Category:  Pastas, Rice & Legumes (Beans & Grains)

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This salad is delicious as a side or as a buffet dish for any celebration. Make it for Mother’s Day – they’ll love it!

Prep time: 15 minutes (to assemble ingredients)
Makes: 3 to 4 cups

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups cooked, brown rice
4 to 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium carrot, peeled & finely shredded
2/3 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup chopped, fresh chives
5 to 6 fresh mint leaves, slivered
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave nectar
salt & ground black pepper, to taste
Dash cumin

Directions:
1. Cook rice according to package directions.

2. If rice has excess liquid after cooking, drain and discard the liquid.

3. Transfer the rice to a 4-quart glass or porcelain bowl & stir in the olive oil.

4. Let rice cool to room temperature.

5. When rice is at room temperature, stir in remaining ingredients; toss, taste & adjust seasonings.

6. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap & serve later in the day.

7. Brown Rice Confetti Salad can be made early in the morning. Any leftovers will keep, refrigerated, up to 3 days.
Text & Photograph ©2020 Nancy DeLucia Real

In Italian, cacio e pepe mean cheese and black pepper. This term also stands for a type of pasta from Roman cuisine. Spaghetti cacio e pepe is made by Italians all over Italy because it is made quickly and with few ingredients. Personally, I enjoy this dish at home because it tastes better than in most restaurants and it’s a lot cheaper. Try making this yourself – you’ll love it!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 pound (16 ounces) spaghetti (you can also use another pasta variety)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (the sharp, imported Locatelli variety, preferred)
1/4 cup minced, fresh flat leaf Italian parsley (garnish)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
1. Bring a 6 to 8-quart pot of water to a boil.

2. Add spaghetti and cook for 10 minutes, or until it is al dente (crunchy-tender).

3. When spaghetti has cooked about 6 minutes, heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet. DO NOT LET IT SMOKE.

4. When oil is hot, stir in the garlic and black pepper and fry until the garlic is barely tender – DO NOT LET IT BROWN.

5. Transfer the skillet with garlic-pepper mixture to a cold burner.

6. Meanwhile, reserve about 3/4 cup boiling liquid from spaghetti.

7. Heat the garlic pepper mixture in skillet and drain the spaghetti.

8. Immediately add drained spaghetti to skillet and toss over high heat.

9. Stir in some of the boiling liquid – it should thicken the spaghetti mixture.

10. Immediately stir in the cheese and toss spaghetti until it is evenly-coated.

11. Serve in individual bowls and garnish with minced parsley. Ask guests to add red pepper flakes, if desired.

Wine Pairing: Chilled Fiano di Avellino (Italian white wine), Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio.
Text & Photograph ©2019 Nancy DeLucia Real

On St. Patrick’s Day, all sorts of recipes turn up for green cookies, green muffins, green candy, green everything except pasta. So how about making a nice dish of green linguine for St. Pat’s Day?

Here’s the recipe:

Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh asparagus, bottom tips discarded & stems cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 pound (16 ounces) spinach linguine or fettuccine pasta variety
salt, to taste
10 ounces cherry tomatoes, cut in half
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese

Directions:
1. Set the cut asparagus aside in a bowl.

2. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a 4 to 6-quart sauce pot.

3. When water boils, add pasta and 3/4 teaspoon salt to the water.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions.

5. During the last minute of pasta cooking, add the asparagus to the pasta in sauce pot.

6. When pasta is “al dente” (crunchy-tender), drain the cooked pasta in a colander and quickly transfer it to a large glass or porcelain bowl.

7. Add the cherry tomatoes and olive oil. Taste and adjust salt and olive oil levels.

8. Serve pasta in individual bowls; ask guests to add grated cheese to their pasta bowls.

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc or Cabinet Sauvignon
Text & Photograph ©2018 Nancy DeLucia Real

This pasta dish with rapini and sausage will comfort you all year round! Its main ingredient is rapini. Rapini are a green vegetable. The leaves, buds and stems are totally edible. Although the buds resemble broccoli, they do not form a large head. Rapini have a slightly bitter taste and we Italians use them in all sorts of recipes. However, this one is a big hit with all who sit around us at our dinner table!

Note: Call your local specialty supermarket and ask them if they carry rapini.

Prep time: 30 minutes (rapini & sausage) & 10 minutes (pasta)
Serves: 4 to 6

For the Rapini:
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled & whole
1 bunch fresh Rapini (found at Erewhon, Gelson’s & Vicente Foods supermarkets in Los Angeles), rinsed, drained and cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt, to taste

Directions:
1. In a 4-quart saucepot, heat 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil.

2. When oil is hot, add the whole garlic cloves and stir-fry on medium high until they turn golden brown.

3. Immediately remove saucepot from hot burner; let cool for about 3 minutes.

4. After 3 minutes, add the rapini and cover the saucepot.

5. Cook the rapini on medium-high heat for 5 minutes, using tongs to stir them occasionally.

6. After 5 minutes, add salt to taste. Taste some rapini – they should be crunchy-tender. Set aside, covered.

For the Sausage:
3 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 turkey or pork sausage links (mild or hot)

Directions:
1. In a 6-quart saucepot, heat the oil.

2. When oil is hot, add the sausage links – be careful to avoid splatters by covering the saucepot.

3. Sauce the sausage links on medium-high heat, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes.

4. After 2 to 3 minutes, carefully uncover the saucepot and, using a fork, poke holes in the sausage links. STAND AWAY FROM STOVE TO AVOID SPLATTERS.

5. Turn the sausage links over and cover on the other side for 3 to 4 minutes.

6. Repeat turning the sausage links over and cooking until they are 3/4 cooked.

7. When sausages are 3/4 cooked, lower heat.

8. Using shears and standing over skillet or saucepot, carefully cut the sausage links into 1-inch circles.

9. Cut circles in half and continue cooking sausage pieces for 1 minutes.

10. After 1 minute, stir in the rapini. Cover and set aside.

For the Orecchiette Pasta & Assembly:
1 pound orecchiette pasta
salt, to taste
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, as garnish
Crushed red pepper, as garnish

Directions:
1. Bring a separate 6-quart saucepot of water to a boil.

2. Add the orecchiette pasta and salt; cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until pasta is “al dente” (crunchy-tender).

3. Meanwhile, heat the sausage-rapini mixture through.

4. Drain the orecchiette pasta in a colander set over a sink.

5. Transfer the drained orecchiette pasta to the sausage-rapini mixture in saucepot; stir and heat through.

6. Taste the pasta mixture, adding more olive oil and salt, if desired.

7. Serve immediately in separate bowls, asking guests to add their own grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese and/or crushed red pepper.

Wine Pairing: Sauvignon Blanc or Cabinet Sauvignon
Text & Photograph ©2017 Nancy DeLucia Real

It’s time to forget our summer salads and make great comfort food – try Tagliatelle Bolognese!

Prep time: 30 minutes (Bolognese Sauce) & 10 minutes (Tagliatelle)
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white or brown onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled & carrot finely chopped
1 celery stalk, peeled & stalk finely chopped
1 to 1-1/2 pounds ground, dark turkey meat
1 cup white wine
One 32-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes (pureed in a blender)
2 bay leaves
Dash grated nutmeg
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon granulated sugar or agave nectar
1 pound tagliatelle or fettuccine pasta variety
3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Directions:
1. In a 6-quart saucepot, heat the oil.

2. When oil is hot, add the chopped onion, carrot and celery.

3. Stir-fry on medium high heat for about 2 minutes or until onion is translucent.

4. When onion is translucent, add the ground turkey meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.

5. Cook on medium-high heat for 5 to 8 minutes or until meat has turned gray -stir occasionally.

6. When meat has turned gray, stir in the wine & cook for an additional 5 minutes or until wine has almost evaporated in its entirety – you should see some liquid at bottom of saucepot.

7. After wine has evaporated, stir in the pureed, peeled tomates, bay leaves & nutmeg.

8. Cook/simmer the Bolognese sauce on medium heat for about 20 minutes – stir occasionally.

9. After 20 minutes, add salt and ground black pepper, to taste.

10. Cook for an additional 3 minutes and then taste the sauce. If it tastes acidy, add the sugar or agave nectar. Taste the sauce again. Adjust seasonings, to taste.

Prepare the Tagliatelle & Serve:
1. Bring a 4-quart sauce pot of water to a boil.

2. Add the tagliatelle to the boiling water and 1 teaspoon salt.

3. Cook on medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until pasta is “al dente” (crunchy-tender).

4. Drain the pasta in a colander; return fettuccine to the sauce pot.

5. Gently stir desired amount of Bolognese sauce into the tagliatelle.

6. Immediately serve the tagliatelle in individual portions and top with a half-ladle of Bolognese sauce.

7. Ask guests to add their own grated cheese to the tagliatelle.
Text & Photograph ©2017 Nancy DeLucia Real