Treasure Jar

Fettucine, fresh homemade Pasta with Classical Tomato and Basil Sauce

Pasta dough

400 gm Maya all purpose flour

100 gm semolina flour (optional)

4 medium eggs plus 1 yolk if necessary

A dash of salt and extra virgin olive oil

Pasta Sauce:

Tomato sauce 2 small can of canned peeled tomato sauce,

crushed with a fork Half garlic head, peeled and crushed

A handful of fresh basil

Extra virgin olive oil

Rock salt and pepper

Handful of parmesan

Method For the pasta dough:

• Mix well the 2 flour, put on the table and make a well in the center, add the egg, the salt and the extra virgin olive oil.
• With a fork, incorporate the egg into the flour beginning from the center, when possible, start to work with the hand in the classical way, work on the table for about 10 minutes.
• Cover with a towel and let rest, prepare the tomato sauce in the meantime.
• In a pot add a good amount of extra virgin olive oil, add the garlic and the basil, add the tomato and put on medium high heat, simmer, once start simmering, cook for 10 minutes and take off the heat. Cool down and season to taste.
• Take the pasta dough, it can be worked well with a roller or a pasta machine, fettuccine should be about 2.5 cm wide and 0.3 mm thick.
• Cook in boiling salty water and toss in tomato sauce. Sprinkle with a good handful of parmesan and basil.



Cooked by Chef Robert Cimmino who recently visited The Maya Kitchen.

Recipe serves 4

Tags: Chef Robert Cimmino, fresh pasta, fresh pasta recipe, homemade Pasta with Classical Tomato and Basil Sauce, Italian chef, Italian food, pasta, pasta recipe, The Maya Kitchen, tomato and basil recipe

When I cook pasta, I don’t have exact recipes that I follow. Whatever we have in the fridge is what I use, as long as these would give delight the fickle taste buds of my children.

Here is my simple version of chicken alfredo pasta Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

tomatoes

red and green bell pepper

sliced olives (optional, I added these because we have extra from another dish that I cooked)

bite-sized chicken (from chicken breasts)

all-purpose cream and cheese for the sauce

Italian herb seasoning for flavors instead of Cajun

spaghetti noodles cooked according to instructions

I topped mine with fresh parsley bits.

Tags: chicken and pasta, dining, dinner, family, food and dining, pasta

I have featured the dish (below) here as it was done in a cooking class I was invited to go to.

Last Wednesday night, we had it for dinner with a few minor changes according to what I have at home.

I plan to cook more using olive oil even if it is a bit of a strain in the pocket but if the benefits are good for the family’s health, why not?

I usually use soybean oil for cooking and I still do especially in frying (fish) which requires more oil.

Tags: cooking, cream dory, family, fish fillets, food, food and dining, food photo, health, healthy eating, Lasang Pinoy Sundays, olive oil, pasta

Hearty Meal Recipes from Dona Elena Cuisinera Club presented last January 30, 2010. Click here for more recipes.

Tilapia Fillets

For Tilapia Fillets:

• 150 – 200 g tilapia fillets (2 pieces)
• pinch of salt
• pinch of pepper
• pinch of paprika
• 1/4 c almonds, salted, crushed finely

Season tilapia fillet with salt, pepper and paprika. Coat with almonds and bake at 180C for 4 minutes.

Pasta

For pasta:

• 10 g butter
• 15ml Dona Elena Pure Olive Oil
• 30 g diced white onions
• 3 g minced garlic
• 50 g diced tomatoes
• 50 g (Dona Elena) capers
• 30 ml (Dona Elena) white wine
• 250 g spaghetti noodles

In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil and melt the butter. Saute the onions and garlic then add tomatoes and capers. Add the white wine and simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the spaghetti in the sauce.

Sauce:

• 30 ml garlic sauce, reduced until thick
• 15 ml balsamic vinegar, reduced to a syrup

Serve using medium pan. Place pasta on one side and the fillets on the other side. Drizzle the fillets with garlic sauce and balsamic sauce.

Enjoy.

UPDATE: I made this last night (Feb3, 2010) though I still have to write a post.

UPDATE 2: here is the post as promised 🙂

Tags: almonds, baking, cooking, Dona Elena Cuisinera Club, Dona Elena Pure Olive Oil, fish, food, food and dining, food photos, fresh tomatoes, olive oil, pasta, Philippines, spaghetti, tilapia fillets

I love fresh tomatoes.

No, that is not my vegetable garden but I wish it was, lol.

I use these fresh tomatoes with omelet, as a side dish, for pasta and as part of sandwich fillings.

Below is a photo I have already used in this post:

We had this again the other night but this time using vegeroni spirals.

No photo though, we just dug in as soon as the dish was ready.

Yeah, we were that hungry.

We were also in a bit of  hurry because I needed to go online for a live chat.

Happy Sunday and yes, happy eating 🙂

Tags: cooking, dining, eggplant, food, food photo, healthy eating, Lasang Pinoy Sundays, pasta, Photography, Purse Strings, tomatoes

Dona Elena Cuisinera Club is a virtual hub where mothers, health practitioners and foodies get together virtually to share recipes that will promote healthy eating.

Not only do these members meet in the virtual world, they get to meet each other too, through monthly cooking lessons.

Can healthy and nutritious food go hand in hand? Yes!

How can this be?

Through the use of olive oil in preparing healthy, nutritious and of course, yummy food.

What are the benefits of olive oil?

• It is rich in monounsaturated fat with anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive properties.
• It can lower cholesterol level and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease AS LONG AS healthy and active lifestyle is also being practiced.
• Olive oil is rich in polyphenols which is a potent antioxidant that scavenges harmful free radicals in the body.

Go ahead, throw away those fat-laden and/or salty junk food and start learning to cook healthy and nutritious food.

You won’t need to read a lot about chemical-based weight loss supplements, herbal whatnot, alli and why starving yourself  is bad (LOL) to be able to live a healthy lifestyle 🙂

The choice is yours to make, here is to healthy living!

Tags: dining, family, food, pasta, Purse Strings