Mushroom Risotto
Quickie Pesto Pasta
Spicy Linguini with Walnuts and Mint
Hello Friends!! Very excited to be bringing you Italian Summer! I’ve had to take a blog break to work on some other things but happy to be back at it during the best time of the year! I was so excited that last week was not just a Twofer but a Threefer! We have a list of things we want to make this summer, and risotto is close to the top. I also added in pesto pasta in the middle of the week (this one is a cheater) and then linguini with walnuts and mint to wind things up. So, without further ado…
Mushroom Risotto with Grilled Bread.
Risotto is a labor of love, if you’re going to do it right. You want to make sure you toast your rice before you start adding the liquid. Then you add the liquid S-L-O-W-L-Y and stir, stir, stir! It’s annoying and totally worth it! This is Lidia’s recipe, so just follow it and you’ll be fine. She is the queen! This risotto was so creamy and flavorful. We mopped up our plates with some toasted bread with olive oil and salt on it. Delish! Definitely a great kick-off to Italian Summer!
Farfalle with Basil Pesto (aka Cheater Pesto)
Okay, here’s a dirty little secret: I mostly use pesto in a jar. Is it hard to make? No. But honestly, the DelAllo pesto is pretty darned good, so why would I stress out over making it? This is an easy-peasy yet delicious weeknight dinner. I cooked about 10 oz. of farfalle (bow tie, farfalle is Italian for butterfly!) pasta and used a whole jar of the pesto. Sprinkle on some freshly grated Parmesan, and boom! Dinner’s ready!
Spicy Linguini with Walnuts and Mint
Last up for the week was this very easy dish from Giada. Full disclosure, this was mostly just to use up some of our mint. Don’t ever plant mint in the ground unless you want it to completely take over your yard. It’s strictly a pot-only situation! I planted one tiny mint plant in a pot and it’s already gigantic, I’ve used it in the pasta and cocktails. I’ll have to keep thinking of what else to put it in! This pasta is simple and not heavy, good on a hot summer night. Don’t poo-poo the anchovy paste! It doesn’t taste fishy, it gives dishes a savory flavor that you wouldn’t know what it was, but would miss it if you left it out. I just toast the nuts in a dry skillet until they start to smell nice and toasty, just watch them so you don’t burn them. I am pretty sure we ordered our Calabrian chili paste from the interwebs, but you can use any chili paste you like, Sambal Olek or another Asian paste would work just fine. Enjoy!
Mangiamo! ~ Jen