Two takes on pasta

Today I've got a recipe post for the loyal readers. I like pasta, most people like pasta, so this is a no brainer. These are two directions I took a basic tomato sauce this weekend. One is a classic and the other is a bit more hip.

First the classic, Chicken Parmesan. I doubt its actually from Parma. Its probably Italian American, but I wouldn't want to say for sure. What is important is that its been overdone but still can be great. You'll need to start with some kind of tomato sauce. Something store bought can be ok, but making it yourself is best. This isn't too hard, and canned Italian plum tomatoes tend to yield the best results. I don't really use a recipe, but for guidance google "tomato sauce recipe" or go to www.foodtv.com. Warm the sauce up so it is ready for use.

Anyway, once you've got your sauce down, you'll need to get some chicken breasts or turkey breast steaks (for those of you in the UK, turkey is cheaper and every bit as good. I never buy chicken breasts here because of the ridiculous price). You'll need to pound them a bit so that they are about 1 cm thick. You can use a meat hammer to do this, or your fist. I use a fist. If you hit too hard you can separate the meat. A nice trick is to put the meat between two layer of plastic wrap.

Set the meat aside and put some flour with a good seasoning of salt and black pepper in a plate. In another bowl break in an egg and mix it up. Then in another plate put a couple of cups of bread crumbs (buy them or make them yourself) and add two handfuls of finely chopped pecans.

Now it time to get things rolling. Start by warming up a frying pan to a medium temperature with a mix of olive oil and vegetable oil. Bring a stock pot of water to the boil and get ready to cook some pasta, I like linguine or some substantial noodle. To prepare the meat, coat each piece in flour, then egg, and then the bread crumb mixture. When that's done start frying them. Start cooking the pasta after you start frying the meat. When the meat browns on each side, put it on a wire wrack and put mozzarella cheese on each piece. Put it in a hot oven to finish. When the pasta is al dente drain and put in the warm sauce. Finish the pasta in the sauce. Serve up the pasta on warm plates and take the now finished breaded turkey pieces and serve one with each plate.

Second pasta, with shrimp, mozzarella and rocket (arugala).

Ok, basically you are doing the same thing with the pasta and sauce as above. Get the water boiling, and the sauce just simmering. Only this time toss in some frozen (or fresh) shrimp into the sauce and let them cook (or warm up) depending on what is necessary. When the pasta is finished, toss it into the sauce and stir together over the heat for about one minute. Just as this is finishing off, toss in a few handful of fresh rocket and some small chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese, leaving some rocket for garnishing at the end. Plate up the pasta, put a handful of rocket on each plate, and grate over some Parmesan cheese. I thought these both worked out great.

Here's to cooking inspiration.

Once more into the breach,

Ben