Fresh Broad Beans Pasta served with cured pancetta, olive oil, and truffled pecorino is the perfect spring dish. A delicate mix of ingredients to highlight the little brother of Fava beans. This Broad Beans Pasta recipe is my ultimate spring dish; this time of the year in Spain is the beginning of this delicate and sweet fava/broad beans season. This pasta dish looks easy on the eyes, but collecting each bean from the pods is quite labour-intensive. Rest assured; the end result pays back! Are Fava and Board Beans the Same? Yes! They are. Although we call fava the dried version, which turns darker, the board bean is the bean collected from the fresh and green pod. Full Broad Bean Pod Other White Layer Over the Broad Bean The beans are doubly protected (as seen above), first by the pod measuring about 20cm long, which contains about eight beans. This…
Flamed Scallops Pasta are flamed in Grand-Marnier and then served on a bed of quinoa fusilli filled with slightly cooked bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, lime zest and fresh basil for a delightful summer night meal! Flamed Scallops Pasta is an excellent, simple dish made in no time. The sauce is mainly a little butter in which the scallops are seared before flaming and caramelizing with orange-flavoured cognac/brandy (Grand Marnier). Served on a simple quinoa pasta with juicy tomatoes, basil, pepper and lime zest. Where I come from, the east part of Canada, scallops are pretty standard on our plates. Although, since I’ve been living in Spain, it got pretty difficult to find any and when I finally did, they cost so much… So I go to the freezer shop… yes, only frozen stuff of all kinds, and I get my Patagonian mini scallops occasionally. Strange… that in Spain, a seafood lover country, it’s hard…
Seafood Marinera Pasta al Cava is a delicious way to welcome summer with mussels cooked in a splash of sparkling white wine, garlic, tomato, thyme and parsley. Marinera Mussels (Mejillones Marinera) is a popular dish in Spain combined with Pasta which equals Seafood Marinera Pasta al Cava! Not to mistake with the Italian Marinara sauce, a tomato sauce. This dish is the Spanish cousin of Spaghetti allo Scoglio from Italy. However, the main difference is the Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine and paprika. This touch makes the dish even more dreamy and festive! The natural sea broth from the mussels flowing down the cava-tomato sauce is disturbingly addictive. Marinera with or without Paprika? In Spain, there is a fight about: “Should Marinera sauce contains tomato or not?” Half does it with paprika and wine, the other half with tomato and wine. Both ways are acceptable, and I personally don’t want to interfere, so…
Shrimp Pasta Salad is made the ‘Ceviche Style’ meaning at the base it’s a lemon marinated shrimp, pepper, onion and a tad of hot pepper served on quinoa pasta and fresh cilantro. No need to cook anything; the perfect summer meal! Living in Peru for a few months, one must learn how to make a good ceviche! It’s such an easy and light meal, perfect for summer. I had to make it Peruvian by adding the Quinoa element. So I found a nice quinoa fusilli and mixed it with the shrimp ceviche. I came up with the idea of Shrimp Pasta Salad Ceviche-Style, for a friend’s 40th birthday. She loves Peru so much and had a surprise party, where everyone had to bring a meal… So… I’ve created this dish to honour her love for Peru. Different Types of Ceviches In Peru, the proud land of ceviches, the Moche civilization (the guys before the…
Avocado Zucchini Pasta is a great gluten-free alternative to pasta. Zoodles, some say, are simply zucchini grated on its length and served with an unctuous avocado pesto dressing and extra-dried tomatoes. Avocado Zucchini Pasta are the new pasta (well…actually, non-pasta) in town. I see them everywhere; for guys who didn’t catch the “zoodle” vibe, it’s zucchini noodles. No gluten or wheat is in them, making them an excellent meal for fitting in our bikinis this summer or a low-carb diet. This was my first attempt to do those famous”zoodles,” no need to buy those big spiralizer machines to make them; I simply use a cheese grater, and it does the trick. It’s an easy, fast, healthy recipe but also creamy and tasty; the avocado pesto makes the dish stand out. Zoodlelizer or Not? Most zoodles recipes out there use a spiralizer machine, which is expensive and quite bulky; I’ve just used…
A pasta dish based on a traditional Spanish tapa called ‘Chorizo al vino’ or Chorizo in wine. Merging both makes a splendid result for a main dish with extra red pepper, onions, parsley and garlic. Chorizo al vino is a tapa that cooks chorizo sausages slowly in red wine with a touch of smoked paprika, nothing else. I’ve used the idea and added extra veggies, red bell pepper, onion and garlic that go perfectly with the chorizo and served it on pasta. Chorizo Pasta sauce is thickened with cornstarch and tomato paste—a lovely Mediterranean dish for sausage lovers. Spanish Chorizo Sausage Authentic Spanish Chorizo isn’t a spicy “hot” sausage, nor a fresh type of sausage. It’s a paprika-flavoured, cured pork sausage that can be softly spicy or sweet, depending on the paprika used. If you want to reproduce the smokey effect with a sweet sausage, add some smoked paprika (Pimenton de la…
This giant MeatBall is a minimalistic touch to a classic meatball sauce. This moist and filled with aromatic spices meatball will guarantee goosebumps to any carnivores! Giant MeatBall Spaghetti is a minimalistic version of the classical meatball sauce we all love. This dish will bring goosebumps to carnivores, a moist meatball with spices served in a simple onion-tomato sauce and al dente pasta. This meal is also kind of the story close to my heart. When I met my husband ten years ago back in Panama, he used to eat so much pasta that I would call him a ‘Pasta monster.’ Later on, still in contact over the internet, I gave myself this “meatball princess” nickname to make sure he wouldn’t forget me… he didn’t. Since then, I have had to bring to perfection my meatballs to reach the actual title of “meatball princess.” The Meatball Magic Yes, there is plenty of magic in this meatball. Here are…
Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Salad is the ultimate pasta salad without any mayo! A simple yet addictive pasta salad made with al dente broccoli, chicken bits, red bell pepper, onion, basil and feta drizzled with olive oil! This Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Salad is an addictive “wake up in the middle of the night for a bite” meal… a “you have more than me” meal. This is a recipe from way back in the days when I used to sleep over at my friend’s house, and her mom knew I was coming. Then, she would make me that pasta salad. I could not get enough, it looked like a simple pasta salad, but something in it made it impossible to stop eating… With the years, I transformed it even more to my taste; I’ve added feta cheese and fresh basil leaves. The Golden Dressing The dressing for this pasta salad is simply fresh…
White Asparagus Pasta is a great way to welcome spring! A fresh and sunny dish filled with soft white asparagus, some lemon zest, cream and a touch of parmesan. White Asparagus Pasta is a great recipe to welcome spring. Asparagus is one of the first veggies that wants to come out in spring. Both the green and white kinds are actually the same, the only difference is the white ones never get to see the sun. They get picked up from the soil with the help of a sharp tool preventing photosynthesis. Its taste is more delicate and buttery and the texture softer than green ones. Preparation of White Asparagus The main difference in its preparation is that, unlike the green asparagus. You’ll need to peel its whole body (except the head) about twice. Because it’s covered with thick fibres which prevent the asparagus from getting tender. If it’s not peeled properly the asparagus…
Shell pasta with an extra tasty onion soup served in a mug topped with a light gratin, fresh parsley and crunchy breadcrumbs. French Onion Soup Pasta is a great way to revamp your onion soup leftovers! This is my first-ever mug meal! Actually, I went to buy the mugs extra for this recipe. A shell-formed pasta served with leftover onion soup and a gratin on top with a few breadcrumbs. In order to recall the “French onion soup bread”, plus it gives the meal an extra crunch. It’s quite simple to make and tasty, so if you have any onion soup leftovers at home, this French Onion Soup Pasta is the way to go! A Catalan Tradition as Inspiration French Onion Soup Pasta in a Mug The Shell Pasta The shell pasta is something you don’t get to see often on your plate. Where I live, in Barcelona, they call it “Galets” and…