Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals (31 page)
Read Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals Online
Authors: Rachael Ray
Fall in Love with Fall Supper
Harvest Salad
Cauliflower-Pumpkin Pasta
4
SERVINGS
| 2 | tablespoons golden raisins, chopped |
| 1 | small shallot, chopped |
| Juice of ½ lemon | |
| 2 | tablespoons red wine vinegar |
| 2 | ounces chopped walnuts (on baking aisle) |
| 1 | small crisp apple, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced |
| 1 | Forelle or Seckel pear (the little guys), quartered, cored, and sliced |
| 3 | cups arugula, chopped |
| 3 | cups baby spinach, chopped |
| ¼ | cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (eyeball it) |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper |
In a small bowl combine the raisins, shallot, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar and let stand for 10 minutes.
In a small skillet over medium-low heat toast the nuts for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Combine the fruit with the greens. Whisk the EVOO into the dressing. Dress the salad and toss. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with the toasted walnuts.
Here again you can add in up to 1 pound Italian bulk sweet sausage, cooked and crumbled, and this becomes a hungry-man (or -woman) supersize meal!
4
SERVINGS
| 2 | tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (twice around the pan) |
| 3 | to 4 garlic cloves, chopped |
| 1 | large head cauliflower, cut into florets |
| 1 | cup chicken stock or broth |
| Salt | |
| ½ | pound cavatappi (hollow corkscrew pasta) or other shaped pasta |
| 1 | cup pumpkin purée (found on baking aisle; careful not to get pie filling) |
| ¼ | cup cream or half-and-half (eyeball it; a generous turn of the pan) |
| ½ | cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 handfuls, plus more to pass) |
| A generous grating of fresh nutmeg | |
| Freshly ground black pepper | |
| 3 | tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves (4 or 5 sprigs) |
Preheat a large skillet (choose one with a tight-fitting lid) over medium heat. Add the EVOO and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cauliflower and turn to coat in EVOO. Add the chicken stock and bring up to a boil. Place the lid on the pan and simmer the cauliflower for 15 minutes, or until very tender.
Place a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Put a lid on it and it will come up faster. Add some salt to season the water and add the pasta, cooking al dente, with a bite to it.
When the pasta is cooked and the cauliflower florets are very tender, remove the lid from the cauliflower and stir in the pumpkin purée and cream. Heat through, then drain off the pasta and add it to the cauliflower and pumpkin. Add the cheese, nutmeg, pepper, and sage. Toss, then season with salt to taste. Serve with extra cheese to pass at table with the Harvest Salad alongside.
Hunter’s Menu
Chicken Cacciatore and Rigatoni
Spinach with Lemon-Caper Butter
4 BIG
SERVINGS
| Salt | |
| ½ | pound rigatoni |
| 2 | tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (twice around the pan) |
| 1 | pound chicken tenders, cut into 2-inch pieces |
| 1 | pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch chunks |
| Freshly ground black pepper | |
| ¼ | pound thick-cut pancetta, chopped |
| 5 | to 6 garlic cloves, chopped |
| 1 | teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes |
| 4 | portobello mushroom caps, halved, then thinly sliced across |
| ½ | cup dry red wine |
| 1 | cup beef stock |
| 1 | can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes |
| A couple of handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped | |
| Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to pass at table |
Heat a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. When the water boils, season with salt and add the pasta. Cook to al dente, with a bite to it.
Meanwhile, heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO and chicken, white and dark meat, and season it with salt and pepper. Let the chicken sit for 3 to 4 minutes, then turn it and brown the opposite side for 2 to 3 minutes, seasoning it after the flip as well. Transfer the browned chicken to a plate and reserve. Add the pancetta to the pan and crisp it up, 2 or 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, stir for 30 seconds, then add the mushrooms and brown for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until deep brown and tender. Work on the Spinach with Lemon-Caper Butter, during your pocket of time here.
Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper after they’ve darkened. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and reduce it for 30 seconds, then stir in the stock and tomatoes. Bring the sauce up to a bubble and add the chicken back to the pan. Simmer the chicken for 5 minutes in the sauce to finish cooking through. Add the cooked pasta and parsley. Stir to combine and check seasoning. Serve with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and spinach.
OPTIONS
Hunter’s chicken or cacciatore has always been made in my family with cut-up whole chickens, tomatoes, and lots of wild mushrooms (which my Sicilian grandfather knew how to forage for himself, deep in the woods where the hunters hang out). I never had peppers and onions in a cacciatore until I started eating out at Italian-American restaurants. Over the years I’ve met people who make it like I do and others who include only peppers and onions. If you like peppers and onions in your chicken cacciatore, hey, I’ll never know, throw them in, too.
Beef stock is used to make the dish taste as if it had been simmering a long time. I use beef rather than chicken stock to deepen the reddish brown tone of the sauce and to highlight the earthy, beef-like flavor of the mushrooms.
4
SERVINGS
| 3 | tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces |
| Zest and juice of 1 lemon | |
| 3 | tablespoons capers, drained and chopped |
| 2 | tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, stripped from 4 to 5 sprigs |
| 2 | 1-pound sacks triple-washed spinach |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Heat a large skillet over low heat. Melt the butter and add the lemon zest, capers, and thyme and let it hang out for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pick the tough larger stems from the spinach leaves and coarsely chop up the spinach. When you are ready to eat, raise the heat to medium and add the lemon juice to the pan. Add piles of spinach, turning it with tongs in the lemon-caper butter to wilt it in, then add more. When all of the spinach is in the pan, season it with salt and pepper and turn off the heat. Serve immediately.
Big Appetite Bucatini Supper
Bucatini with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions
Mixed Greens with Mixed Herbs Salad
Bucatini looks like fat spaghetti that’s hollow in the middle, like drinking straws made of pasta.
4 BIG
SERVINGS
| Salt | |
| ½ | pound bucatini pasta |
| 1 | tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (once around the pan) |
| 1 | pound bulk sweet Italian sausage |
| 1 | pound bulk hot Italian sausage |
| 4 | garlic cloves, chopped |
| 1 | large yellow onion, quartered, then thinly sliced |
| 1 | red bell pepper, cored, seeded, quartered, and thinly sliced |
| 2 | cubanelle peppers (long, light green mild Italian peppers), seeded and thinly sliced |
| 1 | can chunky-style crushed tomatoes |
| Freshly ground black pepper | |
| ⅓ | cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (2 handfuls) |
| ¼ | cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (a couple handfuls), chopped |
| 1 | cup (20 leaves) fresh basil, torn or shredded |
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta and season the water with some salt. Cook bucatini al dente, with a bite to it.
Heat a very large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO and all of the sausage. Brown and crumble the sausage, 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from the pan to a plate lined with a paper towel and reserve. Drain off any pan drippings in excess of about 3 tablespoons. Add the garlic, onion, and peppers to the pan and toss and turn them in the fat, cooking them until just tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Combine the greens and herbs for the salad (see below) with your pocket of time here. You’ll have time to spare. Got vino?
Once the peppers and onions are tender, add the tomatoes and heat them through. Add the sausage back and combine. Season the mixture with a little salt and lots of black pepper. Drain the pasta and add to pan. Stir in the cheese, parsley, and basil. Serve immediately.
4
SERVINGS
| 1 | sack (6 cups) mixed greens, any variety or brand |
| ½ | cup (10 leaves) fresh basil, torn or shredded |
| ½ | cup fresh flat-leaf parsley (a few handfuls), coarsely chopped |
| 10 | fresh chive blades, snipped or chopped |
| 4 | to 5 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped and chopped |
| 2 | tablespoons red wine vinegar, or juice of 1 lemon |
| Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), to coat | |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper |
Combine the greens and herbs in a salad bowl.
When you are ready to eat, dress the greens with the vinegar or lemon juice first, then with EVOO, just enough to coat the greens but not enough to weigh them down. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Hearty Mid-Winter’s Menu
Roasted Baby Vegetables with Rosemary
Creamy Polenta and Bolognese Sauce
4
SERVINGS
| 2½ | pounds total weight of mixed baby vegetables, your choice: |
| tiny zucchini, halved lengthwise; pattypan squash, halved across; baby eggplant, cut into 1-inch wedges lengthwise; whole baby carrots with tops, trimmed, peeled, and halved lengthwise; cippolini baby onions | |
| 5 | to 6 garlic cloves, smashed |
| ¼ | cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (eyeball it) |
| 3 | tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (a handful of leaves) |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper |