Green Goddess White Bean Pasta!
Plus, Italian Chef Salad and Edible Strawberry Cookie Dough
Hi Friends!
It’s been a few weeks since my last newsletter. My apologies, as this was not completely intentional. We were on vacation in April so I knew I would miss that week, but I forgot to account for the week of packing leading up to the vacation, and then the week of exhaustion following a red-eye flight with a one-year-old and a four-year-old! I’m a one man show here at Danny Loves Pasta, but I’m doing my best to get back on track.
We spent a week in San Diego with my family, so the kids got to play with their grandparents and cousins. None of us are actually from San Diego, but we were looking for a family-friendly destination where we could rent a house and everyone could stay together. San Diego was perfect! We went to the waterfront, the zoo, and spent a day at Disneyland. But we also spent plenty of time hanging out at the house, swimming in the pool, and being together. It was perfect!
Oh, and the goats! The second day we came home from dinner and heard lots of “maaa” coming from the backyard. Just past the fence was a hill with about 200 goats milling about! I think the owners had rented them to clear out all the overgrown grass on the hill. They were there for the rest of the week and the kids were obsessed with them. Easy entertainment!
One last highlight: my sister-in-law had the great idea of hiring a Hibachi restaurant to come to the house and set up in the backyard. It was so much fun! The kids loved it, and the restaurant brought a water gun full of sake so the adults had some fun too!
The Recipes
The Snack: Italianish Chef Salad
Prep Time 20 Min | Cook Time 20 Min | Serves 2 to 4
Now we’re back home, and it’s back in the kitchen for me! For this recipe I took a traditional Chef Salad but made it Italianish! (for more Italianish recipes, check out my new cookbook). I kept traditional elements like the chicken, avocado, and eggs, but added pepperoncini, crispy prosciutto, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers, topped off with a Parmesan red wine vinaigrette.
Ingredients
6 slices prosciutto
2 chicken breasts
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
2 heads romaine lettuce, chopped
1 avocado, sliced
6 pepperoncini, slices
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
8 oz mozzarella balls
½ cup roasted red peppers
½ cup olives
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Dressing
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp grated Parmesan
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp dried oregano
½ cup olive oil
Recipe
Preheat your oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the prosciutto on top. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the prosciutto is crispy, then let cook and crumble into pieces.
Season the chicken with the garlic powder, paprika and a pinch of salt ana pepper. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the chicken. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until a sear develops on the bottom, then flip and cook for 5 to 7 more, until the chicken is fully cooked. Let it rest for 5 minutes then dice. (You can also use a rotisserie chicken for this).
Hard boil the eggs by bringing a pot of water to a boil, adding the eggs, and cooking for 8 to 10 minutes. Then peel and quarter.
Place the lettuce in a large bowl and arrange the pepperoncini, prosciutto, mozzarella, tomatoes, chicken, red peppers, avocado, eggs, and olives in rows across the top. Sprinkle the parsley on top and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Make the dressing by combining the vinegar, Parmesan, garlic, Dijon, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl or jar. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking, then pour the dressing over the salad and serve.
The Dinner: Green Goddess White Bean Pasta
Prep Time 10 Min | Cook Time 20 Min | Serves 2 to 4
This pasta is so easy to make but is filled with goodness. The greens are sautéed with garlic then pureed into a smooth sauce along with white beans - an amazing ingredient that adds texture, flavor, and boosts the protein!
Ingredients
1 lb pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
8 oz spinach or kale
Pinch of salt
¼ cup fresh basil
One 14-oz can white beans
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
Recipe
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain, saving about ½ cup of pasta water.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. After a minute add the spinach or kale and a pinch of salt and sauté until the greens wilt, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the cooked greens to a blender along with the basil, white beans, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Blend for several minutes until the sauce is very smooth. If you are having difficulty blending the mixture into a smooth sauce, add a few spoonfuls of pasta water.
Combine the sauce with the pasta and serve.
The Dessert: Edible Strawberry Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough
Prep Time 10 Min | Cook Time 10 Min
My four-year-old loves baking cookies with me, but most of the time she’s really just interested in eating the dough. I don’t mind her taking a little bite, but in my head I’m hearing all the warnings from my childhood: Raw eggs! Raw flour! Salmonella!
So instead, I’ve started making edible cookie dough. This recipe has no eggs, and we bake the flour briefly to make it edible. You can make this recipe without the strawberries, but I love the extra flavor they give.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups freeze-fried strawberry slices (about 1 oz)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp milk
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate bar, roughly chopped (or ¾ cup chocolate chips)
Recipe
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the flour across the top in an even layer. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until the flour is warm to the touch, then remove from the oven and let cool.
Meanwhile, use a stand mixer or hand mixer to cream together the sugars and the butter until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Then mix in the vanilla.
Place the strawberries in a food processor and grind into a fine powder. Add the strawberry powder, salt, and flour to the mixing bowl and mix until a dough forms. Mix in the milk. If the dough is still very thick, you can mix in an additional tablespoon of milk.
Mix in the chocolate pieces, then serve.