Pasta with Artichokes and Pancetta

In this pasta, the sweet taste of the artichokes combines with the sharp flavor of the Parmesan cheese, and the spicy aroma of the pancetta

Today I want to show you how to prepare this pasta with artichokes and pancetta. This is one of my favorite recipes: easy and tasty, and as usual, ready in no more than 30 minutes.
As you probably have noticed, I like to buy and use fresh vegetables in my recipes.
Artichoke though is one exception. Cleaning fresh artichokes is quite an elaborate job. It involves peeling off leaves, trimming stems and, I know!!, removing "hair". And after all the hard work, what I find most annoying is ending up with a tiny artichoke heart, as small as a walnut, when I started off with a big, fist-sized artichoke! All reasons why, I generally opt to buy frozen artichoke hearts. They are tender and juicy, and ready to use!
In this pasta, you will find the sweet taste of the artichokes, together with the sharp and nutty flavor of the Parmesan cheese, and the spicy aroma of the pancetta. What can I say? Pancetta, like bacon, makes everything taste delicious!
Here is the recipe for you:

Pasta with Shrimps and Zucchini

Are you looking for a simple, delicious and all-in-one meal, that is ready in 30 minutes or less?
Here is a great idea that will make a pasta dish into a special weeknight dinner with very little effort!
This pasta featuring shrimps and zucchini is a classic Italian dish, that puts together two quite different, fresh ingredients, with aroma and flavor that combine perfectly.
For the best result, find small, organic zucchini and super fresh shrimps. And as I might have said before, don't top your seafood pasta with Parmesan cheese. I know, I love freshly grated Parmesan  with most of my pastas, but this is one exception! What I do like to sprinkle on top of this pasta with shrimps an zucchini is chopped, fresh Italian parsley. You will love it!

Pasta Salad with Fresh Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil Pesto

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend!
Yesterday, I enjoyed a perfect day at the beach. The weather was gorgeous, the waves were spectacular, and the water was warm enough for me to get wet. But no, I did not go for a swim. Even if I have been here in Southern California for a few years now,  I like to stay with my feet in the sand. I grew up swimming in the warm and quiet Adriatic Sea, and I'm not yet used to huge waves and the big creatures that can be found around here, like dolphins, seals, and a shark now and then. One of the thing in my bucket list thou is learning to paddleboard, so I might have to get used to the ocean soon!
Yesterday, for my picnic lunch at the beach, I made this summery and wholesome pasta salad with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil pesto. This is the most classic of the Italian pasta salad. Great not only for picnics, but also perfect for your next potluck dinner or barbecue.
As I mentioned many times before, when the recipes only requires few ingredients, these should be extremely tasty and of great quality. My fresh tomatoes are from the local farmers market. The mozzarella is fresh, I bought mine from Trader Joe's. And the basil sauce is a very light homemade pesto, prepared with fresh basil, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and, if you like, a bit of garlic.
The basil I used is from my plant. Still the same I had more than a month ago. I know some of you were concerned about its well being, but as you can see, it's looking good and still alive!! Well, maybe it needs some  water right now :)

Pasta alla Vodka

Have you been to any good Italian restaurant lately? If so, I'm pretty sure that one of the pasta dishes on the menu was the Penne alla Vodka. This is a very popular dish  (and for good reasons!), and it might be one of your favorite.
Tonight I want to show that you too can make pasta alla vodka just like the one at the restaurant.
What you will need is penne or another short pasta, like the rigatoni in my picture, a good can of tomatoes  (I like the San Marzano whole tomatoes that I quickly crush with a hand blender), hot peppers to make the pasta as spicy as you like, and of course, some good vodka!
Sometimes this sauce also comes with pancetta, but I personally prefer it without it. This way, it's also a great vegetarian recipe.
It will take you no more than 30 minutes to prepare this spicy, rich and creamy pasta. I'm sure you will be delighted with the results!

Lasagne with Artichokes and Mushrooms

As I promised on my last post, here is the recipe for the lasagne with artichokes and mushrooms that I cooked on Saturday, for a potluck dinner.
This is the perfect vegetarian dish to prepare for guests. It's an easy recipe to follow, but surely it's not as quick as most of my other dinner preparations.  Well worth the effort, though!! You will definitely impress your guests with this tasty and sophisticated Italian dish.
Please note, you can prepare the lasagne in advance, up to the day before and store it in the refrigerator (before or after baking). Just bake or reheat in the oven before dinner time.
And lasagna leftovers are my favorite!

Penne with Asparagus and Fresh Tomatoes

How was your weekend?
Mine started with a busy and extremely fun Saturday: my boys' soccer games in the morning (always entertaining and exciting!); cooking a yummy vegetarian lasagna to bring to a potluck dinner party; and then, the party at my neighbors' house. The dinner was so much fun, and I got the chance to meet some really nice families from my neighborhood, that I hadn't met before.
Thank you Heather for the amazing evening! And as I promised, I will share the lasagna recipe ... but not today.
Today, I am going to show you what I prepared on Sunday morning, for my family picnic at the beach. As you might know by now, I love laying on the sand, relaxing and reading, while my three guys run around and play... and yes, sometimes I do join in the games too! The best part for me though, is when we all sit together on the blanket, and enjoy a healthy meal, looking out for dolphins and listening to the soothing sound of the waves.
I have several ideas for picnics or potlucks. Here is an easy and super healthy pasta with asparagus and fresh tomatoes. As most of my recipes, this is quick and requires only few, simple ingredients. And as in all of these recipes, it's important to have good quality products. Asparagus are normally always tasty, no matter where I buy them. But the tomatoes are different: many times they have no flavor at all. So please, make sure that you find savory tomatoes. This will make your pasta not only good, but delicious!
Note: I always cook a little extra that I will refrigerate, and give to the kids for lunch on Monday. No need to warm it up! Perfect, right?

Here are the details:

Linguine with Broccoli and Potatoes

Tired and hungry?

This super healthy and extremely quick pasta with broccoli and potatoes

will make you happy and full!

Did you just come home tired and hungry after a long day at work? Or, as in my case, you have no energy left after spending the whole day with the kids, who are home for spring break? It's almost dinner time, and everyone is starving and cranky ... including me!
With such a busy day, I had no time to think about what to cook for dinner, even less time to run to the grocery store and buy anything.
Luckily in the refrigerator I found some broccoli. Perfect ingredient and one of the healthiest food: high in vitamin C and dietary fibers, with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-oxidants nutrients.  Plus, my boys love broccoli! What more could I ask? Now I have the perfect recipe for tonight: Linguine with broccoli and potatoes.
With only few and simple ingredients, in about 20 minutes, we can sit down at the dinner table, and enjoy a super healthy plate of pasta that will make us all happy and full. Trust me!

Pappardelle with Mushrooms and Speck

Tonight I was in the mood for an appetizing and savory pasta. And the pappardelle with mushrooms and speck came to mind!
This is a very tasty primo piatto that combines the smoked, delicate flavor of the speck with the sweet, earthy aroma of the mushrooms. You could use other shapes of pasta, but definitely the wideness of the pappardelle makes this dish buonissimo!
I like the DeCecco egg pappardelle, shown in the picture below, because they are easy to find in grocery stores around here and they cook well without sticking together. Plus, this pasta cooks in only 6 minutes. Perfect! You know I like when dinner is ready quickly.
If you are not familiar with speck, it is a smoked prosciutto, native to Alto Adige, a region of Northern Italy. As you see in the picture below, it looks similar to a prosciutto, a little darker in color, and with a unique taste and delicate aroma. Speck is not as common here as in Italy. If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can find it at Guidi Marcello, in Santa Monica. This store also sells porchetta, coppa, prosciutto cotto, in addition to the more common prosciutto, pancetta and mortadella. You will also find many other Italian goodies, check it out when you have the chance!
I added a link to the Amazon store, for both pappardelle and speck. Please note, I have never tried to buy speck from Amazon. Let me know if you do and what you think about it!

In the case you cannot find speck and don't want to try the one on Amazon,  you may substitute it with prosciutto or pancetta. The result will still be really good!

Here is what you will need:

Fettuccine Pasta with Creamy Smoked Salmon Sauce

This is going to be your new favorite quick recipe, especially for those last-minute, unexpected guests joining you for dinner.
The fettuccine with creamy salmon sauce is a quite delicate, very fast and extremely delicious dish.
In this recipe, the smoky flavor of the salmon perfectly combines with the delicate taste of the cream and the sharp freshness of the parsley.
I love smoked salmon and I always have a small package in  my refrigerator. It can be used in many recipes: for a quick lunch in a sandwich or bagel, for brunch or dinner in a frittata or scrambled eggs...
The smoked salmon comes handy also when I don't have time to go to the fish market, and I want to make sure I have served to my family enough heart-healthy omega-3 fats for the week.
Also, if your children are not very prone at eating fish, this might be a good recipe to try. My boys absolutely love this pasta!
You can always substitute the fettuccine with other types of pasta, like linguine or penne.

Ingredients - serves 4 people: