Saturday, October 16, 2010

Bring the Garden in Friday with Pasta and Nine Herbs


When I woke up this morning, I looked up to our skylight and saw the tree leaves had turned from green to gold seemingly overnight.

Last weekend I cleared our cucumber plants out of the garden, but there is still eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and loads of herbs. We have one pumpkin growing.

I made this herbal arrangement because my HBinFive Bread Braid assignment called for rosemary and basil. I invite you to check out the bread baking we all did this week if you would like. In case you are not familiar with our group, we have been baking our way through Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Since I already had some herbs cut, I decided to make a pasta originally intended for ten herbs. I was missing chervil, so I adapted this recipe to become pasta with nine herbs. I used butter because it was a rainy, chilly evening, and I wanted something a little richer. The idea behind the pasta shape is to choose something that can hold the sauce in the nooks and crannies. The recipe called for Tripolini, which I was unable to find locally.

Pasta with Nine Herbs
adapted from Verdura

3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons chopped basil
2 tablespoons chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped sage
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1 teaspoon chopped marjoram
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
1/2 cup olive oil or 1 stick butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried red chile pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound small pasta shape (I used shells)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a medium saucepan, combine the fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic and red chile pepper flakes. Turn the heat to low, and gently stir the ingredients until the herbs turn bright green and release their fragrance, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile cook the pasta. When cooked, place in a serving bowl and toss with herb mixture. Serve immediately, passing the parmesan at the table.

1 comment :

  1. This sounds really good! You don't realize how wonderful fresh herbs are until you try a dish with a bunch of them in it. Your herb garden must have lots in it. I miss mine. I've been unable to plant one since we moved to KY into a rental house. Love your herb arrangement!!

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