Tag: pasta

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Miso Butter Pasta

one and a half slices miso butter pasta recipe fall glow up
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Miso Brown Butter Pasta

one and a half slices miso butter pasta recipe fall glow up

Girl dinner needed a glow up. (Yes, the OG is still champagne and french fries. And yes, capellini with zucchini still hits. But this dish is WILD good. And it’s giving fall in all the best ways.) It’s got that umami feel in a silky smooth sauce. Very mushroom forward. Chicken totally optional (I just happened to lift weights that day and needed the gains). Loving my city as much as my miso.

🍥🍶🍜

what you need

1/2 pound pasta, cooked al dente (a mezzi rigatoni or a radiatori work super well here) 

Reserve pasta water

3 tablespoons cultured butter

1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

2 cups shitake mushrooms, washed, stems cut off, and sliced very thin

1 tablespoon celtic sea salt

1 1/2 tablespoons white miso paste

(optional) chicken breast, pan fried, pre-marinated in: white miso paste, sesame oil, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, chili oil, celtic sea salt, maple syrup, and shiso or cilantro flakes 

how to make it

Method: stovetop

Utensil: pots

Cook the pasta until al dente according to package directions.

Melt butter over medium-low heat and fry mushrooms for several minutes. Add a bit more butter, the miso paste, and the parmesan cheese, and stir to emulsify for one minute more. Add the al dente pasta and a generous splash of reserve pasta water, stirring over medium heat until it all comes together. Add more parmesan cheese or pasta water as needed. A little black pepper also goes a long way here. 

Plate in pasta bowls and top with sliced chicken breast, if using. Top with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley.
fall favs
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Omni

Butternut Pasta

one and a half slices butternut squash fall pasta recipe healthy agriculture
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Butternut & Sausage Pasta

one and a half slices butternut squash fall pasta recipe healthy agriculture

this one was quick and dirty (and, yes, internet-inspired). but! I had a brilliant and enthusiastic ginger accomplice. and she was determined to put this butternut squash to creative use (not pictured: the illustrious butternut squash in its original form). we chopped and roasted, sauteed and blended, and created this hearty, super sweet Fall fav. cheers, you guys. we have officially entered spooky season.

🦇💀🎃

what you need

1 small-medium sized butternut squash, chopped into ~2 inch squares

1 onion, quartered

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon dried rosemary

salt, to taste

1/4 cup water

1 pound loose, mild sausage (Whole Foods’ bulk sage sausage is a great choice)

1/2-1 pound pasta noodles of choice (we used tagliatelle for lacking farfalle, paccheri, or campanelle, all of which would have likely been better) 

8-10 fresh sage leaves 

2 tablespoons salted butter 

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1/2 cup heavy cream or half and half 

1/2-3/4 cup parmesan cheese

how to make it

Method: stovetop

Utensil: blender

Preheat oven to 400. Place butternut squash squares, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with rosemary, and roast until cooked through, ~15 minutes. 

While the veg is roasting, roll the loose sausage into small, hastily-formed meatballs, and brown them in a saucepan until cooked through. Remove and set aside on a plate.

Cook the pasta until al dente.

Transfer the roasted veg to a blender with about 1/2 cup of water and some salt. Blend thoroughly, adding water until very smooth. 

To the original sausage saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and fry the fresh sage leaves over medium heat for ~1-2 minutes. Add the blended veg to the saucepan and stir until combined and bubbling. Add the sausage. Then add the cream. Stir and heat completely (the mixture will be very thick and will pop all over the place if you do not heat it slowly). Add the pasta along with several tablespoons of pasta water to make the sauce silky. Add in some grated parmesan cheese an give it all a good mix.

Plate and serve immediately with additional parmesan on top and a sage leaf, for dramatic effect. 

get your #fallvibes
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Veggie

Girl Dinner

one and a half slices zucchini parmesan girl dinner pasta delicious
one and a half slices local simple recipes food

Girl Dinner

trust me you want it

I’m entering my level up era and I’ve been eating a lot of girl dinner. Yes, I know, girl dinner is french fries and a pornstar martini. But this girl dinner is a fraction of the cost and it takes like 15 minutes to make. At home. So you can continue doing #levelup things (or play videogames, either). 

also, have you tried the primavera version?

what you need

2 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced or minced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest

(optional) 1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 zucchini, cute into small slices

1 small handful of angel hair pasta

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup good parmesan cheese

salt & pepper to taste

how to make it

Set a pot of salted water to boil. Add your pasta and boil until cooked through.

In a pan, sauté garlic and zucchini until al dente in the first tablespoon of butter. Remove from heat until the pasta is ready. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter, all the lemon, and a bit of black pepper. 

Return to heat and add the pasta using tongs, allowing several tablespoons of the pasta water to spill into the pan (no need to drain). Toss the mixture once or twice.

After about a minute of sizzle and simmer, add the cheese and some salt and give the pasta another couple of tosses. Plate immediately and top with a bit more parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. 

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Omni

Lasagna

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one and a half slices local simple recipes food

The Authoritative Lasagna

I’ve been making this lasagna since forever. Some people say there are too many vegetables. Some people say there isn’t enough cheese. Most people say it’s fucking fantastic. 

what you need

lasagna sheets (ideally fresh)

16oz ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon lemon zest

pinch of nutmeg

1 egg

1 handful fresh basil, cut into thin strips

2 large blocks of fresh mozzarella, torn into strips

1 cup parmesan cheese

1 large zucchini sliced into thin disks, preferably using a mandolin

olive oil

For the sauce: make my essential Bolognese. If you haven’t the time, then you need these things: 1 pound ground beef, 1 pound loose pork Italian sausage, 48oz canned Marzano tomatoes, 1 minced onion, 5 minced garlic cloves, 1 cup white wine, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, a parmesan cheese rind, and salt.

how to make it

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a baking dish by drizzling some olive oil on the bottom.

If you do not have my Bolognese sauce and need to whip up a quick lasagna sauce: brown the ground beef and sausage in a pan using olive oil and salt, breaking the meat up so no large chunks remain. Throw in the minced onion and garlic, stirring for another ~2 minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the cup of white wine and simmer until the liquid disappears. Add crushed red peppers, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to taste. Add the diced Marzano tomatoes to the sauce along with some additional salt and the parmesan rind, stir well, and let simmer on low for at least 1 hour, adding liquid as needed. 

Prepare the Mozzarella (tear), parmesan (grate), zucchini (slice), and ricotta. Place ricotta in a mixing bowl and whip together (using a fork) with egg, lemon zest, nutmeg, and basil strips. 

Now, layer your lasagna (bottom to top):

  1. lasagna sheet
  2. sauce
  3. mozarella
  4. lasagna sheet
  5. ricotta
  6. zucchini (overlap the slices so it makes a complete zucchini layer like the pasta)
  7. sauce
  8. lasagna sheet
  9. sauce
  10. rest of the mozarella
  11. top with parmesan

Cover the baking dish with tinfoil and bake on 350 for 35 minutes. Remove the tinfoil, rotate the baking sheet, and cook for an additional 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for ~15-20 minutes before serving. 

pasta pasta pasta
Categories
Omni

Best Meatballs

one and a half slices recipe italian spaghetti meatballs
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Authentic Italian Meatballs

one and a half slices recipe italian spaghetti meatballs

Last weekend my world was changed forever when I was schooled by a friend very dear to me in the subtle art of the perfect Lady and the Tramp style meatball. That fine grained, tender, perfectly seasoned Italian delicacy resting lightly atop a bird’s nest of egg noodles dusted with Parmesano Reggiano. The ultimate comfort.

For a while now I have been faithfully married to my essential Bolognese sauce. Considering this sauce the pinnacle of comfort food, I had relegated meatballs to a facet of my childhood and did not intend to explore them much further. Until, that is, a friend of mine suggested we spend a chilly Sunday afternoon cooking meatballs in the style of this-is-how-my-grandma-made-it lore. Skeptical of such lore, but always willing to learn something new, we threw a cooler in the back of the car and drove out to visit Jesse Straight at Whiffletree Farm, purveyor of local chicken, pork, beef, lamb, turkey, and other pasture raised meats (see more about #eatlocal and Whiffletree Farm here). Upon our return, we set to work simmering a basic marinara. 

As it turns out, the secret to the very best authentic Italian meatballs is threefold: 1) cook them a long ass time, 2) use a combination of meats (beef, pork, and lamb), 3) the love of cooking. Slow cooking. With a loaf of fresh Italian bread by the stove for all day marinara sauce dipping and taste testing, a playlist, and plenty of good vibes, we cooked. We opened a bottle of red wine that was fantastic but I can’t quite identify beyond the bright red eyeglasses on the label. Free OneandahalfSlices swag for anyone who can tell me what this wine is. We talked and dabbed marinara sauce on the noses of my slightly grumpy kittens. And we connected.

So here we have it. The Whiffletree Farm three-meat authentic Italian meatball recipe, worth the lore, worth the investment, and worth every moment spent in friendship in the kitchen. Happy cooking.

🍅🍅🍅

Three-meat Blend
Meatballs
Marinara
Bird Nest 1
Unidentified Wine Pairing
Bird Nest 2

what you need

For the meatballs:

2 pounds Whiffletree Farm ground beef

1 pound Whiffletree Farm ground pork 

1 pound Whiffletree Farm ground lamb

4 eggs, or one egg per pound of meat

2 cups breadcrumbs, or 1/2 cup bread crumbs per pound of meat

5 garlic cloves, minced

one handful of parsley, finely chopped

1/8 cup dried oregano and basil

dash of cayenne pepper

salt and black pepper to taste

For the Marinara:

24 oz of canned, chopped Italian imported Roma tomatoes

three to four fresh Roma tomatoes, diced

one yellow onion or two shallots, finely minced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

dried oregano, basil, and parsley

salt and pepper to taste

(optional) parmesan cheese rinds

how to make it

First, get the sauce going.  Place a few tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a large pot stovetop. Add the minced onions and garlic, all the spices, and, if you are so inclined, a few pieces of ground pork. Sauté over medium heat for a minute or two and then add the canned and fresh tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, and spices, bring to a boil, then reduce to the gentlest possible simmer. Add the Parmesan cheese rinds and cover the pot.

Now, craft your meatballs. Set the oven to high broil and combine all three meats in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic, spices, and fresh parsley. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. Try not to compress the meat down into the bowl too much in the process.

Gently roll meat into 1 1/2 inch balls, careful not to squeeze or compress the balls too much. Ideally, you want finely-ground meat and loosely-compressed meatballs. Arrange on a baking tray and broil for five minutes, remove from oven, turn each meat all over once, and broil five minutes more. 

Simmer. Carefully transfer all meatballs into the Marinara sauce. Ensure all the meatballs are covered by the sauce and, if they aren’t, add a bit of water so that this is the case. Simmer your meatballs in the sauce for two to three hours covered, then an additional hour uncovered until sauce reaches desired thickness. Serve over pasta of choice and sprinkle with finely-ground Parmesano Reggiano cheese. 

Don’t forget the red wine! 🍷

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Veggie

Fettuccine Alfredo

one and a half slices fettucine alfredo recipe
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Classic Fettucine Alfredo

one and a half slices fettucine alfredo recipe

Creamy, comforting Fettucine Alfredo is hard to beat. I already provided a short description of why American Italian classics are “inauthentic” and (shocker) less healthy in the gloriously elegant Spaghetti Al Limone post. Fettucine Alfredo is one of those classics that should probably be made with reserve pasta water, a little butter, and parmesan, but old habits die hard and I make my alfredo just like my mother. So, yeah, don’t eat a gallon of this stuff, but by all means, throw some steamed broccoli or sliced chicken onto a bed of this dreamy creaminess and float on off to heaven. You can elevate the flavors by adding toasted pine nuts, fresh green peas, or (my favorite) marsala mushrooms. Any which way, this is pure comfort in a pasta bowl, and perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

what you need

1 bunch parsley

1 package fresh fettucine noodles

6 tablespoons salted butter

1 large pinch of ground nutmeg

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated parmesan reggiano cheese

black pepper

dash of cayenne pepper or paprika

(optional) 1/2 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced thinly

*if using mushrooms, you’ll want a splash of marsala wine and some thyme

how to make it

First thing is first. Grate your cheese and chop your parsley. Set both aside.  

Then, mushrooms. Throw thinly sliced mushrooms in a saucepan with a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté until the juices from the mushrooms begin to run. Garnish with salt, cracked black pepper, a little bit of thyme, and a splash of marsala wine. Cook until juices disappear, remove from heat, and set aside. 

Next, pasta. Cook pasta until al dente per package instructions. Strain and return to the pot. While pasta is cooking, make the sauce. The key to the sauce is to warm it very, very slowly. Otherwise your butter will separate and your sauce will become chunky. We do not want this. Slow and deliberate are key here and this sauce will become foolproof for you. 

Start with the butter and the cream in a large saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until the butter melts, give it a stir, and watch for the top of the cream to begin to steam. This is how you know it is time. 

Send in the spices. Cracked black pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne (can also use paprika). Stir just a moment more so everything is combined and remove this beauty from heat before it bubbles (v. important!). 

Now, cheese. Remove the sauce from heat and add the parmesan cheese, stirring until the cheese melts and the sauce is uniform. 

Back to the pasta. Add the parsley and mushrooms to the pasta and replace the pot over very low heat. Pour the sauce over the pasta and gently toss everything together with two forks until all the pasta is coated. 

Serve. Twirl into pasta bowls and add a hefty grate of black pepper and a bit more parm to the top. Garnish with a parsley sprig. If you want to get really fancy, you can sprinkle on some toasted pine nuts or fresh green peas. 

I like to make chicken alfredo by adding sliced, marinated, baked chicken to the top. Chicken Alfredo was frequently requested by my graduate school housemates (two orthopedic med students and a local English teacher – all male). The English teacher would leave a $20 on the counter by the coffee pot in the morning which I could loosely translate to mean “please go to the store, buy the good parmesan cheese, and make us chicken alfredo.” I happily obliged. These days, I tend to take my alfredo with some fresh florets of steamed broccoli given my cheesy broccoli obsession. But it is also just as good with a side salad – try the OneandahalfSlices Signature Salad for sure!
More Pasta!
one and a half slices recipe italian spaghetti meatballs

Best Meatballs

Last weekend my world was changed forever when I was schooled by a friend very dear to me in the subtle art of the perfect Lady and the Tramp style meatball. That fine grained, tender, perfectly seasoned Italian delicacy resting resting lightly atop a bird’s nest of egg noodles dusted with Parmesano Reggiano. As it turns out, the secret to the very best authentic Italian meatballs is threefold: 1) cook them a long ass time, 2) use a combination of meats (beef, pork, and lamb), 3) the love of cooking. Slow cooking. So here we have it. The Whiffletree Farm three-meat authentic Italian meatball recipe.

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December 15, 2022 1 Comment
one and a half slices zucchini parmesan girl dinner pasta delicious

Girl Dinner

I’m entering my level up era and I’ve been eating a lot of girl dinner. Yes, I know, girl dinner is french fries and a pornstar martini. But this girl dinner is a fraction of the cost and it takes like 15 minutes to make. At home. So you can continue doing #levelup things (or play videogames, either).

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August 23, 2024 2 Comments

Spaghetti Al Limone

This is a fresh, light, summery pasta dish I have wanted to try for a long time in keeping with my predilection for lemon things (like my equally as simple Little Lemon Cake). Pasta al Limone is an Italian classic. It requires just a handful of ingredients and only takes as long to make as it does to boil pasta. I like it with a piece of lemon-marinated, grilled chicken on top. Lemon and Pasta may not seem like two things that go together but, trust me, they do. It has an elegant simplicity to it that is perfect for a summery Sunday afternoon, a weeknight, or a date night. Do something different. Lemon Pasta. 🍋

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September 4, 2021 2 Comments
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Pasta Pomodoro

pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Simple Pomodoro (tomato) Sauce

pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce

There is a lot to be said for simple, staple recipes. The French five mother sauces are said to be like the First Principles of cooking. Master these five sauces and you can make any sauce. The five French sauces are: Béchamel, Velouté, Espagnole, Tomato, and Hollandaise. All excluding the latter begin with a simple Roux (fat source, like butter or meat drippings, plus flour – what Americans know as the most basic gravy). 

The béchamel is the dairy-based sauce – think fettuccine alfredo. The velouté is a different kind of white sauce where the creaminess comes from an animal fat like chicken or pork drippings, not milk or cream.  This can be one kind of gravy. The Espagnole is the second kind of gravy, where the drippings come from a red meat. The tomato sauce is, well… tomato. And Hollandaise, from which we get its sister Béarnaise, is a butter, egg yolk, and lemon-based sauce. 

Pomodoro sauce is the Italian name for the simple tomato-based mother sauce, as “pomodoro” means “tomato” in Italian. It is meant to be the quickest, simplest pasta topper and I give it to you here in five simple steps that will keep you away from canned pasta sauce for life (as will my meat-hearty Bolognese sauce). 

🍅

what you need

1/2 onion, diced finely

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2-3 handfuls of cherry or roma tomatoes, diced finely, with all their juices

1 handful of fresh basil

1 splash cream or half and half

how to make it

First. Sauté the onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat until fragrant, ~3 minutes.

Second. Add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and the tomatoes (and juices), stirring to combine and cooking for an additional ~5 minutes.

Third. Puree the tomatoes in a food processor and then strain back into the pan to remove the seeds.

Fourth. Add the splash of cream and stir over medium heat until hot.

Fifth. Top with fresh basil and grilled chicken, if desired, then spoon over pasta.
Other Pasta Dishes
one and a half slices zucchini parmesan girl dinner pasta delicious

Girl Dinner

I’m entering my level up era and I’ve been eating a lot of girl dinner. Yes, I know, girl dinner is french fries and a pornstar martini. But this girl dinner is a fraction of the cost and it takes like 15 minutes to make. At home. So you can continue doing #levelup things (or play videogames, either).

Go To Post »
August 23, 2024 2 Comments
one and a half slices fettucine alfredo recipe

Fettuccine Alfredo

Creamy, comforting Fettucine Alfredo is hard to beat. Fettucine Alfredo is one of those “authentic” Italian classics that should be made with reserve pasta water, a little butter, and parmesan, but old habits die hard and I make my alfredo just like my mother. So, yeah, don’t eat a gallon of this stuff, but by all means, throw some steamed broccoli or sliced chicken onto a bed of this dreamy creaminess and float on off to heaven. Any which way, this is pure comfort in a pasta bowl, and perfect for my Sunday afternoon.

Go To Post »
September 17, 2022 2 Comments
one and a half slices recipe italian spaghetti meatballs

Best Meatballs

Last weekend my world was changed forever when I was schooled by a friend very dear to me in the subtle art of the perfect Lady and the Tramp style meatball. That fine grained, tender, perfectly seasoned Italian delicacy resting resting lightly atop a bird’s nest of egg noodles dusted with Parmesano Reggiano. As it turns out, the secret to the very best authentic Italian meatballs is threefold: 1) cook them a long ass time, 2) use a combination of meats (beef, pork, and lamb), 3) the love of cooking. Slow cooking. So here we have it. The Whiffletree Farm three-meat authentic Italian meatball recipe.

Go To Post »
December 15, 2022 1 Comment
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Spaghetti Al Limone

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Spaghetti al Limone

This is a fresh, light, summery pasta dish I have wanted to try for a long time in keeping with my predilection for lemon things (like my equally as simple Little Lemon Cake). Pasta al Limone is an Italian classic (see notes below for short commentary on ‘Italian Classics’). It requires just a handful of ingredients and only takes as long to make as it does to boil pasta. I like it with a piece of lemon-marinated, grilled chicken on top. Lemon and Pasta may not seem like two things that go together but, trust me, they do. It has an elegant simplicity to it that is perfect for a summery Sunday afternoon, a weeknight, or a date night. Do something different. Lemon Pasta. 🍋 

what you need

Zest from 1 lemon

1-2 generous tablespoons lemon juice, depending on desired lemon flavor

1/2 package dry spaghetti noodles

1 handful of fresh basil or mint, cut into strips

1 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese

3 tablespoons good olive oil

(optional) 1/2 tablespoon butter

(optional) pine nuts, toasted

Suggested chicken marinade: the rest of the lemon juice, salt, pepper, dash cayenne

🍋🍋🍋

how to make it

Begin boiling pasta per directions on package. 

In serving bowl, zest the lemon and add the lemon juice. Grate cheese using fine hand grater, and add olive oil, salt, and black pepper to taste. Using a whisk or a fork, mix ingredients until just combined. When pasta is almost finished, spoon 2 tablespoons of pasta water into the serving bowl along with the butter (if using), and resume combining cheese mixture. Reserve 1 cup of hot pasta water and set aside. 

Strain the pasta and place into serving bowl. It is important you do this while pasta is piping hot. Using tongs, begin to mix the pasta and the cheese mixture until thoroughly combined, adding pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed. Be sparing.

Once sufficiently combined, mix in basil and top with pine nuts (if using). Serve warm with a piece of grilled lemon chicken over the top. 

Afterward on ‘Italian Classics’ The Italians have always created pasta dishes that the rest of the world covets. That perfect, carrot-and-celery-scented bolognese, a light and airy fettuccine alfredo, the illusive meatball. Also, the seemingly simple dishes that are still fantastic – Cacio e Pepe, Pomodoro sauce, Bruschetta, Caprese. So what is so difficult to recreate about authentic Italian cuisine? And why do Italian restaurants here in the US leave you feeling overly full and uncomfortable? The short answer to both questions is ingredients. I have compiled a list of Italian cuisine rules of thumb that are by no means comprehensive but will instantly improve your Italian dishes once implemented. The first is by far the most important.

1) Most American renditions of Italian cuisine are cream and/or butter based. Most authentic Italian dishes are actually olive oil and/or pasta based. In short, we use cream and butter to make our dishes ‘creamy’ all the while removing the natural thickening agent present in all pasta. As pasta boils, the gluten cooks out into the pasta water. This means that a little bit of pasta water acts like a thickening agent that could form the basis for a creamy sauce. This is the case in Pasta al Limone, where the seemingly ‘creamy’ pasta sauce can be created using little to no butter or cream, and only a splash of reserve pasta water. The only dairy you really need is the cheese. See the cooking technique for Pasta al Limone above for an illustration of this practice. 

2) Do not make red sauces heavier by using red wine. Use white wine instead.

3) Use nutmeg to accent white, creamy sauces, and fennel to accent dark, red sauces. 

4) Turn to good olive oil, salt, and pepper for seasoning and saucing first before butter, cream, sugar, and cheese.

5) Do not put sugar in your red sauce. Or buy red sauce with sugar listed as an ingredient. Ever. Period. If you do this, we are no longer friends. 

Other Pasta Dishes
spaghetti Bolognese recipe pasta oneandahalfslices

Essential Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese sauce is as authentic as they come, with a counterintuitive yet elegantly simple sauce making process that will ensure you never touch another jar of Classico. It is meaty, salty, and carries richness made possible only through the simplest yet most flavorful of vegetables – carrot and celery. And also… let’s talk about olive oil.

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October 21, 2020 16 Comments

Pasta Verte

This is the freshest, crispest, heartiest, lightest, most beautiful springtime thing I can think to make when the chill finally leaves the Virginia air around noontime but the mornings are still a little frosty. You can make it in one pot, with one blender, and with one half hour, which makes it a great weekday lunch if you’re working from home or weeknight dinner if you walk in late. Join me in getting my green on, courtesy of David Frenkiel from Green Kitchen Stories. David takes much better photographs than I do but I’ve made a few design modifications to the original recipe that I think serve this one well. 🌷

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April 7, 2021 No Comments
pasta recipe pomodoro red creamy simple easy sauce

Pasta Pomodoro

Pomodoro sauce is the Italian name for the simple tomato-based mother sauce, as “pomodoro” means “tomato” in Italian. It is meant to be the quickest, simplest pasta topper and I give it to you here in five simple steps that will keep you away from canned pasta sauce for life.

Go To Post »
November 7, 2021 No Comments
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Pasta Verte

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Pasta Verte

This is the freshest, crispest, heartiest, lightest, most beautiful springtime thing I can think to make when the chill finally leaves the Virginia air around noontime but the mornings are still a little frosty. The Piemaker says this dish looks like green slime, but acquiesces that it is flavorful, abundant, and filling. You can make it in one pot, with one blender, and with one half hour, which makes it a great weekday lunch if you’re working from home or weeknight dinner if you walk in late. Join me in getting my green on, courtesy of David Frenkiel from Green Kitchen Stories. David takes much better photographs than I do but I’ve made a few design modifications to the original recipe that I think serve this one well. Still not sure you want to try this?… watch David’s Reel. Also, if you feel like following his lead and listening to Nick Drake while you cook, you won’t be disappointed. I did. And to make up for my absence over the past 10 days, I’ve got a little gift for you at the end…🌷

what you need

1 bunch of kale (note: original recipe indicates spinach can substitute for kale. I found this made my sauce thinner and the dish not as hearty. Stick with the kale)

1 bunch of fresh basil

2 garlic cloves

1 head of broccoli, florets cut off

1-1 1/2 cups of fresh green peas

1 lemon

1 substantial glug of olive oil

1 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted in the oven (note: original recipe indicates pine nuts OR hazelnuts. I am the world’s BIGGEST hazelnut fan but felt that the hazelnut flavor didn’t serve this dish as well as the pine nuts. Pine nuts are more expensive for sure. Almonds might be worth a try…)

2 servings bucatini pasta (note: try as I might, I could not locate bucatini, so the first time, I used an egg-based tagliatelle. Normally, I prefer egg-based pasta (especially in my Essential Bolognese sauce), but this dish is really better with an all wheat pasta. Boxed is actually best. The second time, I went for macaroni (pictured above… long, uncut macaroni). This worked better than the tagliatelle but I really recommend the bucatini). 

Lots of sea salt and cracked black pepper

how to make it

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a mild boil on the stovetop. Not a particularly deep soup pot.

Add pasta and stir. Break the leaves off the kale bunch and submerge in water on top of pasta, halving the garlic cloves and setting them on top (careful not to lose them! do not stir). Once kale is bright green and wilted, ~5 minutes, remove it and the garlic with tongs and add it to the blender. Return to the pot and add the peas and broccoli florets, cooking until bright green, ~3 additional minutes. Again, you’re looking for the bright green color. You know, the one you’re seeing everywhere these days – the color of new, springtime leaves. 

While the broccoli simmers, add the basil and 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese to the blender. Squeeze the lemon on top and add a hefty glug of olive oil. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Transfer 3/4 of the broccoli florets to the blender, leaving the smallest florets in the pot with the pasta. Transfer about half the peas as well. Add maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of pasta water and blend the mixture. You don’t want this to be too runny. The consistency you’re going for is pesto or slightly thinner. Add pasta water slowly. Sample for taste.

Drain the pasta, and remaining peas and broccoli, and return the drained ingredients to the saucepan (removed from heat). Pour a small palette of green pesto on each of two plates… a bed on which your pasta mixture will rest. Add the rest of the green mixture to the saucepan and stir with tongs to combine. Swirl the pasta around the tongs and gently lift several little swirls of pasta onto the bed of pesto on each plate. Take some of the small broccoli florets and peas with you. Then top with salt and black pepper.

Sprinkle on your reserved parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts, and you’re ready to serve!

Keep reading for the Windows Open playlist…

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Now, since I’ve neglected posting for almost two whole weeks (I’ve been outside enjoying the springtime, of course, and experimenting with some new recipes for you all), I decided I would make it up to you by providing a Spring 2021 Windows Open playlist (alternate naming convention: Spring 2021 Windows Rolled Down playlist; hat tip Amos Lee). I don’t use Spotify, otherwise I would have uploaded it there, but here is a YouTube link. The full track list is below. Happy Spring! 🍓🥦🧄🌷🌱

  1. Indonesia – Amos Lee
  2. Windows Are Rolled Down – Amos Lee
  3. Arms of a Woman – Amos Lee
  4. This is the Thing – Fink
  5. C.R.E.A.M. – El Michels Affair
  6. The Last Cherry Blossom – RudeManners
  7. Fade Into You – Mazzy Star
  8. The Only Living Boy in New York – Simon & Garfunkel
  9. How We Operate – Gomez
  10. Past the Mission – Tori Amos
  11.  Cornflake Girl – Tori Amos
  12. One – Tina Dico
  13.  The Sea Symphonic Tales version – HAEVN
First attempt with egg pasta, spinach, and hazelnuts
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Essential Bolognese Sauce

spaghetti Bolognese recipe pasta oneandahalfslices
one and a half slices recipes local delicious food

The Essential Bolognese

spaghetti Bolognese recipe pasta oneandahalfslices

From Rome to Buenos Aires, pasta – specifically, spaghetti and meat sauce – hits different in other countries. This Bolognese sauce is as authentic as they come, with a counterintuitive yet elegantly simple sauce-making process that will ensure you never touch another jar of Classico. It is meaty, salty, and carries richness made possible only through the simplest yet most flavorful of vegetables – carrot and celery. 

For absolute best flavor possible, serve over fresh egg-based pasta (Virginia local shoutout to Dal Grano in Mclean, VA for the absolute best handmade pasta). It is better the next day and freezes incredibly well, so make a double batch and throw some in the freezer for later. Adapted from Marcella Hazan at NY Times.

what you need

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 celery stalks, finely diced

2 medium carrots, finely diced

1 pound ground beef (or bison, or half beef half pork)

1 cup milk 

1 cup white wine

2 small cans diced Italian plum tomatoes

fresh egg noodle pasta

salt, black pepper, fennel, oregano, nutmeg

1 parmesan cheese rind

parmesan cheese, finely grated

how to make it

Place oil, butter, and diced onion in Dutch oven or large sauté pan and sauté until onions are translucent. Add carrots, celery, and garlic, and sauté another 2 minutes. 

Add meat, salt, pepper, and herbs. Chip up the meat and cook until brown. Add milk and a dash of nutmeg, cover, and simmer on lowest possible heat until the milk has disappeared (~30 minutes). After the milk has been absorbed, add the white wine and simmer until it disappears (another 30 minutes). 

Lastly, add the tomatoes and the cheese rind, and cook on lowest heat for at least an hour – long enough for the meat to break down thoroughly. Add splashes of water as required to keep the sauce from burning but at the end, all of the liquid should be gone. Taste and adjust for salt.

Spoon sauce over cooked and drained pasta, and top with finely grated parmesan cheese. Or use in my Authoritative Lasagna recipe!

Cooking Note: the method here may seem strange, but what you are going for is to cook flavor into the meat and completely break down the vegetables. First, you are asking the meat to absorb milk. Then, white wine. And then you make the sauce by adding the tomatoes. The sauce gets flavored with additional seasoning from this point and the cheese rind. 

While we’re on the subject of Italian food, let’s talk about olive oil. Last year, my mom and I went to Greece. That same year, a friend and I toured Rome and middle Italy (the inspiration, honestly, for finally getting this recipe right). In both places, I sampled olives in large quantity and came to the same conclusion: I do not like them (despite their prominence in the food of my inherited heritage: empanadas). Olive oil, on the other hand, is nectar of the Gods. Olive oil plus salt, pepper, oregano, red pepper flakes, fresh baguette, and a bottle of Brunello are makings for my favorite evening. 

Okay, but olive oil.

In Greece, we toured an olive farm and olive oil manufacturer and learned all the WRONG ways we had been purchasing and consuming olive oil. I think there is this general notion that we should all buy “extra virgin” olive oil for daily consumption but, beyond that, we don’t have any real knowledge of what makes one olive oil better than another. Turns out there is another phrase, in addition to “extra virgin” we should look for on our olive oil labels: “obtained exclusively from mechanical processes.” 

‘What an odd phrase,’ you might think. And you’d be right. But it turns out that 99% of the world’s olive oil is derived from primarily chemical processes (ick). If the olive oil is derived from nothing more than a mechanical press (which is what we would all think, right?), it will say so, explicitly, on the label. 

Finally, the last form of certification that your olive oil is legit is the International Olive Council’s (IOC) official seal (pictured below). Since most of the good olive oil in the US is imported (save perhaps in California), you can also look for the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO/DPO) seal for the country of origin, e.g. Spain, Italy, Greece. 

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