The secrets to carefree weekday pasta dinners? First, stock the fixings. Dried pastas, tinned tomatoes, hard grating cheese, fully cooked meatballs or sausage, dried herbs and olive oil. Second, prep a few things in advance. I roast vegetables, make sauces, saute onions and mushrooms, slip an extra ear or two of corn into the pot, even cook ground meat a day or two ahead. At dinner time, I simply reheat ingredients and boil water.
The recipes that follow are my homage to the waning days of farmers markets and farm stands. I’m happily buying up the last of the local tomatoes, corn and fresh peppers. With any luck, there are still herbs in the garden for a quick pesto.
The cilantro-almond pesto here uses lots of fresh cilantro and no cheese, which makes a light sauce for flat pastas such as fettucine, linguine or tagliatelle. I also add a little fresh basil because I love the slight licorice taste it imparts. Other options to add to the cilantro include the tender fronds from a bulb of fresh fennel, or a leaf or two of fresh epazote or hoja santa, herbs common in Mexican cooking.
Make the pesto several days in advance and refrigerate it in a jar. Always cover the pesto with a thick film of olive oil as a barrier to prevent browning. Then remove the pesto from the refrigerator so it can warm to room temperature before tossing it with the hot pasta.
Time-crunched? Use store-bought pesto with some chopped fresh cilantro stirred into it. Likewise, feel free to substitute frozen meatballs for the homemade chicken version below. Another fast option is to simply slice fully cooked chicken sausage and brown the slices to serve with the pesto pasta.
The meatballs can be formed several hours ahead of cooking and refrigerated. Once cooked, they will keep about two days in the refrigerator.
As for the rest of my pasta meal, I just want good, hearty bread to use to clean every drop from my plate. And perhaps a simple salad of bitter greens, such as romaine and radicchio dressed with a little olive oil and sherry vinegar.
Fettucine with Cilantro-Almond Pesto and Chicken Meatballs
This recipe takes about 50 minutes to prepare and serves 5 to 6.
You can swap in frozen chicken meatballs for homemade. Or, use 4 or 5 fully-cooked chicken sausages; slice them and brown lightly in a skillet before serving.
Chicken and spinach meatballs:
1 large egg, beaten
1 pound ground chicken (or turkey)
1/2 cup panko or dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chopped fresh baby spinach or arugula
2 green onions, thinly sliced or 2 tablespoons dried chives
1/2 small jalapeno, seeded, minced, optional
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon each: dried oregano, black pepper
Cilantro-almond pesto:
1/2 cup blanched whole, sliced or slivered almonds, 2 1/2 ounces
2 or 3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves (OK to leave on small stems)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped (about 1 ounce total)
1/2 cup olive oil
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon or 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Expeller-pressed canola, safflower or sunflower oil
1 pound fettuccine noodles, or linguine or tagliatelle
1 1/2 cups cooked or roasted corn kernels, optional
1 1/2 cups roughly chopped fresh ripe tomatoes (or a 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained)
Fresh herb sprigs
Grated queso anejo, cotija or asiago cheese
For the meatballs, lightly beat the egg in a large bowl. Add remaining meatball ingredients in order listed. Use clean hands to combine. Form 16 meatballs, each 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place them on a baking sheet. Refrigerate, covered, about 30 minutes (or up to 12 hours).
For pesto, process almonds in a high-speed blender or food processor until finely chopped. Add garlic, cilantro and basil. With machine running, add oil and 1 tablespoon water in a slow steady stream until mixture is smooth. Scrape into a bowl; stir in lemon zest, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Makes about 3/4 cup. (Can be refrigerated for several days; scrape into a small jar and add a layer of olive oil on top to completely cover pesto _ this prevents browning. Cover with a lid and refrigerate. Use at room temperature.)
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Coat the skillet lightly with canola oil. Add meatballs in an uncrowded layer. Cover with a splatter guard. Cook, turning often, until golden brown on all sides, 12 to 14 minutes. (Reduce heat to medium-low to avoid over-browning.) Use warm or refrigerate, covered, up to 2 days. Reheat gently in the microwave before using.
Heat a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add fettuccine and cook, stirring often, until al dente (nearly tender when a strand is bitten), about 10 minutes. Scoop out and save about 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta. Pour into a large heated serving bowl. Top with pesto; toss to mix. Add dribbles of the reserved cooking water if needed to loosen things up a bit. Add corn and tomatoes. Toss gently. Add meatballs. Garnish with herb sprigs. Serve right away, passing the cheese at the table.