to 375° gave the dish another 5-10 minutes.
 
This preparation was pleasantly surprising with a light, bright citrus flavor. You can’t detect the mayonnaise on the fish, which was moist and perfectly cooked. The vegetables were a good match for the fish. The dish was tasty and filling. 

---

​Butternut Squash Pasta with Bacon and Parmesan
New York Times Cooking
By Yossy Arefi
 
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 50 minutes
 
Ingredients
 
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
 Pinch of red-pepper flakes
 Kosher salt and black pepper
1 medium red onion, cut into 1-inch dice
5 slices thick-cut bacon (about 5 ounces)
12 ounces short, twisty pasta, like campanelle or cavatappi
¾ cup finely grated Parmesan (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
 
Preparation

1. Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 375 degrees.
2. Add the butternut squash to a large baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over the top and season with red-pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Toss to combine, then spread the squash into an even layer and bake for 15 minutes.
3. While the butternut squash bakes, in a small bowl, toss the red onion with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
4. After the squash has cooked for 15 minutes, give it a stir and push it to one side of the baking sheet to make room for the onion and bacon, trying to keep the squash in one layer. Add the red onion to the pan, then lay the strips of bacon in a single layer next to the onion.
5. Return the baking sheet to the oven for another 30 minutes and cook, stirring the squash and onion after about 15 minutes. The bacon should be crisp and the vegetables cooked through and beginning to caramelize at the edges. (They don’t have to be super golden brown, but a little color is nice.)
6. Just before the vegetables and bacon are done, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain the pasta and return it to the pot to keep warm if necessary.
7. When the vegetables are tender and the bacon crispy, take the baking sheet out of the oven and carefully transfer the bacon to a cutting board. Coarsely chop the bacon.
8. Add the butternut squash, onions and any bacon fat to the pot with the pasta. Add about 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1/2 cup pasta water to the pot and stir everything until well combined. You want the squash to break down a bit and coat the pasta; add more pasta water as necessary to coat the pasta with the squash and cheese.
9. Stir in half the chopped bacon, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide the pasta among bowls or plates. Top with chives, parsley, black pepper and the remaining Parmesan and bacon. Serve immediately.

butternut_squash_pasta_with_bacon_and_parmesan.docx.pdf
File Size:	33 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---

---

Broiled Cod with Fennel and Orange
ANNA STOCKWELL
EPICURIOUS JANUARY 2017
 
Serves 4
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
​
INGREDIENTS
 
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
2 garlic cloves, finely grated, divided
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) skinless cod fillets
1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced (about 12 ounces)
1 bunch broccolini, trimmed, halved (about 8 ounces)
1 small orange, preferably blood, thinly sliced
1 (15.5-ounce) can white beans, drained, rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon rosemary leaves
1/4 cup sliced almonds, chopped (about 1 ounce)
 
PREPARATION
 
Heat broiler to high. Mix mayonnaise, red pepper flakes, 1 tsp. garlic, 1 tsp. orange zest, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a small bowl.
 
Arrange cod fillets on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread mayonnaise mixture over each fillet.
 
Toss fennel, broccolini, orange, beans, oil, rosemary, and remaining garlic, 1 tsp. orange zest, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Arrange around fish on baking sheet, placing orange slices on top of beans and vegetables.
 
Place baking sheet under broiler and broil until fish is golden-brown on top, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, top each fillet with almonds, then continue to broil until almonds are toasted and crisp and fish is completely cooked through, about 1 minute more.

broiled_cod_with_fennel_and_orange.pdf
File Size:	54 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

---