It's a pasta recipe with lots of vegetables, as healthy as it is, but do you know that another key element lies on Parmigiano Reggiano rinds?
That's right, the tough and sometimes being leftout cheese rinds. So next time when you have some leftover cheese rinds, especially the good aged Parmigiano Reggiano rinds, please do treat them with some respect. The Parmigiano Reggiano rinds can still contribute by adding extra savory depth to the dishes you make, especially in a braise, a stew, or even soup recipes.
Pasta all'Ortolana -
Ingredients (about 5 portions)?
- 1 pack/500 grams short pasta
- 1 eggplant
- 300 grams cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1 bundle/30 grams basil
- 1 big bulb shallot (about 1/3 cup peeled and sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 small chunk aged Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
- 1 cup pasta water
- Some salt
- Some extra virgin olive oil
How?
Peel and slice the shallot, we will need about 1/3 cup once peeled and sliced. Peel and slice the garlic cloves.
Destem and cube the eggplant. Destem, remove the pith and seeds, and cube the yellow bell pepper. Destem and cube the zucchini. Save some fresh basil leaves for garnish in the end and chop the rest. Halve the cherry tomatoes.
Prepare a big pot of water and bring to a boil. Sprinkle few pinches of salt and add in the pasta. I used calamarata pasta this time, but any type of short pasta works such as penne or casarecce.
Cook till the pasta turns almost al dente. Scoop some pasta water out and save for later. Drain the remaining liquid.
While cooking the pasta, prepare a big pot and drizzle about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Switch to medium heat and wait till the temperature gets hot. Add in cubed eggplant, yellow bell pepper, and zucchini. Give it a quick sear, stir once a while too.
Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano. Also add 1 teaspoon of red chili flakes if desired. Give it a quick mix. Doesn't need to cook for long. Scoop everything out and set aside for now.
Still using the same pot, drizzle 2 more tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and keep at a medium heat. Once warm enough, add in halved cherry tomatoes along with shallot slices and garlic slices. Cook till cherry tomatoes softened. Mix in 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, mix till blended and cook for another 30 seconds or so.
Add in chopped basil along with about 1 cup of pasta water and 1 square of the aged Parmigiano Reggiano cheese rind. Let the whole thing cook for about 5 minutes.
Time to transfer seared vegetables back to the pot. Also season with more salt during this step too, about 1 teaspoon. Mix and cook for couple more minutes.
Remove the cheese rind and add in drained pasta. Toss to blend, cook for another minute.
Taste and add more seasonings if needed. Once checked, drizzle some more extra virgin olive oil all around and toss towards the end.
Plate and grate some aged Parmigiano Reggiano over. Garnish with whole basil leaves saved in the beginning.
Besides utilizing cheese rinds in stew-like dishes, I know that some people also fry the rinds. The end result is puffed up and crispy bites to munch on. That I haven't tried. Seems like a fun thing to do but probably going to make some mess in the kitchen though.
Knowing the risk of oil splashing everywhere, I'm still up for the challenge. Just let me move everything out of the way from the frying pot first.
Other healthy pasta recipes:
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