Lemon Pepper Tilapia Pasta Primavera

This spring dish is light and refreshing. It's bowl food, a kind of hot pasta salad main dish. Fresh ingredients are key here. No frozen short cuts this time!

It can be made using a skillet and one pot of boiling, salted water if you're strategic with your order of operations, minimizing dishes to wash and time to prepare. Use penne rigate to hold the light sauce and flat baby spinach that won't clump up like curly spinach.

1 lb tilapia fillet
1/2 lb asparagus, cut on the bias to match the length of the penne pasta
1/2 lb baby spinach
1/2 lb penne rigate pasta
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
3 lemons
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp salt, plus more to add to boiling water
2 tsp fresh, coarsely ground black pepper

4 servings

In a large mixing bowl, juice the lemons and whisk in half of the cilantro, half of the onion, all of the garlic paste, all of the olive oil, salt, pepper.

Marinate the fish 30 minutes to 1 hour while washing and preparing the other ingredients. (You can cut it into chunks to make it fit into the bowl more easily.) Take the fish out of the marinade and put it in a cold, non-reactive 12-inch skillet.

Meanwh9ile, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus for until tender. Remove with a spider (see picture) from the boiling water. Shock in cold water, then drain it, (the spider is good for this, too) and marinate while cooking the fish, adding the remaining onion. Blanch the spinach in the same way for 2 minutes and shock. (Don't marinate the spinach.)

Cook the penne until just short of al dente in the same water (approx. 10 minutes). After dropping the pasta in the water, cook the fish in a skillet until it flakes apart, about 10-15 minutes on medium low heat. Cook the large pieces until opaque and flaky. Separate into big flakes. Stir in the butter and pasta to the skillet. Add lemon marinade and asparagus. Bring to a boil then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Toss in the spinach. The sauce will be thin but flavorful.

I think the leftovers will be good cold, too.

Ravioli avec ratatouille

This recipe took about 15-20 minutes, start to finish. It cost about $8 for 4-6 servings because Celli marinara is a little expensive but uses about 1/3 of the jar. (I like this sauce because it tastes good and has no high fructose corn syrup or sugar.) You can use Pomi diced or stewed tomatoes which are cheaper, and add more seasonings, but it's quicker and easier to use marinara sauce. This can be eaten hot, cold, or room temperature.

$3.99 1 13 oz. pkg of Celentano large cheese ravioli
$1.00 1 large zucchini, about 2 inches in diameter
$1.00 1 medium Italian eggplant, about the same size as the zucchini
$0.20 1 medium onion
$4.89 1 1/2 c. Celli marinara sauce
$0.02 2 tsp garlic, crushed

salt & pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
garlic croûtons for garish

Set a large pot of water to boil for the ravioli.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Julienne the onion and toss into the skillet. Add the garlic. Slice the two halves of the zucchini into half-inch slices and toss them in. Increase the heat to medium-high. Peel and halve the eggplant and slice into half-inch slices, too. Toss into the pan. Add salt, pepper and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the marinara sauce. Add the ravioli to the boiling water. Cover the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes, which is the same amount of time that it takes for the ravioli to cook. When the ravioli are done, use a slotted spoon to add them to the vegetables. Serve garnished with croûtons.

Linguine arrabiata with hot Italian sausage

Linguine arrabiata with hot Italian sausage

1 box of linguine
1 box Pomi diced tomatoes
5-6 links hot Italian sausage, cut into quarters, each piece one inch in length
1 bunch of basil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4-5 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 tbls red pepper flakes & Korean red pepper powder (kochu karu), adjusted to taste
2 tsp Italian seasoning

Cook the pasta acording to package directions for al dente, starting the whole recipe with a large pot of cold water that you'll bring to a boil. This will give you time to make the sauce. While the pasta water is coming to a boil, put the sausage in a large skillet with a lid. On medium heat, sprinkle in the hot pepper and kochu karu. Cover and brown the sausages. While the sausage is cooking, dice the onion, mince the garlic, pick the basil off the stems and wash the leaves. Put the onion, garlic, Italian seasoning and half the basil into the skillet and continue to cook until the sausage is cooked. When the sausage is cooked, add the tomatoes and stir everything together and simmer until the pasta finishes cooking. Drain the pasta when it's finished and return the pot. Drop the remaining basil into the sauce. Ladle some of the sauce into the linguini and toss to coat so it won't stick. Dish out pasta and top with sauce and sausages. Parmesean cheese is a good addition as well as some fresh ground black pepper.