SPAGHETTI WITH CABBAGE & HAZELNUTS

Julia Child, mother of all things culinary, implied that Italian cooking wasn’t really cooking.  She couldn’t understand how tossing a few basic ingredients together in a pot (or oven) is actually cooking…I love ya Julia, but I think you may have missed out on some sensational simple sustenance.

What I love about Italian cooking is just that, its simplicity, that simplicity is somehow comforting.  Italian’s also don’t waste anything in the kitchen, and it’s often these thrown together with scraps from the refrigerator dishes that are the most delectable!

Spaghetti with Cabbage and Hazelnuts is one of those comforting, delectable thrown together dishes; it came about as a way to use up what I had in my refrigerator, and ended up being a new favorite meal! 

This dish is simple and uses only a few ingredients so it goes together super quick.  While I enjoy Spaghetti with Cabbage and Hazelnuts as a meal on its own, it would also be a great side dish to serve with pork or roasted chicken; you could even add some crumbled sweet Italian sausage or crisp pancetta just to change things up.

Here’s what you do.

Put the pasta water on to boil while the remaining ingredients are being prepped.

Toast some hazelnuts in a hot skillet, keeping a close eye on them so that they don't burn. 

If the hazelnuts have the skins on them go ahead and put them into a paper towel, and rub them together, the skins will come right off. 

Chop them quite fine and put them to the side.

The main ingredients; shredded cabbage, thinly sliced onion and minced garlic.

Put the spaghetti on to cook in boiling salted water; cook it for 2 minutes less than the package directions state.  Drain the cooked spaghetti but reserve 1/2 cup of that pasta water.  

While the spaghetti is cooking; over medium-high heat saute the cabbage and onions in a table spoon of olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of butter.

Also add 1/2 teaspoon of fresh or dried thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper.

After about 5 minutes the cabbage and onions will begin to brown, add the garlic and cook until all the vegetables are tender.

Stir in the juice of half of a lemon.

Add the cooked spaghetti, 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, a touch more of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.

Also toss in the toasted hazelnuts and cook until the pasta is al dente, adding more of the reserved pasta water if necessary.

Serve with some grated Parmesan cheese.

This makes a great meal on it's own, but is also good as a side-dish to pork or chicken

SPAGHETTI WITH CABBAGE & HAZELNUTS

Makes 2 servings

1/3            lb.             Spaghetti (a third of a 1 pound package)

3              Tbsp.          Hazelnuts

2              cups          Cabbage, shredded

½             cup           Onion, finely sliced

1 ½           Tbsp.         Olive oil, divided use

½             Tbsp.         Butter

1              clove          Garlic, minced

½             tsp.           Thyme, dried or fresh

½                             Lemon, juice of

¼ to ½      cup           Reserved pasta cooking liquid

                                Salt and pepper to taste

                                Grated Parmesan cheese

   1.       Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water for about 2 minutes less than the package directions state.  Drain the cooked pasta, but reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.  Put both to the side.

   2.       Meanwhile; toast the hazelnuts, in a large skillet over medium high heat, stirring quite often to keep the nuts from burning.  When the hazelnuts are golden in color remove them from the heat.  If the hazelnuts have skins on them, pour them into a paper towel, close up the paper towel and rub them together until the skins come off; discard the skins.  Chop them quite finely, and put the hazelnuts to the side.

   3.       In the same skillet sauté the cabbage and onions in 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil and the butter over medium high heat stirring frequently.  After about 5 minutes the cabbage and onions will begin to color, and then you can add the garlic, thyme, a pinch of salt & pepper.  When the veggies are tender squeeze the juice of half of a lemon over them, give it a stir; and then toss in the cooked spaghetti adding ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water, the remaining ½ tablespoon of olive oil, the chopped hazelnuts, as well as salt & pepper to taste.  Continue to cook and stir until the pasta is al dente, adding more of the pasta water if needed.  Remove to serving dishes and top with grated parmesan cheese.

You may also like:

Lemon Asparagus Linguini

Roasted Broccoli & Tomato Pasta

Rigatoni with Eggplant & Ricotta

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SPAGHETTI WITH TURKEY MEATBALLS

                                                                    

“Say whaaat, turkey again?”  Well if you read the last blog “Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burgers” I mentioned I was supposed to make a turkey meatloaf, but returned to late from spending the day with my man in Downtown Victoria, so made the burgers instead.  Sooo, Mom had taken out 2 packages of turkey so that we could make meatloaf sammies with the left overs.  Sooo I had another pound of turkey to use. 

Billy and I spent the day at Matticks Farm (check it out at matticksfarm.com) which is no longer a farm but a golf course, an adorable outdoor shopping mall (for lack of a better word) filled with one of a kind stores and the Red Barn Market for produce.  We all ways stop at Adrienne's Tea Garden for a delectable lunch and leave too stuffed to try any of the scumptious looking baked goods.My favorite store is Continental Kitchen.  The shop keeper is super friendly, helpful, and she knows her stuff.  The store features gourmet products made throughout the province of British Columbia.  I stop in every summer to get my thank you gifts, 'cause there's always someone to thank for something when you take a vacation. 

We played golf at the executive (par 3) course, redneck style.  We took off our flip flops and golfed barefoot.  Billy looks like he's wearing socks...he's a golfer, he has golfer's tan.  We noticed as we golfed our way further into the course, that we were not the only shoeless golfers. 

 

Even a par 3 golf course has amzing views here! 

Afterwards we went back to the produce market and among all the beautiful produce I spied the sunny, yellow spaghetti squash, “Hello my love”.  Often I make spaghetti squash in place of pasta (when I get on those short lived health kicks), but today I really had a hankerin’ for pasta.  I figured I could just combine the spaghetti squash and spaghetti pasta and still have a healthy dinner and get my pasta fix.

This is what you need for the Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Cut the sunny, yellow spaghetti squash in two.  Scoop out the seeds.Then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place into a baking dish cut side up, and sprinkle a little water over the top, and put about ½ inch of water I the bottom of  the baking dish.  Put the squash into the 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, then turn the squash over, cut side down and bake 30 minutes more.

This is what you need for the Turkey Meatballs.

I grate the onion and mince the garlic, so that it almost dissolves into the meatballs.

Put the ground turkey and bread crumbs in the bowl first, and drizzle the milk over the bread crumbs.  The moist bread will make the meatballs moist.

Then add the remaining ingredients and mix them well by hand.

Make 12 equal sized meatballs and put them onto a sheet pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake 375 degree oven for 25 minutes.  (These are the cooked meatballs)

While the squash and the meatballs are in the oven I make the sauce and put the pasta water on to boil.

 

Start with diced red bell pepper, onion, and minced garlic.

Sauté the onions in a large skillet.

 

 After cooking the onions about 5 minutes I add the red bell pepper, garlic and cook another 5 minutes.

 

Add the Italian seasoning.

Add the diced tomatoes, and simmer.

Add the spaghetti to boiling salted water and cook about 7 minutes. 

Remove the cooked spaghetti squash from the oven.Scrape gently with a fork or spoon to allow the pasta like threads of the squash to separate. 

Add the cooked spaghetti pasta and spaghetti squash and a little butter to the skillet with the tomato sauce, cook until the pasta is done to your liking; add a little of the water from the pasta pot if needed.  I didn’t have any fresh basil, but I really missed it in this dish, so I included basil in the recipe. 

The Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti can be served as is for a vegetarian dish, ….

Or top with Turkey Meatballs

                                                                       

Serves 4

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SPAGHETTI

1                           Spaghetti Squash, small to medium sized

Olive oil

12           oz           Spaghetti, ¾ of a box

½            cup         Onion, diced small

½            cup         Red bell pepper, diced small

2             cloves    Garlic, minced

2            cups        Diced, canned or jarred tomatoes * If you like alot of sauce, add another 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of tomatoes.

1             Tbsp       Italian seasoning

                              Salt and pepper to taste

1             Tbsp       Butter, *optional

1             Tbsp       Fresh Basil, chopped or torn into small pieces.

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.      Cut the spaghetti squash in half, and scoop out the seeds.

3.      Place the spaghetti squash cut side up into a baking dish, drizzle a little olive oil onto the squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

4.      Pour about ½ an inch of water into the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle just a little water over the cut side of the squash.

5.      Cook for 15 minutes.

6.      Turn the squash over and cook for 30 minutes more.

7.      In the meantime, put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta.

8.      In a large skillet over medium heat, put 1 tbsp of olive oil and the diced onion, cook until translucent, 5-7 minutes.

9.      Add the bell pepper and garlic and Italian seasoning, cook until the pepper is soft, about another 5 minutes.

10.   Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper.  Simmer until the squash and pasta are ready, if the sauce starts to thicken, turn the heat down to low.

11.   Remove the spaghetti squash from the baking dish, and using a fork scape the threads of the squash.

12.   Cook the pasta in the boiling, salted water until it is almost done, about 7 minutes. When you drain the spaghetti reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

13.   Add the cooked pasta, the spaghetti squash, butter, and the basil to the skillet containing the sauce.  Cook until the spaghetti is done, add a little pasta water if the sauce is too thick.  Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper if necessary.

14.   Can serve the Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti as is or top with Parmesan cheese and Turkey Meatballs.

TURKEY MEAT BALLS

1             lb            Ground turkey

1             slice       bread, torn or processed into bread crumbs

3             Tbsp       Milk

1                            Egg

1/3         cup         Asiago or Parmesan cheese, grated

1/3         cup         Onion, grated

2             cloves    Garlic, minced

1             tsp          Italian seasoning

½            tsp          Salt

½            tsp          Pepper

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.      In a medium bowl put the turkey and bread crumbs, sprinkle the milk over the bread crumbs.

3.      Put the remaining ingredients into the bowl with the turkey and bread crumbs, mix well.

4.      Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray.

5.      Form the mixture into 12 equal sized balls and put them on the sheet pan.

6.      Cook the meatballs in the hot preheated oven for 25 minutes.

7.      Serve the meatballs with your favorite sauce, over pasta or rice, or in a sandwich.

*To make the Turkey Meatballs ahead and freeze them; do the preparations 2 through 5, the put the pan of meatballs into the freezer uncovered for 2 to 3 hours.  Do not leave the meatballs uncovered in the freezer for more than a few hours, or they will become freezer burned.  When the meatballs are frozen put them into a freezer bag, and back into the freezer.   

The meatballs can be cooked from frozen.  Put the frozen meatballs on a sheet pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and cook in a 375 degree for 40-45 minutes.