Sunday dinner

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A very happy pasta dish to you

Grilled salmon and penne pasta all plated and ready to eat!

If there is one food that makes me deliriously happy, it’s a pasta dish.

I love pasta.

What more can I say.

I love pasta made any way.

I love pasta shapes that cling to the sauce.

I love pasta shapes that swirl in my mouth.

My Penne Pasta with Grilled Salmon recipe is a real winner.

It’s better than any chicken dinner.

Listen to me on 947thewave.radio.com website as I step you though this delicious recipe. Just click on the picture.

Well enough with the schoolhouse rhymes. This family-style recipe is a great addition to your repertoire. The delicate sauce is delicious and tasty. The grilled salmon makes it a filling, one-skillet meal that is great for Sunday dinner, special occasions, or just because you like pasta.

I hope you enjoy what I would say is my favorite go-to recipe because I always have the ingredients on hand and ready to deploy for a quick family dinner, or when unexpected guests arrive hungry carrying a bottle of Pinot – which they have been known to do because they know I am always cooking up something.

Bon appétit!

  • Difficulty: You can do it!
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A lovely penne pasta and grilled salmon dish that is pure love


Ingredients


2 pounds of salmon filets, skin removed
Cajun Seasoning
Olive oil

Ingredients For pasta
1 pound Penne pasta
2 can fire-roasted tomatoes (do not drain)
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ medium red onions, chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Cracked black pepper to taste
Fresh basil leaves
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions


How to make the grilled salmon

  1. Wash and pat dry fish.
  2. Drizzle a little olive oil on both sides of fish and season each side with your favorite seasoning or spice rub.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add fish fillets, and cook 2 minutes on both sides to brown. Remove from heat. Place fish on a baking sheet and place in oven set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.
  4. After 10 minutes, remove from oven to cool.

How to make pasta sauce

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet set at medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until tender and translucent about 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat resistant spatula.
    Add chopped garlic and sauté until fragrant, just under a minute.
  2. Add both cans of fire-roasted tomatoes, Kalamata olives, chopped red onion, ¼ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and cracked pepper (to taste). Mix well.
  3. With a potato smasher, mash tomatoes in the skillet until all the tomato pieces are crushed.
    Turn up heat to bring mixture to a gentle boil. Then cover with a lid and reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
  4. While sauce is simmering, cook the pasta according to directions until al dente – meaning it is firm and not overcooked. Chef tip: make sure to add 1 tablespoon of salt to the pasta water. This is your only chance to thoroughly favor the pasta.
  5. When the pasta is done, drain it in the sink, but reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
    Add cooked pasta to sauce in the skillet and mix well. Add half of the pasta water to loosen sauce. Add more if necessary.

Bringing it all together

  1. Break the cooled salmon filet into generous pieces and place the pieces of fish on top of the pasta.
    Serve with torn fresh basil leaves and Parmesan cheese grated over the entire pan or on separate servings, if desired.

Vegan option: top pasta pan-grilled asparagus and grilled corn.

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Cabbage please, indeed

Roasted cabbage and oven fried chicken wings.

In my moments of repose, I often ponder random questions, such as:

“How much cabbage have I eaten in my lifetime?”

In all seriousness, cabbage was pretty much a staple vegetable in my mom’s repertoire. When feeding a family of six, it was the perfect choice. It was inexpensive, filing, nutritious and a good source of roughage – now we call that fiber.

Stock pot of  cut cabbage ready for traditional Southern preparation.

For the most part, mom would cook a head of cabbage Southern style, cutting it into strips and slow cooking it in a pot with onions and bacon fat. That smoky, tasty pot of cabbage accompanied many Sunday dinners of roasted pork pot roast and mashed potatoes with pan gravy.

Ahhh .  .  .  what memories.

I still enjoy cabbage. Now that I know there are literally hundreds of varieties of the cruciferous vegetable grown all over the world, I’ve made it a point in my culinary journey to experience as many of them as I can.

Cannonball cabbage is widely available year round.

But the beloved cannonball cabbage of my youth, commonly known as green cabbage, remains my favorite.

Today, I have a new favorite way of preparing cabbage. I roast it.

Roasting draws out the natural sweetness in vegetables, and brings out an aromatic smokiness. Cooked at high heat, this process gently seams the leafy layers of the cabbage wedges and makes them tender, but not mushy. And more importantly, roasting maintains more of the nutrients which leach out when vegetables are cooked in liquid.

If you like cabbage as much as I do and you are looking for another recipe and cooking method to add to your cabbage repertoire, you will enjoy this roasted cabbage recipe.

The smokiness of the charred leaves combined with a delicate homemade, Asian inspired vinaigrette and garnish of cilantro and grated carrots will become a great alternative to your Sunday pot of Southern cabbage.

Oven Roasted Cabbage with Asian Inspired Vinaigrette

  • Servings: 4 to 6
  • Difficulty: Very easy
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Smoky charred leaves drizzled with a delicate homemade, Asian inspired vinaigrette.

Ingredients


1 medium head cabbage, cut into 4 to 6 wedges
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Balsamic vinegar for drizzling, optional
salt, cracked black pepper, garlic powder red pepper flakes

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 420°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  2. Rinse cabbage and remove the outer layers.
  3. Cut cabbage into 4 wedges, 6 wedges if the cabbage is very large.
  4. Arrange cabbage wedges on baking sheet. Drizzle  1/2 teaspoon of olive oil on each side of the wedge,
    then season with salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. (Optional, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.)
  5. Turn wedges on side and place baking sheet in oven and roast until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
  6. Flip wedges and continue roasting until tender and deeply browned, another 10 minutes.
  7. Remove from oven, plate and drizzle with vinaigrette and garnish with chopped cilantro and grated carrots.

 


Asian Inspired Vinaigrette

  • Servings: 4 to 6
  • Difficulty: Very easy
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A delicate homemade, Asian inspired vinaigrette.


Ingredients


2 tablespoons Extra-virgin olive
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon honey
Cracked pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Whisk until thickened.
  3. Drizzle over roasted cabbage.