Penne in Almond Sauce

I like all of Giada De Laurentiis' recipes. And now I want to post one of her easy and simple recipes to make Penne in Almond Sauce. It's so tasty!


Ingredients
1 pound penne pasta, 2 cups (9 ounces) slivered almonds, 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock, 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and smashed), 2 grilled chicken breasts (skinned and boned), 1 cup frozen petite peas (can be replaced with French Beans cut it into small pieces), 3/4 cup heavy cream, 1 large lemon (zested; I used 1 table spoon of lemon juice too), 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, pinch of salt and pepper. 

Method
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and grill on a grill pan. After it is cooked, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups). Set a side.

2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over a high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite (al dente), stirring occasionally, for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

3. In a blender, combine the almonds, chicken stock, olive oil, and garlic. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the mixture into a large skillet and turn the heat on to medium. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken, peas, cream and lemon zest. Cook, stirring frequently until the chicken is heated through, for about 4 minutes (mixture will be thick). Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

4. Put the cooked pasta into a serving bowl and add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Toss together until the pasta is coated. Add the chicken mixture, the remaining cheese, and the basil. Toss the ingredients together, adding the reserved pasta water, as needed, to loosen the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Enjoy your cooking!
Geniet van het koken!

Poffertjes: Tiny Cheese Pancakes with Herb Butter

Hi, I'm back! For almost one year I did not post a new recipe on my blog. I just recovered from my illness and now I feel so great to share my recipes to you once again.

Poffertjes is the name of mini pancakes in Dutch. I made these Poffertjes with cheese and herb butter instead the regular sweet Poffertjes. These pancakes are really good as a snack in the afternoon with a cup of tea. A bit more of a hearty then a sweet snack, that is my husband's opinion :-).

Poffertjes: Tiny Cheese Pancakes with Herb Butter

The ingredients:

400 ml milk
1/2 tsp dried yeast
200 g all purpose flour
100 g buckwheat flour (can be replaced by full wheat flower)
pinch of salt
1 egg
100 g grated mature Gouda cheese or another full-flavoured cheese
freshly ground pepper
40g melted butter


For the herb butter:
125 g softened butter
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped chives
1 tsp finely chopped chervil


Method:
1. Heat the milk until lukewarm. Crumble or sprinkle the yeast into a small bowl, add a splash of milk and mix until smooth. In a big bowl, beat the flour, buckwheat flour, salt, yeast mixture, egg and the remaining warm milk with a whisk into a smooth batter. Whisk to remove any lumps. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.


2. While waiting for the batter to rise, you can prepare the herb butter. Combine the butter, lemon juice, and finely chopped herbs in a bowl. Set aside. In my experience, I only put chopped parsley instead of chives and chervil; the tasted will still be very good.


3. Stir the grated cheese and pepper into the batter. Lightly grease the Poffertjes pan (I used a Mud Cake pan because I don't have a Poffertjes pan) and fill the depressions about half full with the batter. Quickly cook the tiny pancakes. Turn them when golden and almost dry on top and cook the other side.


4. Serve with a knob of herb butter. 


Courtesy of: Dutch Cooking Today 
(Thank you to Inge Zentgraaff for giving me this recipe book!) 

For someone who doesn't have this book and want to cook poffertjes with a different taste instead then sweet Poffertjes I share this recipe.


Selamat Makan!
Eet smakelijk