Rigatoni with Lentils (Rigatoni con le Lenticchie)

Rigatoni with Lentils (Rigatoni con le Lenticchie)
Adapted by: Lidia's Italy

1 cup small lentils (aka whole masoor dal)
⅓ cup carrot, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 onion, diced
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
1-24 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspooon black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 pound rigatoni, or other pasta (reserve pasta water)
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup pecorino or parmesan cheese

Rinse the lentils, and put them in the saucepan with the diced carrot and 3 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Cook until the lentils are just tender, about 25 minutes (or longer, depending on size). 

When the lentils are almost cooked, pour the olive oil into the large skillet, and set it over medium- high heat. Add onions and sautee for until translucent. Scatter in the garlic slices, and cook for a minute or two, until sizzling and starting to color; sprinkle the Italian seasoning onto the pan bottom to toast as the garlic sizzles. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, slosh out the can with a cup of cold water, pour that into the skillet, stir well, and bring to the boil. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes or so, just to thicken up a bit. 

When the lentils are tender, pour them into the skillet with the tomatoes, season with the salt and pepper, add red wine vinegar and stir everything together, and heat the sauce to a bubbling simmer. Cook for 25 minutes or so, until the lentils are quite tender and the sauce has thickened to a consistency you like for dressing pasta. If you're going to cook the pasta right away, keep the sauce at a bare simmer. For later use, let it cool, then refrigerate. (If it thickens after cooling, loosen it with pasta water when you reheat it.) 

To cook the rigatoni or other pasta: Fill the big pot with salted water, and heat to a rolling boil. Stir in the pasta, and cook it until barely al dente. Scoop the rigatoni from the water, let drain for a moment, and drop it into the skillet of sauce, simmering over low heat. Toss together for a minute or two, until the rigatoni is evenly dressed and perfectly al dente. 

Turn off the heat, sprinkle on the chopped parsley and a cup of grated cheese, and toss well. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, toss again, and serve immediately in warm bowls, with more cheese at the table.

Verdict: FIVE Stars!
Notes: Kids thought it was delicious and licked it up. This dish reminded me of an Italian version of Dal Dhokli, which leads me to believe that a gravy version of this cooked with Indian spices would taste really nice with some roti or naan. Next time, I may add some eggplant or mushrooms to this dish to add an additional layer of flavor. I would recommend you try this because it was super easy to make and totally worth the effort.

Pav Bhaji Flatbread Pizzas

A year back we were invited over to a friend's house for a pizza party. The host made several pizzas, but one in particular stood out in my mind because it was that good. She was experimenting with the pizza sauce and added pav bhaji masala to one batch of sauce. That particular pizza was everyone's favorite and was gone in two seconds. I wanted to replicate that idea, except my version is a much quicker version as it requires readymade flatbread.

For sauce:

1/2 jar of Ragu pizza sauce

1 tsp pav bhaji masala

1/2 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp red chili powder (more if you like it spicier)

1/2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

4 multigrain flatbreads (found in bread or bakery section. You could also use naan bread or pita bread)

1/2 onion, chopped lengthwise

1/2 of colored bell peppers, chopped lengthwise

Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine all of the sauce ingredients together. No need to heat.

3. Generously coat both sides of flatbread with the olive oil.

4. Spread the pizza sauce, then the cheese and veggies.

5. Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and a golden brown color. Enjoy!

We both loved the pizza, so much so that we did not even need any hot sauce or condiments. Because we coated the flatbread with olive oil on the bottom, the pizza turns nice and crispy. B was a skeptic at first, encouraging me to go easy on the pav bhaji masala. After a few bites, he became a believer.

When you are cooking for two, it's sometimes a drag making a whole entire pizza. So, this is my go-to meal for times when I have a pizza fix. I keep the flatbreads in my freezer and always have jarred pizza sauce in the pantry. I hope you try it too because you will love it too - guaranteed!

Vegetarian Shephard's Pie

Vegetarian Shephard's Pie (cooked vegetable and lentils

topped with garlic mashed potatoes)

This recipe is compliments to Chuck Hughes, from Cooking Channel's Chuck's Day Off. I always like watching him cook because his style of cooking is so unique. I especially liked this episode because it was all vegetarian dishes. I basically followed his recipe for the pie, except for the roasted spaghetti squash. That part seemed tedious so I left it out. Besides that, here is the recipe for vegetarian shephard's pie, which made about 4 servings (half of Chuck's recipe).

For the Mashed Potatoes:

3 big russet potatoes, boiled for 30 minutes

2 tbsp melted butter

4 oz. cream cheese

Black Pepper to taste

For the Roasted Garlic Puree:

1 garlic bulb

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the Stuffing:

1/2 cup whole masoor dal, cooked

1 stalk of celery, diced

1/2 carrot, diced

1/2 onion, diced

5 mushrooms, diced

1/2 cup milk

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic paste

Salt and pepper to taste

Fried onions for garnish

1. Boil the potatoes in cold water for about 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Chop off the top of the garlic bulb. Coat the outside with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap the whole bulb in aluminum foil. Bake for about 30 minutes. Let cool before unwrapping.

3. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and stir until the milk is absorbed into the bread. Add Italian seasoning and keep to side.

4. When potatoes are done, let cool. Then peel and mash with masher or use a ricer. Add the melted butter, cream cheese, salt and pepper and mix together. For the final touch, squeeze out the garlic puree from the roasted bulb. Mix together and keep aside.

5. Heat olive oil in pot. Add the onions, celery and carrots and sautee for about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic paste and mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and mix in the cooked lentils and breadcrumb mixture.

6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Spread the lentil mixture as the bottom layer. Top with the garlic mashed potatoes and smooth it out until even. Bake for 30 minutes.

I tried to make the fried onions at home. I thinly sliced 1/2 onion. Melted 2 tbsp butter in a skillet. Added the onions, stirred until all of the onions were covered with butter. I cooked them until they were crisp, about 5-7 minutes. They ended up burning, though, so they did not make it on top as a garnish (not because I overcooked them). The one thing I did wrong was that I kept them in the skillet, on top of the heated oven. I should have removed them into a bowl to cool. Oh well ...

We loved the pie so much that we ate it for lunch and dinner. I might try the spaghetti squash eventually, but we thought the pie tasted fine just like this. We even talked about making a desi version using a samosa filling or a pav bhaji version. Although the pictures do not really do the final product justice, here's a final look.

Mushroom Risotto, 2 meals ideas in 1

Risotto is basically Italian arborio rice. It has an unusual cooking process, than regular short or long grain rice. The first time I made this dish, I was very frustrated because I felt like the rice was not cooking fast enough and I kept having to add so much water. On this second try, I followed Tyler Florence's recipe, and it came out just perfect. There were a few omissions from the original recipe, but overall, we loved the way it came out. Here's how I made our mushroom risotto.

1 cup arborio rice

4 cups vegetable stock, packaged or soak 2 large vegetable buillion cubes in 4 cups boiling water

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp garlic paste

1 pound baby bella mushrooms

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Green chives for garnish

1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in pot. Sautee the onions first until translucent. Add 1/2 tsp garlic paste and sautee that for about 30 seconds.

2. Next, add the butter and sliced mushrooms. Mix well. Add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Sautee the mushrooms for about 6 minutes. Remove the mushrooms into a separate bowl to cool.

3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in now empty pot. Sautee the onions and garlic as in Step 1.

4. To the onions and garlic, add the rice and continuously stir for 1 minute until all of the rice grains are glossy and covered with oil. Add 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock and stir until all of the water is evaporated.

5. Continue to add 1 cup at a time until all of the water is evaporated.

6. Now, add the sauteed mushrooms and parmesan cheese. Stir for one minute until the cheese is melted. Serve hot, garnished with snips of garlic chives or freshly chopped parsley.

Second option/meal: With the leftovers, we divided one red bell pepper in half, ribbed and deseeded it, then stuffed with the mushroom risotto. Bake for about 30 minutes in a 450 degree oven. Top with parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs and broil for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

This risotto is a must try. It tasted so delicious. Now that I have the recipe down, I will definitely try different variations, possibly adding spinach next time. Another version could be butternut squash. I think the possibilities are endless. That is exactly why it is going on my list of favorites!

Green Pesto and Mushroom Pizza & The Pizza Throwdown

Bhavnesh and I had a pizza throwdown today. He wanted to eat a "green" pesto-pizza, while I wanted to eat a "red" tomatoey-pizza. So, I suggested he make his, and I make mine, and we see which one was best. My recipe is posted here. For Bhavnesh's pesto, we had to improvise as we have no mozzarella cheese or pine nuts. We thought of using almonds or another type of nut, but decided not to ruin such a good thing. Here is his improvised recipe for "Green" Pesto and Mushroom Pizza.

Pesto Sauce:
1 cup spinach
Olive oil
3 cloves garlic
Salt to taste

Mushroom Topping:
1 cup mushrooms, chopped finely
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt to taste
Olive Oil

1 readymade pizza base
1/2 onion, chopped
Cheese, grated

Step 1: Make the Green Pesto Sauce.
1. Grind up the spinach, garlic and salt with olive oil to a fine paste. That's your sauce. Pretty easy ...

Step 2: Cook the mushroom topping.
1. Heat up olive oil in pan. Add the garlic and onions and sautee until onions are translucent.
2. Then, add in the mushrooms and a bit of salt and cook for a few minutes. Keep aside.

Step 3: Assemble your pizza.
1. Heat up the griddle. Cook both sides of your pizza base using a griddle on the stovetop on medium low heat. Be careful not to burn. You just want it to be golden brown on both sides.
2. Now, reduce heat to low while you add your toppings. Spread the pesto first.
3. Top with the cooked mushrooms next, followed by grated cheese. Spinkle onions on top.
4. Cook the pesto pizza with closed lid for another 6-8 minutes - just enough time to melt the cheese.

That's it! It was pretty easy compared to my red sauce, which required more work and time to cook. All in all, both pizzas turned out delicious. There were a few changes for next time, though. The cooked mushrooms and pesto needed less olive oil. Also, my tomato sauce was a bit spicy so tone it down. Neither one of us admitted defeat, so I guess WE BOTH WON!

Stovetop Spinach and Mushroom Pizza

Tired of takeout from Papa John's, Domino's and Pizza Hut never getting our order right, we decided to just make some pizza at home. This time, we made an unusual style pizza using mushrooms and spinach. I'm not a huge mushroom fan. In fact, growing up we never ate mushrooms. Our parents used to tell us it was "meat"! So, I still have that association in my head. I have tried it since then, and I do not mind eating it as long as they are not BIG chunks. Thus, I finely chopped the mushrooms that we will be topping this pizza. Here's the recipe:

1 readymade pizza base (Sorry, you're on your own if you are making the dough from scratch!)
* You may notice in the picture above, we used a tortilla instead of a pizza base. That is because we had the pizza again for breakfast this morning on the tortilla, and it tasted a bit lighter.

For Tomato Based Pizza Sauce:
4 tomatoes, crushed
1 onion, chopped finely
2 red/green jalapeno peppers, chopped finely
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Sugar to taste (optional)
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro

For topping:
1/2 cup Mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup spinach
Generous amount of shredded cheese (Pepper Jack or Montery Jack will do.)

Step 1: Make the pizza sauce.
1. Heat olive oil in pan. Sautee the garlic and onions first.
2. Once onions are turning golden brown, add the jalapeno peppers and sautee them for just a few minutes.
3. Add the pureed tomatoes next. Cook the tomatoes until oil begins to separate.
4. Add salt, sugar, Italian seasoning, red chili powder, black pepper and cumin powder. Mix well.
5. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes on medium low heat. Then, garnish with chopped cilantro. Keep aside.

Step 2: Cook the mushroom topping.
1. Heat oil in pan. Sautee the garlic and onions first.
2. Once onions are turning golden brown, add the mushrooms. Sautee for just a few minutes. Keep aside.

Step 3: Assemble your pizza.
1. Heat up griddle. Toast one side of the pizza base on medium low heat until it turns a nice golden brown. Flip over.
2. On the topside, spread the tomato sauce on the base. Layer the cooked mushrooms, followed by the spinach and finally CHEESE, lots and lots of cheese. Sprinkle Italian seasoning on top and cook pizza covered on low for about 5 minutes until the bottom turns golden brown.
3. We then broiled the pizza in the microwave so that the cheese turns a nice golden brown. (This step is optional.)

If you have an oven, this pizza gets even easier. Just assemble the pizza and stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes, and you are set. I made extra sauce so that we can maybe whip up a bell pepper and onion pizza tomorrow. Otherwise, that's it for now! Enjoy your homemade Italian pizza!

Margherita Pizza (on Toast)

Today, my cousin was coming into town. He was arriving by train so after a longg 12 hour ride, I wanted to make him something good, like pav bhaji. Unfortunately, he had a little too much of that so he left it up to me to make something simple "ek vastu". I racked my brain to think of something to make. Finally, I just made some fresh homemade tomato pizza sauce from scratch and left it up to him whether he wanted to eat spaghetti or bread pizza. I should have known it would be the bread pizza because Indians aren't really too keen on Italian food, atleast not in my family. Here is the recipe for the pizza sauce.

2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped finely
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped finely
4 garlic cloves, ground into paste
2" piece ginger, ground into paste
1 tsp corn starch (Mix with 3 tbsp water to make thin paste)
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Pinch of rEd crushed pepper flakes
1 tbs red chili powder
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Salt per taste

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add the ginger-garlic paste along with the onions and sautee for few minutes.
2. Then add in the bell peppers, close lid and cook for a few minutes to soften the bell peppers.
3. Finally add in the tomatoes with a little bit of water. Close lid and let cook so that the tomatoes will reduce.
4. Add the seasoning next, like the Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, black pepper, and red chili powder. Also add in the corn starch paste. Mix well, reduce heat to medium-low and close lid again.
5. Finally garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot over toast topped with shredded cheese.

It tasted just like a margherita pizza. It's also totally filling so it will tide you over for a few hours and you will not feel hungry. The other advantage is that this basic tomato sauce can also be used for pasta or pizza. I like it because it's fresh and you know what ingredients are put in it. It also does not take that long to make. I couldn't tell if my cousin liked it so I will have to make it again for Bhavnesh and then I'll let you know how he rates it.

Indian Style Spicy Elbow Macaroni

I've got the blues ... for some Kraft Mac n Cheese. I even bought some elbow macaroni, but it's just not the same as out of the pouch. While in India, I decided to make macaroni the Desi way - spicy with tons of masala. We will be eating this macaroni for breakfast/brunch today. It's relatively easy. Much like the other recipes, once you have the gravy part down, the rest is a piece of cake!

2 cups macaroni
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 small bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1-3 green chilies, chopped [I used 3 but it's totally per your taste level.]
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp corn starch mixed with 3 tsp water to make thin paste [used as thickening agent]
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Shredded cheese for garnish (optional)

1. Boil pot of water. Add macaroni and salt to pot and boil until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain water and run under cold water to help macaroni pieces from sticking together. You can also pour a little bit of olive oil into the cooked macaroni.
2. Heat olive oil in pan and add the green chilies and ginger-garlic paste. Sautee for 20 seconds. Then add the onions and green bell peppers and sautee until onions are golden brown in color.
3. Next, add tomatoes. Reduce heat, close lid, and let tomatoes cook down. Add the corn starch paste as well as the salt, red chili powder, black pepper and Italian seasoning. Mix well.
4. Then add cooked macaroni to pot and mix so that macaroni is coated evenly with spices. Simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Garnish with chopped cilantro, red chili flakes, and shredded cheese, if using. Serve hot for breakfast.

Since I only used 2 tomatoes, the macaroni turned out with less tomato gravy, but that was perfectly okay for breakfast. If having this for dinner, though, use 2-3 more tomatoes for more gravy. The macaroni tasted wonderful. Next time, though, Bhavnesh suggested I cook the macaroni less and grind up the chilies, instead of slicing them.

Italian Foccacia Sandwich with Pesto

We were having a very Italian day. First we had penne pasta for lunch and then for dinner, we had an Italian foccacio sandwich with pesto for dinner.

1 loaf of foccacia bread
Any type of cheese, sliced into thin strips
Pesto for spread (Sundried Tomatoe & Basil ws what we used)
1/4 onion, chopped lengthwise
1/2 tomato, chopped lengthwise
Dash of italian seasoning
Dash of salt and pepper
Dash of hot sauce
Little bit of butter

1. Cut the loaf into half. We saved the other half of the loaf for brunch tomorrow!
2. Then cut the half of the loaf in the middle. Heat up a skillet and heat up the insides of the bread pieces. You just want to toast the bread a little bit.
3. Turn off the heat. Spread the pesto on one bread piece. On the other piece, spread butter, then layer the cheese, onions, and tomatoes.
4. Sprinkle a little bit of salt, pepper and italian seasoning. (We added a dash of hot sauce at the end because it needed a little bit of a kick.)
5. Finally, place both pieces together and enjoy your sandwich.

La cena era deliziosa. The meal was delicious!

Italian Penne Pasta with Garlic Infused Olive Oil on Bread

This recipe goes out to my sister, Jesi, who used to make homemade pasta all the time. It was her favorite. I never really had a chance to make pasta because she always made extra for me. Here's to you Jesi ...

2 pouches of tomato puree (Mine are pretty small so one can should be good)
1 cup whole wheat penne pasta
olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp red chili powder
2 green chilies
8 garlic cloves (about 6 for sauce; other 2 for bread)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp dry italian seasoning
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Shredded cheese for garnish
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped lengthwise, then chopped in half once more
1/2 carrot, chopped lengthwise, then chopped in half once more
1/2 onion, chopped lengthwise, then chopped in half once more
3-4 slices bread

1. First, boil a pot of water on high heat. When boiling temperature, add in the penne pasta, little bit of salt and olive oil. It will take about 7-10 minutes to become al dente.
2. Then, drain the pasta in colander. Run under cold water so that the pasta does not stick together. Keep aside.
3. Then, I started on the sauce. Heat olive oil in skillet. When hot, add in the garlic-green chili paste and onions. Sautee for about a minute.
4. Then add in the chopped green bell peppers and carrots and sauteed all the veggies. Close lid for a few minutes to cook.
5. Open lid and add in the tomato puree and a bit of water. Also add in the spices (red chili powder, salt, sugar, black pepper and italian seasoning).
6. Allow the puree to come to a boil so all the flavors come together. It will take atleast 5 minutes.
7. Then add in the boiled pasta. Mix the pasta with the sauce, close lid and cook for a few minutes. Reduce heat, add the chopped cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. Pasta is ready! (If you have some cilantro chutney laying around, a tsp or two would taste very good in the sauce.)
8. To make the bread, crush 2 cloves of garlic. Add a few tbsp of olive oil and mix together to infuse oil with garlic. Then, spread the garlic infused oil onto the bread slices.
9. Heat up a skillet and toast both sides of the bread. The bread can also be baked in the toaster over until bread is toasted.
10. Finally, garnish pasta with a bit of shredded cheese and red pepper flakes and serve with the bread. Enjoy!

* The sauce came out thicker than we preferred so next time I will use only one pouch of the puree and use 2-3 fresh tomatoes instead. Besides the little extra black pepper, the flavor of the pasta was very delicious! Believe me, I licked my bowl clean!

Homemade Pizza from Scratch (Well, almost)

Since it's the weekend, we decided to make some homemade personal pan pizza, and it turned out great. Since we do not have an oven, we baked the pizza on a griddle on the stovetop, and I thought it turned out delicious and in half the time. This homemade pizza is definitely a great recipe for those days when you want to whip something up really quick. Here's how we made it:

2 ready made personal pan size pizza dough
Shredded cheese for garnish
1 bell pepper, chopped lengthwise
1 onion, chopped lengthwise
Any other veggies
For the homemade tomato sauce, you will need ..

1 can of tomato puree
2 tsp butter (we used ghee)
1/2 onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp water
1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Heat up the ghee in a pan. When it melts, add the onions and garlic and stir fry for few minutes. Then add the tomato puree. Mix well.
2. Next add all the spices - salt, sugar, red chilli powder, black pepper, and italian seasoning.
3. In a small bowl, stir in the corn starch with 1 tsp water until there are no lumps in mixture. Add the corn starch to sauce as thickening agent.
4. Let sauce come to boil. Depending on your preference, add more water if you like the sauce to be not so thick.
5. Garnish with cilantro and let sauce simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and let cool.

To make pizza:
1. First you have to bake both sides of the readymade pizza dough on the stovetop until they are light golden brown. Bake one side on medium-high heat, turn it around.
2. While the bottom side is baking, spread the pizza sauce on top side. Add the vegetable toppings, and finally garnish with shredded cheese on top.
3. Now cover the griddle with a lid to let the pizza finish baking on low heat. Make sure to check the bottom of the pizza every few minutes so that your pizza doesn't burn. When the pizza is as crisp as you like it, turn off the heat.
4. We like our cheese to be a little brown and crisp, so we broiled it in the microwave for about 3 minutes.
5. Voila! Homemade pizza's ready!!