Baking Delights » cilantro

Pesto Pasta for Presto Pasta

Marye Audet — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 21:42:32 +0000

This is my entry for this weeks Presto Pasta night hosted by Haalo of Cook Almost Anything.

One of my favorite things to experiment with is pesto. It is just so darn good! I like to grow different kinds of basil because each one adds a different complexity to the pesto.

Then I started experimenting with different herbs as the basic ingredients. I found that one of my favorite spins on fresh pesto is to make it with cilantro and pecans.

Welcome to Texas.

To me the combination is fresh, rich, and delicious. It gives it a nice twist.

Here is the recipe for the cilantro pesto. Go ahead and make it first, that way the ingredients will mellow while you are making the rest of it.

Rotini Pasta with Mascarpone and Cilantro Pesto

1 pound rotini pasta or other shapes that will hold the sauce, cooked a la dente
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1/4 cup cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup pesto or more to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/4 cup chopped pecans
a few chopped cilantro leaves

Drain the pasta.
Heat the mascarpone and the cream together until very well blended and creamy.
Adjust seasonings.
Stir the pasta into the cream mixture. Blend well so that the pasta is well coated.
Stir in the pesto and parmesan and toss the hot pasta so that the pesto is evenly mixed in.
Place on the serving platter and sprinkle with pecans, cilantro and a little more parmesan.

That’s it. Another really simple recipe from me. I must be getting lazy.

No worries there. Daring Bakers is coming up. :/

images:marye audet

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Vegetarian Southwestern Summer Salad

Marye Audet — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:59:53 +0000

I know I have mentioned before how much I like salad dinners in the summer. They are quick, easy, and refreshing. An added bonus is that the kitchen doesn’t heat up! Lately, with Marc having spent so much time in the hospital and various costs money has been tight so I am revisiting my vegetarian youth. Blessedly my kids are not fussy eaters!

This salad is great but do not substitute or remove the fresh cilantro. It’s fresh, earthy, warmth is necessary to the success of these flavors. Don’t be focused in on exact amounts…This is a handful of this and a handful of that type of meal.

1 can pinto beans

1 can black beans

1 head lettuce torn into bite size pieces OR equivalent in salad greens

1 bunch cilantro, cleaned and chopped

1 onion sliced into rings.

1 can black olives sliced

2 c corn

2 c shredded cheese of choice (colby, jack or cheddar)

2 tomatoes cut into chunks

5 white corn tortillas sliced into strips and fried until crispy

Lay salad mixed with cilantro on plate. top randomly with the rest of the ingredients. Top with the following: sour cream, avocado, picante, salsa verde as desired

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Vegetable Enchiladas

Marye Audet — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:28:07 +0000

This monthly mingle event is hosted by What’s For Lunch Honey and entitled Earth Food.

There has been alot of talk going on lately about eating food that is grown close to home or at home in your own garden. This is good for the environment in so many ways…less packaging, less transport…supporting local small farmers. It is good for our bodies in many ways, higher nutrition, better, fresher foods…
What are we doing for the environment at my house? We are restoring an old farmhouse and we are using earth friendly methods and materials as we can. We are looking in to solar power panels, rain collection systems and 0 VOC paint. We raise dairy goats and chickens and I keep trying to have a garden and someday it will even work!
We used to be vegan, then vegetarian, then we went back to eating meat but always have been whole foods oriented. In the past several months I have felt the pull to be more careful about what we eat, and that has been confirmed many times for me by the various meat recalls!

Organic meats are expensive so I have found that I am naturally gravitating back toward more vegetable based meals and letting the meat be less of a *star* in the show. These enchiladas are fantastic. I created them a long time ago after eating enchiladas at the cafe at our local Wholefoods Market. Sadly, the cafe no longer exists but the enchiladas live on!

Vegetarian enchiladas

serves 6

12 tortillas, corn or wholewheat

Filling:

8 oz portabella mushrooms chopped coarsely

3 garlic cloves chopped

1 onion chopped

3 zucchini, julienned

3 carrots, julienned

1 (or more) chile chopped

1-2 bell peppers julienned (a mix is nice here)

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

1 c grated cheese of choice (you may use soy cheese)

salt and pepper to taste

a little olive oil for sauteeing

Basically you can add any vegetable you have, leftover or whatever is prolific in the garden…

Sautee vegetables in olive oil, starting with the longest cooking and adding as needed so that all vegetables are cooked but still firm. Add chopped cilantro and mix well. Set aside.

Enchilada Sauce

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 can Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

1 TBS chili powder

1/2 tsp dried chopped chipotle (Archer Farms does a good one)

salt and pepper to taste

saute onion and garlic until onion is transparent. Add rest of ingredients and simmer 20 minutes. Process in blender or food processor. If sauce is to watery then return to heat to reduce to desired consistancy.

Topping:

1/2 c grated cheese of choice (use soy cheese for a vegan dish)

Heat tortillas, dip in sauce, and then lay on a plate. Put about 2 Tbs of filling in tortilla, sprinkle with some grated cheese, and roll up. Lay in 13 x 9″ pan that has been spread with a little of the enchilada sauce, seam side down. Repeat.

Drizzle with sauce. Sprinkle with ab0ut 1/2 c cheese. Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro over all. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until warmed through and cheese is melted.

Serve with a salad, brown rice, and some cut up, fresh, tropical fruit…

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