Marsala Chicken - Cooking Italy 15

I'll be the first to admit that I've been a bit lax in keeping up with my assignments for the Cooking Italy group, hosted by the lovely Angela at Spinach Tiger, where we are learning to cook classic Italian dishes from Marcella Hazan's "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking".  However, we have a new schedule out and it was high time for me to get back into the swing of things.

Our first assignment for the year was Veal Marsala, and since Marsala just happens to be one of my favourite ingredients I was eager to give this one a try.  Veal was not available at my butcher when I checked, which actually I was kind of relieved about since from an ethical point of view I do have some reservations about eating veal.  It has also pretty much been my experience that when veal is available, you almost need a small mortgage in order to pay for it.  We had been told however that we could substitute chicken for the assignment, and that is exactly what I did.  Double score - no ethical dilemna over free-range organic chicken and doubtless a considerable cost saving as well.  I mentioned in discussions with the group that I also thought this dish would be great made with pork chops, and I can't wait to try that - one of our group, Glennis at Cantbelieveweate, did just that and found that the Marsala sauce was indeed a great match for the pork chops - you can check out her post here.

This dish could not possibly be simpler, and was the perfect "dinner in 15 minutes" dish.  In actual fact, I chose to serve this with some little potatoes roasted with olive oil and rosemary, so my dinner was a little longer getting to the table, but you could serve this just with a simple salad and you would indeed have dinner in 15 minutes.  Despite being one of the most effortless meals you will ever create, the deliciousness is way out of all proportion to the minimal effort that goes in - which just goes to prove once again that when you put together a few simple, but great ingredients in just exactly the right way, you really don't have to do much to them to deliver greatness.  The simplicity of this dish makes it great for a mid-week family meal, of course, but it is also easily elegant enough to serve for company and you won't be neglecting your guests while you spend half the night in the kitchen.

Marsala Chicken Recipe

Adapted from Marcella Hazan's

"Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking"

Serves 2

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2x free-range organic chicken breasts

flour

flaky sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup Marsala wine (* see note below)

First of all place chicken breasts (one at a time) into a large plastic bag, or between two sheets of Gladwrap or parchment paper, and pound out using a rolling pin (or other heavy object) until the chicken breasts are about 1cm (not quite 1/2 inch) thick.

Set a skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and half of the butter.

While the fat is heating, spread some flour out onto a plate and, as soon as the fat is hot, coat both sides of the chicken in the flour, shake off any excess and add carefully to the pan.  (Note:  don't pre-flour your meat - dredge it just immediately before it goes into the pan, otherwise the flour will become all gloopy).

Brown the chicken breasts well on both sides and as soon as they are cooked through, remove them to a warm plate and sprinkle with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Turn the heat up to high, add in the Marsala, scraping the bottom of the pan as it bubbles away to loosen any "browning bits".  Add the remainder of the butter, and any juices that have emerged from the chicken on the plate, and stir until the juices in the pan are no longer runny and have become sauce-like in density.  Turn the heat down to low, return the chicken to the pan, and turn them over in the sauce a couple of times to coat them well with the sauce.

Turn the chicken and all the sauce out onto a warm serving dish and serve at once.

* Note:  Marcella's recipe calls for using dry Marsala.  It is my understanding that Marsala comes in three levels of sweetness - secco (dry), semisecco (semi-dry or I guess semi-sweet, depending on your point of view), and sweet.  I used semisecco, because that is what I had and I certainly didn't find it too sweet. 

Do visit my Cooking Italy page to learn more about the group (maybe you'd even like to join in - you don't have to have a blog to join the group and cook along with everyone else), find links to other members of the group, and links to all the Cooking Italy recipes I've cooked so far.

 

Available from Amazon, Book Depository UK, Fishpond NZ 

I'm also submitting this post to Cookbook Sundays, hosted by the lovely Brenda at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen.  She's worth a visit any day of the week, but why not head over there right now and see who else has dusted off their cookbooks - you'll almost certainly find some great recipes, and maybe you'll discover a new book you'd like to add to your collection.

Peach & Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

Are you sick of me and quinoa yet?  Well, I just couldn't close the chapter on this wonderful ingredient without sharing one more dish with you.  I've got to tell you that trying this one was stepping way out of my comfort zone, but that's what Make it with ..... Mondays is all about and I'm so thrilled that so many of you have really taken the challenge over the last couple of weeks and done just that.

I came across this recipe for Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa on Heidi Swanson's wonderful blog, 101 Cookbooks.  It looked so beautiful and tempting that I really wanted to try it for Make it with ..... Mondays challenge quinoa, but I have to admit that I was more than a little nervous about it.  You see the original recipe calls for cooking the quinoa in milk and water.  Well I hate milk, and two things that really make me gag are rice pudding (or any kind of vaguely "sweet" rice dish) and porridge.  Actually I can't even be in the same room as porridge - just the smell of it nearly makes me barf!  I'm sorry, but it's true - it's completely uncontrollable - put a bowl of porridge in front of me at your own peril.

So I was somewhat scared that this dish might turn out to be vaguely reminiscent of either of these dreaded dishes, but it looked so good in Heidi's photos I decided to "man-up" and give it a try.  I used almond milk instead of regular milk, and that added a lovely sweet nuttiness.  I thought about using coconut milk, and that would certainly be an option, if you prefer.  Like Heidi, I chose a red quinoa for this, but regular would be fine.  I also happened to have some beautiful, perfectly ripe peaches and blueberries on hand, so I used those instead of berries.  The other minor change I made was drizzling at the end with honey, instead of agave nectar.  I'm guessing that rice syrup or maple syrup would also work well.

The result was wonderful - not at all like any kind of porridge or rice pudding - the quinoa has a lovely nutty flavour (enhanced by the almond milk) and retains some chewiness.  The little bit of sweetness that comes through from the almond milk and honey, as well as the cinnamon, is a nice complement to the tangy, fresh fruit.  This was flavourful, filling and nourishing, without giving that feeling of heaviness that you can sometimes get after eating other cereals.  The second day, I ate this with a combination of blueberries, apricots and plums, which was also delicious.  I think pretty much any fruit would work in this, and even stewed, dried fruit in winter would be fine. Maybe banana and shaved coconut would also be good, especially if you used coconut milk as part of the cooking liquid.  You could also experiment with different nuts here - walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamias would all be good alternatives.

Peach & Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa Recipe

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Makes 2 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

Gluten-free, vegan option

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup red quinoa

(rinse thoroughly in lots of running water)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 fresh peaches, cubed

1/4 chopped pecans, toasted

2 teaspoons honey

(use agave nectar, maple syrup or rice syrup for vegan option)

Put quinoa, almond milk and water into a medium saucepan, set over high heat and bring to the boil.  Turn heat down to medium-low, cover and simmer until liquid is almost completely absorbed (about 15 minutes).  (Note:  I suggest you don't walk away - the milk bubbles up a lot, and makes a horrible mess if it boils over.  I found I had to leave the lid of my pan slightly ajar, and lift it off at regular intervals.  Maybe I should have used a slightly bigger pan.)

Remove pan from the heat, and allow it to stand, covered, for 5 minutes.  Stir in the cinnamon and then the fresh fruit.  Transfer to serving bowls, top with the toasted pecans, and drizzle with honey.

Delicious while still warm, but also just as good cold the next day.  If desired, you could reheat briefly in the microwave the next day, and you may also want to add a little extra milk to loosen.

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge quinoa - the linky is still open until Monday 31 January, so keep your quinoa posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is paprika.

I'm also linking this to the Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent Blog Hop and to next week's Hearth & Soul Blog Hop, also to the Fit Foodista February Blog Carnival.

Spanish-inspired Quinoa Salad - Quick & Easy # 8

This is another one of those dishes from my "Quick and Easy" file.  These dishes are of course, as the title suggests, quick and easy to prepare, but they are also dishes that I consider to be very free-form - they're conceptual rather than confined to a strict recipe.  They are meant to inspire you rather than direct you - quantities are unimportant, and you should use this as a guideline only.  Vary quantities according to what you have on hand, or feel free to swap out any ingredients according to your tastes.

At the risk of offending half the population of Spain, I have called this a "Spanish-inspired" quinoa salad, but please note that "inspired" is the operative word here.  Even though quinoa, basil, feta and rocket (arugula) have all found their way into this, my original inspiration came from a handful of ingredients that I always associate with visits to Barcelona - chorizo sausage, white/butter beans, tomatoes and olives.  I often make a salad of just these four ingredients, but when thinking about ideas for Make it with ..... Mondays challenge quinoa it occurred to me that, by adding some quinoa and a few other ingredients, I could turn this simple salad into a quick but substantial meal.

Begin, by cooking the quinoa.  Rinse thoroughly first.  Put one cup of quinoa in a pan with two cups of liquid;  set pan over high heat and bring to a boil;  turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat, allow to sit covered for about 5 minutes, then fluff up with a fork.  

On this occasion, I used mushroom stock as my liquid, but you could use any other kind of vegetable stock or chicken stock or even just water.  The mushroom stock gave it fantastic flavour, and has now got me thinking that you could maybe cook the quinoa risotto-style and make a great mushroom risotto - I see an experiment coming up.  But I digress.

Put cooked quinoa into a serving bowl.  Add a couple of chopped tomatoes, a tin of drained and rinsed butter beans (or cannellini beans or chickpeas), a handful of chopped fresh basil leaves (or flat-leaf parsley or coriander), and a handful of mixed olives.  Drizzle over a bit of red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar.

Heat a good slosh or two of olive oil in a saute pan over high heat.  Slice up some chorizo sausage, add to the preheated pan and cook until the chorizo is browned and starting to "caramelise" around the edges, and has rendered out a lot of its fat.  This fat will be rich with the smoky flavour and aroma of paprika, and is going to help make the dressing for the salad.  Add the sauteed chorizo and all of the pan juices to the salad bowl.

Toss well.  Taste and then adjust according to taste - adding more vinegar, oil, salt, pepper or herbs as may be required to suit your palate.

Add some chunks of feta cheese (or goat's cheese or blue cheese or Manchego) and peppery rocket (arugula) (or spinach or watercress) leaves.  Serve while still slightly warm or at room temperature.  Leftovers refrigerate well, but it is best brought back to room temperature before serving.

You could make this gluten-free, by replacing the chorizo with chunks of gluten-free sausage, or even some shrimp or squid instead, and replacing the vinegar with some lemon juice.  I hope you'll let your imagination run wild and give this a try.

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge quinoa - the linky is still open until Monday 31 January, so keep your quinoa posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is paprika.

I'm also sharing this post at Food on Friday hosted by Carole at Carole's Chatter.

Bluenose Fillet with Quinoa & Slow-roasted Tomato Salad with Chopped Egg & Caper Dressing

In my search last week for a recipe using quinoa for a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge quinoa, one of the first places I looked for some inspiration was Peter Gordon's book "Salads, The New Main Course", one of my current favourites.

The original recipe calls for tuna to be served on top of a quinoa, rocket (arugula), olive and blackened tomato salad, with a chopped egg and parsley dressing.  However, if you can't be sure of the source and sustainability of tuna available at your fishmonger, I urge you to use a different species of fish.  Peter Gordon suggests salmon, sea trout, mackerel or grey mullet as alternatives - I chose on this occasion to settle for a piece of bluenose.

Although there are a number of steps to this recipe, and it may seem a little complicated, it was actually really very simple, and the result was a wonderful dish.  Very fresh, light and healthy, with lots of interesting textural contrast and complimentary flavours.  The slight "chewiness" of the quinoa works nicely with the soft flesh of the fish, and the sweet blackened tomatoes, salty olives, peppery rocket, and sharp tangy capers add plenty of flavour punch.  Peter Gordon says "... this salad takes as its spiritual grandmother salade nicoise" and, although the result is an entirely different dish altogether, you can certainly see the parallels.

Although, I adapted this recipe to serve two people, this would actually be a great dish to make for a crowd and serve on a lovely big platter, and since much of this dish could be prepared in advance it makes for easy entertaining.

Bluenose Fillet with Quinoa & Blackened Tomato Salad,

with Chopped Egg & Caper Dressing Recipe

Adapted from recipe by Peter Gordon in

"Salads, The New Main Course"

Makes 2 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

3 tomatoes

extra virgin olive oil

small handful fresh basil leaves, torn

1/2 cup quinoa, well-rinsed

2 fish fillets or steaks

flaky sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

large handful mixed olives

large handful of rocket (arugula)

For the dressing

2 eggs

small handful fresh flat leaf parsley roughly chopped

1 tablespoon capers

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

To make the dressing:  Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the egg, and boil for 5 minutes, drain and put eggs into a bowl of cold water and allow to cool completely.  Peel the eggs carefully (they will still be quite soft, and yolks will be slightly runny).  Put the eggs into a small bowl and break up roughly using a fork - you could chop them, but I found them soft enough to use a fork.  Add the chopped parsley, capers and olive oil.  Set aside.  Add the lemon juice just before serving.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).  Cut the tomatoes crosswise into rings about 1cm thick, and place in a single layer in a lightly oiled, shallow baking dish.  Drizzle each slice with a little of the extra virgin olive oil.

Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until just starting to blacken around the edges.  Remove from the oven, arrange on a plate or platter, drizzle over any of the juices from the baking dish, scatter over torn basil leaves, sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, and drizzle over some of the extra virgin olive oil.

While the tomatoes are baking, prepare the quinoa.  Rinse thoroughly first under lots of running water.  Then put the quinoa in a small pot with 1 cup of water (basically 1/2 cup quinoa - 1 cup water), bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until all the water has been absorbed (about 15 minutes).  Remove from the heat, fluff up with a fork, and spread out on a plate to cool down.

Heat a little more olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Season the fish on both sides with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Once the pan is hot, add the fish and saute until lightly browned on both sides and cooked through.

While the fish is cooking, put the quinoa, torn up rocket, and olives in a bowl, season with flaky sea salt and black pepper, add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and gently mix together.

Arrange the rocket salad over top of the tomato slices.  Top with a piece of the fish.  Add the lemon juice to the chopped egg dressing, and spoon over the top.

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge quinoa - the linky is still open until Monday 31 January, so keep your quinoa posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is paprika.

I'm also submitting this post to Cookbook Sundays, hosted by the lovely Brenda at Brenda's Canadian Kitchen.  She's worth a visit any day of the week, but why not head over there right now and see who else has dusted off their cookbooks - you'll almost certainly find some great recipes, and maybe you'll discover a new book you'd like to add to your collection.

I'm also submitting this post to the Hearth & Soul blog hop.

Make it with ..... Mondays # 4

Already it's time for another "Make it with ..... Mondays" - these weeks are flashing by so quickly.  It's seems like just yesterday that I put up a list of five forthcoming Make it with ..... Mondays challenges, and here we are already at number 4.   I'm so thrilled that so many of you have been really enjoying these challenges, and I really appreciate your participation.  I know that I have certainly been enjoying stretching my culinary boundaries, trying to use what may be familiar ingredients in different ways, and I've also been learning a lot as I research our special ingredient each week.

Challenge vanilla is now over, and you can see all the vanilla posts here.  Thank you for your wonderful entries, and it was great to also see this wonderful ingredient being used in a savoury context as well.

A reminder also that the linky for challenge quinoa is still open for another week (closing midday Monday 31 January - NZ time).  So keep those quinoa recipes coming - remember that you can link up as many posts as you like (as long as quinoa is one of the ingredients), and linking up old posts is fine too.

I was so thrilled that, in creating this challenge, I gave myself the incentive to cook and eat a whole lot of quinoa this week.  It's a grain (though I use that term loosely since, as I told you last week, it is not strictly a grain) that I really like a lot, but for some reason I don't use that often - partly, I suspect, because my partner doesn't eat it (not that he's ever tried it).  However, since he's away in India for two months (check out his blog, by the way, if you haven't already - just go to Arunachala Kiwi in my sidebar), I felt free to consume quinoa with abandon.  I made a quinoa, rocket (arugula), olive and blackened tomato salad topped with a bluenose fillet and chopped egg and caper dressing from the Peter Gordon Salads book, and a "Spanish-inspired" quinoa salad that was my own creation and was full of chorizo sausage, butter beans, juicy ripe tomatoes and olives.  I'll be sharing both of these recipes with you over the next few days, so make sure you come back.

If you're keen to give quinoa a try, but not really sure what to do with it, check out this page on Heidi Swanson's 101 Cookbooks blog.  Heidi's blog is one of the very best in the entire blogosphere in my opinion and she has lots of great quinoa recipes there.  I have made the Quinoa and Grilled Zucchini before (substituting grilled asparagus in season for the zucchini), and I'm pretty sure that before this week is out I am going to try the Warm & Nutty Cinnamon Quinoa (studded with fresh blackberries - sounds like breakfast heaven).

Now it's time to turn our attention to this week's special ingredient .....

Paprika

Paprika vendor at La Boqueria Market, Barcelona

Paprika is a spice, which comes in a powdered form, ground from the dried fruit of certain varieties of Capsicum annuum, more commonly known as chilli peppers or bell peppers.  They come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, producing a powder which can vary in colour from rusty brown to bright red.

Although the plant was originally native to South America, it has adapted well to growing in cooler climates, with Spain and Hungary now being two of the main centres for growing paprika peppers.  As you might expect, therefore, it is a spice which is used fairly extensively in the cuisines of both countries.  Paprika is also produced in Yugoslavia, Turkey and the United States.

Spanish paprika comes in three grades -  sweet (dolce), semisweet (agridulce) and hot (picante);  while, Hungarian paprika comes in six grades ranging from "exquisite delicate" (Kulonleges) to hot and pungent (Eros).  Smoked paprika also comes in three grades - sweet, bittersweet and hot.

Paprika is used primarily to add colour, though using smoked paprika will certainly add an extra depth of flavour and aroma that comes from the slow oak smoking.  You will find paprika in many traditional Hungarian dishes such as paprikash and goulash.  It is also often used in processed meats such as Spanish chorizo sausage, in cheeses, cheese spreads and marinades (the Moroccon chermoula marinade for these fish kebabs or this simple Paprika Chicken are good examples).  You will often find it in the soups, stews, casseroles and vegetables that grace the Spanish, Portugese or Turkish table.  It can be used as a garnish, sprinkled over a dish to add colour, or used as an emulsifier in a dressing.

Interestingly paprika does have some nutritional value as well.  It is very high in vitamin C (more even than lemons and oranges);  it is also an excellent source of betacarotene and other antioxidants.  Before you get too excited about that though, do bear in mind that the very small quantities used at any one time will mean that any nutritional gain is almost negligible - still it's nice to know it's the good stuff, right?!

So now it's time to get cooking - put your thinking cap on, get creative, and see what you can come up with.  Maybe you'll make a delicious stew or goulash (it's winter for many of you right now, so that shouldn't be too much of a hardship);  an interesting paella or pilaf;  maybe you'll be brave enough to try making your own sausages or chorizo;  anybody game to try a cake or cookies? I'm sure there are many "unexpected" ways in which you could use this ingredient.  Can't wait to see what you come up with.

There are really only two rules for participating in this event:

1. Your post must feature this week's ingredient.  If, however, over time you have found a good substitute when you come across this ingredient in recipes (maybe because you don't like it, or it's not readily available in your area, or someone in your family has an allergy to it), then, please tell us about it, show us what you use instead and explain to us why, and then of course link up - this is after all a learning experience and it's good to know about alternatives.
2. Your blog post must link back to this post and mention "Make it with ..... Mondays"

That's it - create your post (or feel free to link up an old post if you have one that uses this week's ingredient);  multiple posts are welcome;  then scroll down to the bottom of this page where you will see a small box that says "You are next, click here to enter". Click on that link, and follow the simple instructions - please link directly to your post, not just your blog home page.

Want to join in but don't have a blog?  No problem - just email me your thoughts, ideas and recipes, and I'll include them in a round-up the following week.  To email me just go to the "Contact Me" button on my sidebar.

If you would like to use a badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beneath the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

<a href="http://couscous-consciousness.blogspot.com/p/make-it-with-mondays.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa476/Susan_Busch/5308633012_ba44e6bfb1_m.jpg" border="0" alt="MakeItWithMondays"></a>

Please link your posts for "Make it with ..... Mondays" challenge paprika using the linky at the bottom of this page.  The linky will be open until 11.59am Monday 7 February (NZT).

Please go to this page to link your posts for "Make it with ..... Mondays" challenge quinoa.  The linky will be open until 11.59am Monday 31 January (NZT).

Last of all, before you get linking, here is a preview of what's coming up over the next 4 weeks:

Week commencing Monday 31 January - we're making it with Nutella
Week commencing Monday 7 February - we're making it with almonds
Week commencing Monday 14 February - we're making it with polenta
Week commencing Monday 21 February - we're making it with coffee

Spaghetti with Shrimp & Lemon Oil Recipe

My very first visit to the United States was a four day business trip to San Francisco.  From New Zealand that was a long way to go for a two-hour meeting, but back then I worked in advertising and then was the 80s - an industry and an era both renowned for their excesses.   There is much about that trip that is to this day indelibly etched in my memory, but most significant of all were some wonderful food memories.  It was the first time I ever ate nachos and drank a margarita (well, actually, more than one);  at the marina in Sausalito I enjoyed a plate of succulent oysters and my first ever tuna melt;  I ate the most heavenly dish of snails, each in tiny little pots with little pastry lids at a restaurant in Union Square that was called something like Forneaux Ovens (I could stand corrected on that one);  and lunched on linguine with garlicky shrimp at a wonderful Italian restaurant in Ghirardelli Square.

This dish in particular was an absolute revelation to me - back then we didn't really have too many Italian restaurants in New Zealand, and the only pasta I had ever eaten up until that point in my life was spaghetti (only ever with a bolognese sauce) and macaroni elbows (either in a classic mac 'n' cheese or some kind of tuna bake).  Back then, if you wanted to buy olive oil you had to get it from the pharmacist.  Much has changed here in the last 30 years, but without a doubt that day in Ghirardelli Square was the day my love for Italian food bloomed, and it has been a growing passion ever since.

When our theme this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where as you know we are cooking with Giada de Laurentiis, was California Dreamin' her Linguine with Shrimp and Lemon Oil was the dish that immediately evoked for me those memories of California.  As it turned out I used spaghetti because that's what I had on hand, but linguine would be the ideal.  I hope you'll try this and bring a little bit of California into your kitchen.

Spaghetti with Shrimp & Lemon Oil

Adapted from "Giada's Kitchen"

by Giada de Laurentiis

Serves 2

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

For the lemon oil:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

zest of 1/2 lemon

For the pasta:

250g (1/2 pound) spaghetti (or linguine)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

250g (1/2 pound) fresh shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 lemon, juice and zest

flaky sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 large handfuls of rocket (arugula) or spinach

freshly chopped Italian parsley for garnishing

Begin by making the lemon oil.  Put the 1/4 cup of olive oil into a small bowl.  Using a vegetable peeler, take off thin strips of the lemon peel and add them to the oil.  Take care to avoid any of the white pith, scraping it away from the peel if necessary.  Set aside to infuse (I actually did this the day before - not necessary, but the longer you allow it to infuse the better the flavour).

Bring a large pot of water to the boil over high heat, salt the water liberally, add the spaghetti and cook until al dente.  Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic, cook for a minute, then add the shrimp and cook just until the shrimp turn pink.

Add the cooked spaghetti, a little grated zest and most of the juice of the lemon, flaky sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Toss well to combine, then turn off the heat and add the rocket or spinach (I used about equal quantities of both).

Drizzle liberally with the lemon oil (discarding the strips of zest), sprinkle over the chopped parsley.  Toss again to combine, adding a little of the pasta water if necessary, and serve immediately.

Close your eyes and imagine you're in California.

Interested in getting to know Giada a bit better?  Then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all been cooking up ....

.... or check out Giada's Kitchen and many of her other titles, available from Amazon, Book Depository UK and Fishpond NZ

       

I'm also submitting this post to Presto Pasta Nights, which is being hosted this week by Jen at Tastes of Home - you will be able to see a full round-up of all the submissions there on Friday 28 January.   I'm looking forward to checking out a whole lot of new pasta dishes.

Honey-Roasted Pineapple with Pistachios & Coconut Yoghurt Recipe

Funny how things creep up on you.  When I started this blog, a bit over 18 months ago, I had no idea where it would lead to - I certainly never for a moment imagined the friendships and connections that would develop with wonderful people all over the globe.  Likewise, back when it used to take me a whole week (sometimes longer) to be able to actually create a post, I couldn't imagine ever getting to my 100th post - and yet, here we now are - this folks is my 100th post.

Such an occasion of course calls for a celebration of some sort, and this dish seems like a great way to do just that.  Let's face it, there is always something rather celebratory about dessert (even if you eat it every night of the week - which, incidentally, I don't), and exotic ingredients like pineapple, vanilla and pistachio definitely add a touch of decadence and luxury.  At the same time, given that there is absolutely nothing here but fresh fruit, honey, nuts, coconut and yoghurt, this adds up to a totally healthy and guilt-free dessert in my estimation.

Now, before I move on to sharing this recipe with you, I want to tell you something about the honey I used.  Just before Christmas, the Airborne Honey people sent me a couple of samples of their product to review - this little jar of Tawari honey, and also one of Manuka honey.  So, yes I did receive free samples, but let me assure you that I have not been paid for my opinion on this product.  My mother always subscribed to the belief that if you couldn't find anything good to say about someone or something, it was better to say nothing at all.  That was well and truly drummed into me as a children, and to this day I live by that.  So you can be sure that if I had found this product in any way unsatisfactory you wouldn't be reading about it here - I would simply have politely let the people at Airborne know my opinion and refrained from reviewing it.  The fact that you're reading about it here, means that I genuinely thought it was great and no-one has paid me to tell you that.

Airborne Honey has been produced in New Zealand for over 100 years, and they make three substantial claims about their honey - firstly that it is honest (it is labelled as to its floral source, and the packaging details the exact percentage of the pollen source in your jar);  secondly that it is undamaged (unique processing methods and rigorous testing take place to ensure the least amount of heat damage occurs);  and thirdly that it is traceable (every jar contains a batch number which enables the product to be traced back to the hive it came from).  You can read more about this on their website.  Also on the website you can find details of their stockists in New Zealand and importers worldwide, so even though these are uniquely New Zealand in origin you don't have to be living here to get your hands on some of this deliciousness.

I haven't used the Manuka one too much yet, so I'll tell you more about that another day, but I am definitely having a love affair with the Tawari.  I'm personally not fussed on strong honey flavours, but found that, as promised, this has a delicate butterscotch flavour and strikes just the right note drizzled over my yoghurt and granola.  However, in this dish, by the time it had spent 20 or so minutes in the oven with the pineapple it turned into something that tasted more like liquified barley sugars - it was thick and syrupy, and it tasted so insanely good, I kid you not, I truly licked my plate clean (and the dish the pineapple had been roasted in) so as not to miss a single drop of this liquid heaven. I - AM - NOT - EXAGGERATING!

Anyway, I'm sure you've heard enough about honey, so on with the recipe.

Honey-Roasted Pineapple with Pistachios & Coconut Yoghurt Recipe

Adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller (Food for Friends)

Makes 2 heavenly servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2 slices fresh pineapple, cut about 1cm (1/3 inch) thick

1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup warm honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup dessicated coconut, lightly toasted

1/2 cup plain Greek-style yoghurt

2 teaspoons palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

handful shelled pistachios, roasted and roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (355 degrees F).  Remove skin from pineapple and cut each slice in half crosswise.  Place in a shallow ovenproof dish in a single layer.  Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the warmed honey;  add in the scraped-out vanilla pod and cinnamon;  then pour all of the honey mixture over the pineapple.

Roast in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes;  turn the pineapple slices over and baste with the juices;  then roast for a further 10-15 minutes or until the pineapple is soft.  The juice will be thick, and syrupy.  Leave to cool in the juice.

To make the coconut yoghurt, combine the toasted coconut, yoghurt, palm sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl and mix well.  Taste and adjust the sweetness or vanilla to suit your tastes.  Refrigerate, covered, until you are ready to serve.

Serve pineapple slices on a plate, and drizzle some of the syrupy roasting juices over the top.  Serve a dollop of the coconut yoghurt on the side;  sprinkle on some of the roasted pistachios;  and lastly drizzle more of the juices over everything.

Eat, enjoy, and when you think no-one's watching go ahead and lick the plate!

This post is a contribution to Make it with ... Mondays challenge vanilla - the linky is still open until Monday 24 January, so keep your vanilla posts coming, and don't forget to check out this week's special ingredient which is quinoa.

I'm also linking this to the Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent Blog Hop - which category do you think it would fit into - I think it could go either way.