Here’s a creative way to serve Stuffed Rigatoni with ricotta and spinach. A little of this and that.
A simple way to prepare steamed vegetables instead of tomotoe sauce for tasty Stuffed Rigatoni with Ricotta and Spinach.
This took less than 15 minutes to prepare. How? When you are boiling the pasta water, I began to steam the baby spinach (takes minutes). I tossed 1 tbsp. pesto, 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes and dash of heat – need a little heat with (red chil flakes).
Toss the stuffed rigatoni in the pan of flavored spinach. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and freshly grated parmigiano.
Wanted to share the YOUtube video of the Book Launch Event. This photo was taken with Pal di Iulio, President&CEO of Villa Charities (L) and Corrado Paina, Executive Directory, Italian Chamber of Commerce of Toronto (R).
It was an incredible event, with friends, family and the community where I grew up sharing this special moment. It was great to break break with everybody and want to share this with you.
What is more delicious and nutritious having a nice dish of steam spinach sauteed with extra virgin olive oil, garlic and red chili flakes. It took five minutes to prepare!
Did you know that spinach is a very high nutritional value and rich in antioxidants and sources of vitamic C and the other alphabet of vitamins.
Any leftovers are great for a next day spinach omelette or with a little pasta!
Ingredients:
spinach, bag (washed)
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 cloves garlic, sliced
dash of red chili flakes
salt, to taste
Directions:
Heat 1 tbsp. of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, red chili flakes, a little salt and sautee the spinach for 2-3 minutes. I also add 2 tbsp. of water and then top the pan with a lid. It steams at the same time and cooks evenly.
I was watching a segment of Bill Maher’s interview with Alice Waters on HBO.
It makes me realize “What has happened” to our culture? I was raised from a first generation upbringing of organic and ps. no soda pop unless we had company or a special occassion. My God, has it come to this crisis of multi billion dollar education in schools and how to eat?
I am so thrilled that one of my passions is food and sharing with you my first book “Breaking Bread in L’Aquila”. It’s all about simple, fresh, rustic, a touch of elegance – with my a little of this and that (yes, breaking rules too)! Don’t forget to use your linens, dishes and have fun!
I think it’s something everybody needs at the end of day – breaking bread with our friends or family. I think if we do more this, the world would be a much more happier and healthier place.
Here’s to fresh, simple, mindful cooking with a twist of breaking rules!
Thanks to Nancy Frater, our Canadian bookseller for donating her time and selling Breaking Bread in L’Aquila at the Book Launch. It’s nice to hear what others are saying….
“When our customers picked up this cookbook they were delighted to find the recipes were easy to follow, not a lot of prep time and not a lot of ingredients. This cookbook may bring fresh memories of Italian cooking for Italians but it’s also a great book for the rest of us to start cooking Italian-style”.
Nancy Frater BookLore is for folks who take life literally! www.booklore.ca
