Ziti With Mushroom And Green Peppercorn Sauce Recipes

HERBY SPINACH AND MUSHROOM BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes and 1 cup water. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat slightly, add the basil sprigs and simmer rapidly, uncovered, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the basil sprigs and stir in the chopped basil and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Cook the ziti in the salted boiling water until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl.
• Add the tomato sauce, half of both the mozzarella and Parmesan to the bowl and stir well to combine. Transfer the pasta to a 3- to 4-quart baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until browned, about 15 minutes. Let the pasta stand about 10 minutes before serving.

FETTUCCINE WITH CREAMY MUSHROOM AND GREEN PEPPERCORN SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a big saucepan over medium heat; add in shallots; cook 5 minutes or until softened.
• Add in the mushrooms; cook 2 minutes to soften.
• Sprinkle the flour over the shallots/mushroom mixture, cook/stir for 1 minute to remove the raw taste from the flour.
• Decrease heat to low; slowly add the milk, stirring constantly to thicken.
• Add in the peppercorns and salt to taste; simmer 5 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
• Keep warm over very low heat.
• Cook the fettuccine in a big pot of salted boiling water, stirring occasionally, until it is al dente.
• When the pasta is cooked, drain and place in a shallow serving bowl.
• Add the sauce; toss lightly to combine, and serve immediately.

BAKED ZITI WITH MUSHROOMS, PEPPERS, AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Chop yellow bell peppers and onion and mince garlic. In a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan cook yellow peppers, onion, and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until peppers are soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in cream. In a blender puree mixture in batches (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper. (Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Bring sauce to room temperature before proceeding.)
• Thinly slice mushrooms lengthwise and cut red and orange bell peppers into 1/4-inch-wide strips. In a deep large heavy skillet cook mushrooms and peppers in remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until peppers are softened and most of liquid is evaporated, about 8 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Fill a 6- to 7-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil. Stir in ziti and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain ziti well in a colander. Rinse ziti and drain well. Thinly slice scallion greens. Into sauce stir ziti, mushroom mixture, scallion greens, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, reserved cooking water, and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture into a 3-quart shallow baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan.
• Bake ziti in middle of oven until hot and pasta begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

STEAK AU POIVRE WITH A MUSHROOM, GREEN PEPPERCORN, AND DIJON SAUCE AND POMMES FRITES WITH A GARLIC AIOLI DIPPING SAUCE AND A FRESH VEGETABLE RELISH

Steps:

• Use a meat mallet to slightly reduce the thickness of each steak. Spread both sides of each steak with a thin coating of Dijon mustard. Sprinkle with salt and cover both sides with coarsely ground black pepper. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and cook the steaks 3 to 4 minutes on each side. The steaks should be rare at this point. Set them aside and lightly cover them so they stay warm. Do not wash out the pan.
• Mushroom, Green Peppercorn and Dijon sauce: Heat the butter in a medium sized saute pan over medium-high heat and saute the garlic and shallots for approximately 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, raise the heat to high, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add beef stock, cream, and mustard, and then reduce the sauce by 1/2. Once the sauce is made, reheat the skillet, in which the steaks were cooked, to medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook for another 2 minutes on each side for a medium-rare steak. Transfer them to dinner plates, which have been coated with the mushroom Dijon sauce. Once you plate the steaks, spoon more of the sauce on top of each steak. Serve with Pommes Frites, Aioli, and Vegetable Relish.
• Thoroughly clean the outer surface of the russets and peel the skin using a vegetable peeler. Slice the potatoes lengthwise into thick strips. Pour enough vegetable oil in a pot to cover the potato slices. Once the oil is hot, carefully put the potato strips into the pot and fry them until they are brown and crispy. Remove the potatoes from the pot and drain the excess oil onto paper towels. Salt and pepper, to taste, while the potatoes are still hot. Serve with a fresh Garlic Aioli Dipping Sauce.
• Finely mince 1 or 2 cloves of garlic in a food processor. Add in the egg yolks and then squeeze the juice from a couple of lemons into the processor bowl. Blend the ingredients together until they fully integrate. While the mixture processes, slowly drizzle in olive oil until the sauce emulsifies.
• Dice all of the ingredients and combine them in a medium sized bowl. Stir the diced vegetables together, until they are fully integrated.

CREAMY PEPPERONI ZITI

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, soup, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms, green pepper, tomato, cream, broth and seasonings., Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until bubbly.

ZITI WITH CHESTNUTS AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Cut a ring around each chestnut, then put them in boiling water to cover and cook for 3 minutes. Remove them from the water, a few at a time, and peel while still hot. Meanwhile, soak the mushrooms in about 1 1/2 cups of very hot water.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put half the butter or oil in a skillet, turn the heat to medium-high, and, a minute later, add the shallot. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook, stirring, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Chop the chestnuts into 1/2- to 1/4-inch chunks, then measure about 1 cup. Add them to the skillet along with a little more salt.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chestnuts deepen in color, about 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from their soaking liquid; reserve and strain the liquid. Chop the mushrooms and add them to the skillet; cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then add the strained mushroom-soaking liquid. Turn the heat to low and season to taste with salt and lots of black pepper.
• Cook the pasta until tender but not mushy. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the pasta-cooking water to it when the pasta is nearly done. Stir in the remaining butter or oil, then drain the pasta and dress with the sauce. Serve immediately.
• Variations
• Add a few fresh thyme sprigs along with the shallot. Remove before serving and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves as a garnish.
• Add diced (1/4 inch or less) zucchini; peeled, seeded, and diced tomato; or red bell pepper-no more than a cup total-along with the chestnuts.
• Peeling Chestnut
• There are many ways to peel chestnuts, which like most nuts have a hard outer shell and a soft inner skin. Removing them both is a three-step process. First, use a paring knife-a curved one with a sharp point makes this quick and easy-to cut a ring around the equator of each nut or make an X on the flat side. Plunge the nuts into boiling water to cover for about three minutes, then turn off the heat, leaving the chestnuts in the water. Remove two or three at a time and, using the knife and your fingers, peel off both shell and skin; use a towel to protect your hands from the heat if necessary. If you're doing a large batch-say, twenty or more-you'll notice that as the water cools the skins become more difficult to remove. Bring the pot back to a boil and they'll begin to slip off again. And, although the exact count of chestnuts for this dish is not critical, I begin with fifteen, because there are usually a couple of rotten ones, or some whose inner skin refuses to come off. These must be discarded.

GREEN BEANS WITH CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots; cook until deep golden, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain shallots on paper towels, reserving drippings in skillet.
• Add green beans, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to reserved drippings. Cook over medium-high heat, covered, for 2 minutes. Cook, uncovered, until beans are crisp-tender and starting to blister, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes more. Transfer to a platter; keep warm.
• For mushroom sauce, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Add mushrooms; cook and stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Add thyme, garlic, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Cook until mushrooms are golden, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes more. Mix in flour; gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Continue cooking and stirring for 2 minutes more.
• Pour mushroom sauce over beans and top with sauteed shallots and crumbled goat cheese.