Herbed Pasta

For our anniversary this year I gave Jim a cookbook.  Not a very romantic gift for a 28th wedding anniversary but I had my reasons!

For the last couple of years I have been telling Jim that I would cook for the first 30 years of our marriage and he was in charge of cooking the second thirty years!  I don’t think he believes me!

You see Jim doesn’t cook.  He would say he cooks but throwing a piece of meat on the grill really isn’t cooking.  He does make a mean Puff up Pancake but that’s about it!

I figured he needed a couple of years to practice, so for our anniversary I gave him 
How to Cook Everything :  2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food by Mark Bittman.

 So far he hasn’t actually cooked anything out of it but I have.

For my herb class  I used Mark Bittman’s Linguine with Garlic and Oil recipe.  One of the things I love about this new cookbook is that Mark will give you a good basic recipe and then he shows you lots of ways to easily change it up.

You can take his basic Linguine with Garlic and Oil recipe and add in fresh herbs and nuts to create a different taste.  That’s exactly what I did at the herb class.

I love pine nuts so I chopped up some of  those and then put together a combo of fresh herbs - 1/4 C  parsley,1 /4 C  basil, 1 sprig of thyme and a couple of tablespoons of chives. 

Add the nuts and herbs to the olive oil and some garlic and you have a simple, quick and delicious summer meal!  A hand full of Parmesan cheese thrown in at the end is yummy too!  Add a fresh green salad and some cheesy garlic bread or herb bread and you are good to go!

Herbed Pasta
ala Mark Bittman

Salt
1/3 C extra virgin olive oil or more as needed
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 or 2 small dried red chiles or to taste, or hot red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
1/2 C chopped nuts such as pine nuts, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans.
1/2 C fresh herbs – combination of basil, parsley, thyme, chives, rosemary etc.
1 pound long, thin pasta, like linguine or spaghetti or any other pasta
1/2 C grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it.  Add pasta when it comes to a boil.

Heat the oil. When hot, add the nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they start to toast and become fragrant, just a minute or two. Turn down the heat to medium -low and stir in the chiles, garlic and a large pinch of salt.

Let the garlic sizzle a bit, shaking the pan occasionally, just until it turns golden, about 3 minutes. Toss in the herb mixture (total of 1/2 -1 cup) The herb mixture may absorb all the oil so if it does add a little more oil when you toss it with the pasta or add in some of the pasta water.

Turn off the heat if the pasta isn’t ready.

Cook the pasta until it is tender but not mushy. When it is done, drain it, reserving a bit of the cooking water. Reheat the herb/garlic mixture briefly if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning, toss with Parmesan cheese and serve – yum!

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Tagged as: herbed pasta, main dish, pasta