Food Experiment(week 2)

In week two of my food experiment, i moved away from the Mexican-ish themed dishes and moved into a more, garlic meets basil theme. On tuesday night i made an Almond Tomato Pesto sauce over linguini pasta. When i ate it fresh, it didn't really seem all that great, in fact it was a little bland. But i mixed the left over pesto with the linguini and put it in the refrigerator overnight. When i ate it the next day, it was GREAT! The flavors were much stronger. I think the key is to let it sit for a while so the noodles can soak up the juice from the pesto sauce. This recipe i copied from http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/09/linguine-with-tomato-almond-pesto/, and the directions are as follows:



Ingredients:
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 large handful fresh basil leaves
1 to 2 large garlic cloves
Several sprinkles of sea salt
6 ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup grated Pecorino or Parmesan
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
1 pound linguine

In a large skillet, sauté the almonds in a little olive oil until toasted. Let cool, then blend them in a food processor or blender until they are in coarse pieces. (“The size of orzo,” the original recipe suggests.) Scoop them out of the processor and set them aside.

Put the basil, garlic and a few pinches of sea salt into the food processor and chop. Add the almonds back to the food processor (keeping them separate will keep them from getting too finely chopped as you get the basil and garlic to the right texture) with the tomatoes, cheese and olive oil and whirl briefly. Season it with freshly ground black pepper.

Cook your linguine until it is al dente and could use another minute of cooking time. Reserve one cup of pasta cooking water and drain the rest. Immediately toss the hot linguine with the pesto and mix quickly so that it drinks the sauce up a bit. Add more pasta water if needed. Serve this lukewarm, or at room temperature.
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The second meal of the week was ChickPea salad with fresh herbs,tomatoes and carrots. I won't lie, i was a little skeptical about chickpeas being served warm. I'm a "refrigerated, over salad" chickpea kind of girl, but this was DELICIOUS!!! I served it with italian herb marinated chicken breast. It was in my book, a PERFECTLY light meal for any season, a for-sure keeper. This was a recipe i got from
http://www.justcookalready.com/2010/09/chickpea-salad-with-fresh-herbs.html. The directions are as follows:



INGREDIENTS:


1 can chick peas, drained
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, cut in half, then quartered
2 carrots, peeled, quartered, and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped.
1 BIG handful parsley, finely chopped
1 BIG handful cilantro, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice


DIRECTIONS:


In a large pan, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. When oil is glossy, add onions and garlic and cook until onions are transparent, about 2-3 minutes. Add carrots, cover with a lid, and cook for 5 minutes or until carrots and crisp-tender. Add chick peas and cook for 5 more minutes. Next, stir in tomatoes, parsley, and cilantro. Let all ingredients meld together, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a lemon wedge or sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.


Lots of Love and Bunches of Hugs
XOXO Brogan Lee