. Then Jamie Oliver made 3 different types of pasta for his friend. And then Giada De Laurentiis made some yummy looking stuffed pasta. You can see where this is going....
I decided to look for a new pasta recipe in one of my books (I only found Nigella's recipe today as I write this, and a good thing too. It really is not very South Beach Diet friendly with that rich, buttery Bechamel sauce). So after much flipping and checking to see which ingredients I had on hand (remember, I haven't been grocery shopping in a month - at least not here. Can you imagine me without fresh garlic!) Anyway, I pulled out a few books and my copy of Simply Healthy Food just fell open at this Spicy Baked Pepper Penne, which I naturally had to adapt - One, because I usually do feel the need to add my own touch to any recipe I make unless it's some baked goodie. Two, because my pantry is pretty bare. I would have added some anchovies to the dish to give it a richer saltiness, but I couldn't find any, so I added some capers. I know this dish will be so much better next time around when I actually do have garlic (I used a shallot instead).
friendly with that rich, buttery Bechamel sauce). So after much flipping and checking to see which ingredients I had on hand (remember, I haven't been grocery shopping in a month - at least not here. Can you imagine me without fresh garlic!) Anyway, I pulled out a few books and my copy of Simply Healthy Food just fell open at this Spicy Baked Pepper Penne, which I naturally had to adapt - One, because I usually do feel the need to add my own touch to any recipe I make unless it's some baked goodie. Two, because my pantry is pretty bare. I would have added some anchovies to the dish to give it a richer saltiness, but I couldn't find any, so I added some capers. I know this dish will be so much better next time around when I actually do have garlic (I used a shallot instead). I've never made a pasta dish that didn't have tons of herbs in the actual sauce (although I sort of cheated by using a tin of seasoned tomatoes) and this one didn't have any. The star - Rosemary was only in the breading that was sprinkled on top of the pasta just before putting it in the oven. I was leary, but I must admit, the house smelled absolutely awesome while it was baking.
Last week I didn't have any entry for Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging and this time around I have two (Check out the Simple Steak with Sweet Potatoes and Salad) and am very happy to be back in my usual groove. Not only that, both meals are definitely South Beach Diet - Phase II friendly.
Related links: Food and Drink easy cooking Weekend Herb Blogging South Beach Diet pasta
6 comments:
Welcome back! What a wonderful clear-out-the-cupboards kinda meal. I love that you added rosemary to it!
Thanks S'kat, it's great to be back although I do miss that cute little boy (and his parents too, but they don't do that snuggling in the neck thing that he does).
As for the rosemary in the baked pasta - I've never thought to do it before, but it was awesome!
Thanks for dropping by.
Sounds so good, especially the crumbs on top. I've never done that before. If I can get my hands on some nice chorizo, I'll give this a go.
Does sound very good.
Sara, even if you don't find chorizo this dish makes for a great vegetarian dinner.
just look at the bread crumb and rosemary, I know this pasta would be excellent!!!
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