Spring Carrot Pasta with Herbs

The James Beard awards were just announced, and Arizonans were excited to hear that Charleen Badman of FnB restaurant in Phoenix was named "Best Chef - Southwest".  FnB has been on my list of restaurants to try for several years but I haven't made it there yet, and I suspect reservations are going to be pretty hard to come by for a while.  I was looking at a sample menu on their website in anticipation and one entry made me pause: "pasta, carrots, marjoram, goat cheese, crispy prosciutto".  What?  Pasta and carrots?  Never heard of that particular combination. Chef Badman is known as "the vegetable whisperer" because of her delicious and innovative use of vegetables, so I decided I needed to investigate further.  I did some research online and came up with a recipe that sounds similar even though I haven't actually seen Chef Badman's creation.

I tweaked the recipe by adding sauted cabbage to underscore the carrot's natural sweetness, and added a bunch of fresh herbs from my garden for flavor.  The carrots, pasta, goat cheese and crispy prosciutto work together wonderfully well in terms of contrasting flavors and textures.  You could leave the prosciutto out if you want it to be vegetarian, but it really does add a lot in terms of flavor and texture.

If possible, don't use a box grater to shred the carrots and cabbage because you end up with short shreds that don't work as well with the spaghetti - longer shreds are easier to twirl together with the pasta.  You can buy bags of shredded carrots at the store that are longer, and it's easy to make your own long shreds of cabbage by buying a head of cabbage and thinly cutting it with a sharp knife.

I was really pleased with this recipe and decided to call it a spring pasta because it's light, healthy and full of fresh herbs but it would be great any time of the year.

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Spring Carrot Pasta with Herbs

Serves 4

Note: long shreds of carrot and cabbage work well here because they mimic the shape of the spaghetti and are easy to twirl with the pasta.  You can buy bags of long shreds of carrots at the store, and you can make your own long shreds of cabbage by thinly cutting a head of cabbage with a knife. 

1 lb spaghetti

3 tablespoons olive oil

6 slices prosciutto, chopped into ½” strips

¼ medium yellow onion, chopped

3 cups shredded carrots (preferably long shreds)

2 cups shredded green cabbage (preferably long shreds)

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ teaspoon caraway seeds

Salt and black pepper to taste

½ cup chopped fresh herbs such as basil, thyme, dill (or a mix) plus a few more for garnish

3 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a generous pinch of salt.  Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain, reserving about ½ cup of pasta water.

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook the prosciuttos until crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  (Do not drain the olive oil from the skillet.)

In the same skillet, sauté the onion for about 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the cabbage and a pinch of salt and stir often until wilted, about 5 minutes.  Add the carrots and another pinch of salt and cook for an additional five minutes until tender but not mushy.  Stir in the caraway seeds and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the pasta to the pot and toss well with tongs to combine, adding some of the reserved pasta water if it looks a little dry.  Add the herbs and toss again, then divide immediately between shallow bowls.  Top with the crispy prosciutto, goat cheese, and extra herbs for garnish.

Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

Last Year's Post: Hoisin Burgers with Wasabi Slaw

I enjoy cooking and trying new ingredients and techniques so much that I actually feel sort of cheated if we're having a dinner that we just pulled out of the freezer to reheat.  I mean, what fun is that?  Of course, it's fabulous if you've had a really bad day but hopefully you don't have too many of those.  On the other hand, it's not a good idea to plan a week of meals that all take hours to prepare.  You have to have a break sometime.  This recipe is the best of all worlds - beautiful presentation, delicious flavor, an interesting technique yet fast to make, and low in calories.  It's definitely company-worthy, but easy enough to make any day of the week.  Really, what's not to like?  Moist and juicy chicken, woodsy sage and salty prosciutto covered in a velvety lemon sauce.  Yum.  Saltimbocca (meaning to jump in the mouth) is an Italian dish traditionally made with veal, sage and prosciutto but I love this version, adapted from Cooking Light magazine, even more.

It looks fancy but it's actually very easy.  Start with chicken cutlets, which are just thinner versions of chicken breasts.  You can sometimes find them in the store but it's just as easy to make your own by slicing a boneless skinless chicken breast in half horizontally.

OK,  I didn't do the greatest job of cutting it into two equal-sized cutlets but I'm sure you can do better.  Then you artistically place three fresh sage leaves on each cutlet and wrap with a thin slice or two of prosciutto, partially covering the leaves but letting some stick out. (That was the technique part in case you were wondering.)

Before sauteing  the chicken, heat a pot of water and start cooking some angel hair pasta.  The chicken cutlets cook for just a few minutes because they're thin.

Make a quick pan sauce from lemon juice, chicken broth, and a little cornstarch to thicken, then toss the  pasta with a little garlic and olive oil and you're good to go.  The entire meal takes maybe 30 minutes to make and has only about 400 calories but it tastes like a million bucks.

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Lemony Chicken Saltimbocca

Serves 4

For the chicken:

2 (8 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally to make 4 (4 oz) chicken cutlets

1/8 teaspoon salt

12 fresh sage leaves

2 oz very thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 8 thin strips

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

½ cup fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon cornstarch

lemon wedges for garnish, optional

For the pasta:

6 oz angel hair pasta

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small garlic clove, minced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to directions.

Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken evenly with salt.  Place 3 sage leaves on each cutlet; wrap 2 prosciutto slices around each cutlet, securing sage leaves in place.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil to pan, swirling to coat.  Add chicken to pan; cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until done.  Remove chicken from pan and keep warm.

Combine broth, lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl while the chicken is cooking; stir with a whisk until smooth.  When chicken is removed from pan, add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil to pan; bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Cook for 1 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. 

Drain the pasta and toss with 2 teaspoons olive oil and garlic.  Serve the chicken with the sauce spooned over and pasta along side.  Garnish with lemon wedges, optional.

Ravioli with Apples and Walnuts

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Everybody likes pasta, but sometimes you can get a little tired of spaghetti and red sauce.  Plus it's spring, and who wants to stand in the kitchen for hours simmering a marinara sauce?  This recipe is fresh, light and really fast - ravioli stuffed with luscious cheeses and topped with fresh apple, olive oil, toasted walnuts, and parmesan.  It's deceptively simple in terms of ingredients and prep time, but unique enough that it's quite elegant.

The first time I made this recipe I noted that it tasted french (in my world that's a good thing).  I think it was the classic combination of apples and walnuts that did it for me.  Whatever, it certainly is different from your typical southern Italian pasta dish.  Although it's very satisfying and filling as a vegetarian entree, you can add a topping of crispy prosciutto or bacon to keep your carnivores happy if you like. 

You can prepare the topping while the ravioli cooks, so your entire prep time comes down to how fast you can boil water and cook the pasta.  Maybe 20 minutes?  Not bad. 

* * click here for a printable recipe version * *

Ravioli with Apples and Walnuts
Serves 4

1 lb cheese ravioli
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 crisp apple (Braeburn or Gala), cut into matchsticks
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
½ cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
¼ cup grated parmesan
2-3 thin slices of prosciutto, chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper


Cook the ravioli according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the walnuts (and prosciutto, if using) and cook, stirring often, until the nuts are toasted and the prosciutto is crisp, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the apple, lemon zest, parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper to the skillet and toss to combine. Spoon over the ravioli and sprinkle with parmesan.

Lemon Chicken and Fennel Pot Pies

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Pot pies are wonderful winter comfort food that got a bad rap back in the 1970s with the advent of those frozen pot-pies-in-a-box with little peas and carrots.  OK, time for a confession - I ate a ton of those frozen pot pies in my college days (along with Hamburger Helper minus the hamburger) because they were the cheapest food I could find. ($.79 each)  Bleh. 

Homemade pot pies are an entirely different thing.  This is one of my absolute favorite pot pie recipes and it only takes about 60 minutes to prepare before baking.  The good news is that they freeze beautifully so you can make some on a weekend and have them ready any night of the week.  Have you noticed that upscale comfort foods like pot pies are all the rage at restaurants these days?  You'll be very trendy. I served pot pies at a dinner party once and dressed them up with a cloth napkin underneath (kind of the like picture below, come to think of it) and some fresh herbs tucked in to the napkin folds.  Looked kind of fancy if I do say so myself. 

No little peas and carrots in this recipe - it has moist chunks of chicken, savory fennel, tender green beans, prosciutto, and a lemony sauce. The reason why the chicken stays so moist is because it's gently simmered in chicken broth rather than using a dry cooking method. The fennel is also cooked in chicken broth and imparts a subtle flavor that goes amazingly well with the chicken and lemon. This recipe is lighter in calories than a typical pot pie but sacrifices nothing in terms of taste or...comfortivity.

Of course you could make this recipe as one large pot pie in a quiche pan or pie pan but then you lose the benefits of being able to freeze some for later.  Plus it's not nearly as cute to serve.  :-)  Individual ramekins are readily available in kitchen stores and stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Crate and Barrel, or even Target.  They're not expensive and they're available in different sizes.  For this recipe I used 1-1/4 cup ramekins which make a nice-sized dinner with a salad.  If you have big eaters in your house (aka teenaged boys) you might want to get the next size larger which is typically a 2 cup ramekin.

I also chose to use a refrigerated pie crust.  I've made pie crusts from scratch and really can't tell the difference.  If you have deeply held beliefs regarding homemade pie crusts don't let me stop you!  I even hesitated to bring the subject up at all.



* * click here for a printable recipe version * *

Lemon Chicken and Fennel Pot Pies
Makes 6 individual pot pies or one large pot pie

Your favorite recipe to make 2 pie crusts - or - two refrigerated pie crusts
2 fennel bulbs
5 cups low sodium chicken broth
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 ¾ - 2 lbs), cut into 1” cubes
½ cup green beans, cut into 1” pieces
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups 2% milk
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds
½ teaspoon salt, plus more if needed
Black pepper
¼ lb thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin 2” long strips
1 egg white, lightly beaten

6 (1-1/4 cup) ramekins or 1 deep dish pie pan



Prepare pie crust recipe (if using) and refrigerate dough.

To prepare filling: blanch green beans in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then remove and immediate submerge in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.

Cut leaves and stalks from fennel. Cut the bulbs in half lengthwise and remove the triangular core with a small sharp knife. Cut each half lengthwise again to make four fennel quarters per bulb. Slice thinly crosswise.

Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the fennel and cook uncovered for 7 minutes. Add chicken and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes more. Remove and strain the chicken and fennel. Discard the broth.

Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and continue to whisk until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add chicken, fennel, green beans, lemon juice, fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and prosciutto. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Let cool slightly before filling ramekins so the filling won’t start to melt the dough when it’s placed on top.

Roll out the dough (if using) or pie crusts to roughly rectangular shapes and use the bottom of a small plate to make circular indentations approximately 1-2” larger than the diameter of your ramekins. Cut the circles out using a small knife and place on top of the filled ramekins. (Alternately roll out one large pie crust as usual if using a deep dish pie pan.) Fold the extra dough up and in to form a decorative edge. Cut a 1 ½” slit in the top of each to serve as a vent.

At this point the pot pies can be covered and refrigerated for up to a day, or wrapped and frozen. If frozen, thaw overnight before baking.

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375d. Brush each crust lightly with egg white and bake until pastry is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.