Quick Tip: Cooking Prep

It took me a few months and a few botched dishes to figure this out. So, to save you all some time, I have two words for you:

Prep and Read.

Before every meal, I prep my food according to the ingredient list and read through the entire recipe so that I know what to expect. For example, if the ingredients specify chopped basil, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, or diced onions, I will chop the basil, measure out the red pepper, and dice the onions BEFORE I start cooking. This saves time...I promise.

Pasta with Roasted Mushrooms, Garlic, and Pine Nuts

This recipe is from one of my favorite magazines...Cook's Illustrated. Let start by saying you can never have too much garlic. You'll see that this recipe calls for two HEADS of garlic. Do not be afraid. Roasted garlic takes on a different flavor in the oven; it is less pungent than the sautéed variety. With that said, here we go.

2 heads garlic
7 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
8 portobello mushrooms
table salt and black pepper
1/4 tsp sugar
1 lb fusilli pasta
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2-3 TBSP lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped
1 cup Pecorino Romano, grated
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1. Place oven rack to the middle of the oven and put a rimmed baking sheet on rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Remove several layers of the thin garlic skin surrounding the garlic head, keeping cloves intact. Cut off top quarter of each garlic head. Put heads on a 12" sheet of foil and drizzle with 1 TBSP olive oil. Tightly wrap up the heads in the foil and place on preheated baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes.



3. While garlic roasts, remove the stems and clean the caps of the mushrooms with a damp towel. Slice the mushrooms into 3/4 inch strips and place in a large bowl. Add 2 TBSP olive oil, 1 tsp salt, pepper to taste and sugar to the mushroom bowl. Toss to combine.



4. Remove baking sheet and garlic from oven (after the 40 minutes of course). Move garlic to the counter and open foil. Let cool. Pour mushroom mixture on preheated baking sheet and arrange in a single layer. Roast in oven for 20-25 minutes, flipping half way through.



5. While mushrooms roast, bring 4 quarts (16 cups) of water to boil. Toss in pasta and 1 TBSP salt. Cook until al dente (about 12 minutes). While you wait for the water to boil/pasta to cook, tear off individual garlic cloves and squeeze out the contents into a medium sized bowl. Discard the clove shells. Using a fork, mash the garlic into a paste. Mix in red pepper flakes and 2 TBSP lemon juice. Slowly whisk in remaining 1/4 cup olive oil.



*Break Time*



BUT DON'T NEGLECT THE SHROOMS!!!



Oops...2 minutes too long.

6. Let mushrooms cool slightly, then chop into 1/2 inch pieces. I begin to toast the pine nuts at this point but keep your eye on them; they burn quickly. To toast: place nuts in a medium skillet over high heat and stir occasionally. Pine nuts are done when they are fragrant.

7. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water and return pasta to pot. Add mushrooms to pasta; stir in garlic mixture, 1/4 cup cooking water, rosemary, and 1/2 cup cheese. Adjust consistency and flavor with remaining cooking water, salt & pepper, and lemon juice. Serve immediately and top with remaining cheese and toasted pine nuts.

disclaimer

I used to consider myself a meat and potatoes kind of guy. But since marrying a veg-head, I have quietly converted to a grain-fed, leafy green-eatin' man's man. Consequently, most of my recipes are vegetarian based. Like it or not (I kind of like it now), tofu, quinoa, and lentils are now apart of my vocabulary and my ingredient list. Yet, that craving for meat still exists. So in order to quell my inner omnivore, each week I'll grab a chicken or steak to lay next to my bed of lettuce.