Tagliatelle with Leeks and Prosciutto, topped with Pangrattato

This is one of my family's favourite pasta dishes. It's actually adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe.

The pasta is enhanced by a topping of pangrattato, etymology of which is from pane (bread) and grattato (grated). I read somewhere that this was the poor Italian man's substitute for parmesan cheese, which was a more expensive commodity. Pangrattato is made from dried mushroom, breadcrumbs, rosemary and garlic.  In Jamie's recipe, he uses dried porcini mushrooms, but since that is very expensive here in Singapore, I just use dried shitake mushrooms and it's fine.

The dish doesn't use as much pasta as other pasta dishes because half of it is made of leeks.

Salmorejo (Spanish Tomato & Bread Puree)

Went on a family trip to Spain last month and it was wonderful and unforgettable! Still missing Spain up to now. :(  We were able to taste a variety of food, some of which are very similar or exactly the same as Filipino food, such as Cochinillo (suckling pig, which we Pinoys call lechon), Callos a la Madrileña (tripe and chorizo stew), paella, among many others. One dish which made a strong impression on us was a dish from Southern Spain called Salmorejo.

We visited Cordoba (the home of the famous religious and architectural wonder, the Mezquita), and Salmorejo is a dish that originated from there. It is a puree made from fresh tomatoes, bread, garlic, and sherry vinegar, and is served cold, perfect for the summer months and during our visit in August, the hottest month in Spain. Salmorejo is topped with chopped jamon serrano and hard boiled eggs and is eaten with warm bread.

We fell in love with this dish and I've replicated it here.

My homemade Salmorejo, served with chopped hard boiled eggs and jamon serrano.

Spaghetti with (Giant!) Meatballs

This is a dish my son and I love to make together. It's simple, comfort food made from scratch. Nothing fancy, just pure, simple, fresh Italian flavours.

My son had fun mixing and making the meatballs, and we made too much, but I figured we'd eat the meatballs for breakfast this week too. You can also serve them with mushroom sauce (see post on My Mom's Hamburger recipe for the sauce here).

Don't let the picture deceive you. Those meatballs are huge; 2" in diameter!

Gnocchetti with Pistachio Pesto, Chorizo & Mushroom

As you may have noticed, I have been posting a lot about bread lately, due to the requirements of Panasonic Singapore (sponsor of the Best Cooking Blog category in the 2014 Singapore Blog Awards) to produce 3 recipes using their Bread Maker. Please don't forget to vote! You can do so EVERYDAY, till JULY 31! Please click on the links below to do so.

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But contest or no contest, life goes on for MySuit&Apron, and my weekly recipe posts shall continue.  So what shall it be this week? I consulted the whole family last night and showed them my 20 draft posts, and they voted for this pasta. I'm the official "pasta chef" in the family and it's one of my most favourite things to cook. This time it's Gnocchetti with Pistachio Pesto, Chorizo & Mushroom. Of course, if you don't have gnocchetti, you can substitute with any pasta you have at hand.

The recipe is a twist on the usual pesto which is made from basil leaves, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and oil. Pine nuts are sooo expensive here in Singapore, that I feel guilty just grinding them and "hiding" them in the sauce. Thus, I substituted that with pistachio nuts but still used whole, toasted pine nuts to mix with the pasta. This way, you can really taste the pine nuts with every bite. The combination with chorizo (and that delicious, orange lard that goes with it) makes this dish so flavourful. A little sinful, but hey, live a little, right?

Caramelized Pork Rib Stew with Egg

Have you ever tasted this delectable Vietnamese stew of pork belly with quail eggs? It's very hearty and is great with hot, steamed rice. It's a bit sweet, but oh so fatty. I've replicated it here, without all of the fat. This version is made from pork ribs instead of pork belly. We had it for Father's Day dinner. Yum!

Strozzapreti with Spinach, Mushrooms and Sundried Tomato

On a recent business trip to Cincinnati, I ate at an American Italian Restaurant with my friend and colleague, M. We had an antipasti of Buffalo Mozzarella, with Tomatoes and Basil. So fresh! We shared a pasta (you know how American servings are, soooo huge!), which the restaurant called as "Country Style Pasta with Brocollini," with oven dried tomatoes, garlic and white wine sauce.

When the dish arrived, the pasta looked like short strips of dough which were rolled, so that it almost looked like coils with thin ends. Then I remembered watching a food show a few months back, showing two old Italian grandmothers, hand rolling these pasta, which are actually called strozzapreti. Strozzapreti literally means "Priest Strangler!" Why? Check out the interesting story behind the unique name here.

A few days later, on the way back to Singapore, I passed by New York City for a few days. On a visit to a Greenwich Village shop selling cheese, jams, foie gras and other deli items, lo and behold, I saw strozzapreti there and bought some!

Inspired by that dish at that American Italian restaurant, I've recreated my version of the dish here, Strozzapreti with Spinach, Mushrooms and Sundried Tomato, especially dedicated to my Pinoy friend M, now a Cincinnati resident.

This is a vegetarian version but you can easily turn it into a non-vegetarian one by adding some sausages. Or even bacon.

Baked Cheesy Rigatoni with Spicy Sausage

This is like Mac & Cheese but only better. The rigatoni pasta is much bigger than macaroni, and holds more of the cheesy sauce, and the spicy sausage adds a flavour contrast to an otherwise rich dish. It's baked with flavoured breadcrumbs which makes the top crispy. Mmmmm!

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with Gravy

Here's another ultimate comfort food: Meatloaf! This is my Mom's recipe and I just modified it over the years. We usually eat this with Macaroni Salad with Celery and Pineapple (that's another recipe altogether; another blogpost.)

This is just everyday, comfort food for us, but I sometimes serve this at parties, and it's always a hit. My guests really love the moist, flavourful meat and the gravy that comes with it. I think it has something to do with the mix of beef, pork, Vienna sausage and chopped bacon in the mix itself. And of course, there's that glorious bacon wrapped around it.