Pasta a la Julia

Nah! There’s no such thing as Pasta a la Julia. Unless of course, the famous Julia Child made something like that with considerable amount of humility and named it after her. I titled this post Pasta a la Julia because that’s the name I want to give to this “original recipe” I made today. Naks! Haha. Since my name is Julie, I somehow presumed that this title would be appropriate for this entry.

Im just kidding.

Anyways, I really want to consider this meal as “my” own recipe because I didn’t follow anything from internet or cookbook. For the first time, I cooked with my instinct. I just want to make something like Pollo al Gorgonzola, the pasta i ate in Spaghettim last week. It was with seared chicken breasts, onion, cream and mushrooms. I found half a cup of cream leftover inside the fridge, a can of champignon inside my cupboard and 2 chicken breasts inside the freezer. I was thinking, I could make “something” like Pollo al Gorgonzola today! Yehey!

Without so much ado, I made my own version without so much expectation, I must say, that I can really make a good pasta out of these things. But a little disclaimer: Any of you who will try this recipe at home and will not like it, I will not be the one to blame. OK? Though I can honestly say it was delicious, I cannot assure anyone that it’s very good. Again, this is a test recipe, do it at your own risk. Haha!

Ingredients:

350g Penne Pasta or any pasta you like
50 g. butter
1/2 cup all purpose cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 large chicken breasts; cubed
1 can champignon or about 1/2 cup button mushrooms; sliced
1 large onion; finely chopped
1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
100 ml. white wine
Grated Parmesan

Ok, honestly I forgot to put wine. But I wan’t to include that in this recipe. If you don’t like alcohol then you can exclude it.

• Boil your pasta
• In a sauce pan, melt butter; fry onion until transparent
• dump in chicken breasts and fry for about 2 minutes
• dump in mushrooms and fry for another 2 minutes
• pour the wine (again, you can omit this if you want); let it boil until almost all the wine evaporated
• pour in chicken broth and let it simmer for a while
• add cream and all the dried herbs; lower your fire this time.
• salt and pepper to taste.
• Now by this time your pasta should be cooked (not overcooked); drain it and put it back to the pan
• Pour your chicken sauce over your pasta; dump in some parmesan cheese; mix well and cover for about 3 minutes. The pasta will actually absorb some of the sauce.
• After 3 minutes; mix it again and it’s ready to serve.
• Sprinkle some grated parmesan on top and you have Pasta a la Julia.

I am very much sure that there are thousands of recipes out there that are pretty much the same as this. But with all honesty, I didn’t make this based on any recipe. I know that once, I made chicken breast with tarragon and it’s almost the same as what I did today except of course this is pasta. 

DISCLAIMER: What I wrote here was from the core of my head and the tip of my tongue. Any recipe which is in any way completely the same with what I did is purely coincidental. Thank you.

So, I hope one of you will try this recipe and I really really love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a message. Enjoy!

A Sunday Bliss

After a hectic week of dealing with our workloads, my sister and I spent the Sunday together for a long day of window shopping, eating, laughing and dreaming. We spent the whole day around Dizengoff Center where we usually drag ourselves to have some good time. We agreed that we were both fed up of eating the same thing in Boston Deli so we found ourselves inside Spaghettim, a pasta and pizza resto a few blocks away from Dizengoff Center. I was too excited because I’m now into food blogging and stuffs but I forgot my camera at home. Instead, I settled for my reliable phone.. again.

Prices are not so expensive and they have like 50 different kinds of pizzas and pastas.

My 12 NIS (120 pesos) fresh orange juice that i thought was 32 NIS. Haha. 

I had Pollo Al Gorgonzola (I’m not really sure). I just know that I ordered something with “pollo” in it. Hehe. It was sooo delicious and the whole serving can actually serve 3 moderate eaters for the price of one. It was with seared chicken breast, mushroom, onions and cream. After eating the whole thing, I realized that my stomach capacity is way bigger than I thought. Haha.

My sister had this Pasta Bolognese which became here instant favorite. I took a bit and it was heavenly. It’s a bit spicy, sweet and sour plus a kick of basil and onion. And again, the serving was insane. It was served in a huge huge serving plate. It’s 52 NIS and it’s worth the price.

My sister Jean, waiting for her food while I was so anxious to take pictures for this blog.. Hahaha!

This is not a paid blog but for you guys living here in Tel-Aviv, you can check this resto out. They are located at the corner of Sderot Ben Tsion and King George St. I’m sure they have several branches ’round Israel so the next time you crave for pizza or pasta, I highly recommend Spaghettim. Waitresses are friendly and yes, they speak very good English. No fuss for Israel foreigners. =) 

Check out their website http://www.spaghettim.co.il/

Pasta Primavera

 ..from Fridge Leftovers!


      I found some asparagus, leeks and zucchinis inside the fridge this morning and I spent half an hour figuring out what to do with them before they go to waste. Then I remember the Pasta Primavera video that I found in youtube about a year ago. It was from Chef John, my favorite internet chef ( www.foodwishes.com ) and I decided to make my own version of this healthy spring vegetable pasta. Though I didn’t find the other peas at home, I think what I had was enough to make it yummy. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 large leek chopped, (discarding the green part); washed thoroughly 
2 jalapeno, diced
1 bunch basil
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic
2 green zucchini, diced
1 bunch asparagus, stalks diced, tips left whole
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, or as needed
1 pound fettuccine/or any pasta
1/2 cup green peas
salt and pepper


1.  wash all your vegetables thoroughly and cut them in cubes.
2.  boil a pot of water for your pasta.
3.  hold the bunch of basil by the stem and soak it in boiling water in 2-3 seconds then wash it with cold water.
4.  tear off the leaves and put it in the blender or food processor with the cloves of garlic, olive oil and  chicken broth. Blend it until smooth or puree.
5.  On medium heat, fry your leeks and green onions in 2 tbsp of olive oil for about five minutes.
6.  Add the jalapeno; add salt and cook for another 5 minutes.
7.  Add your zucchini and peas; Add a quarter cup of chicken broth; turned the heat to medium high.
8.  After 5 minutes, throw in your asparagus for another 3 minutes.
9.  Add half of your basil puree and cook for 1 minute.
10.Turn off heat.
11. Drain your cooked pasta and put it in a large bowl (Don’t rinse with cold water)
12. Throw in your vegetable mixture into the pasta and toss it around.
13. Pour in the rest of the basil mixture; Toss and dump in your grated Parmesan; Toss again
14. Cover it with aluminum foil or plate and let it sit for about 5 minutes for the pasta to absorb the water.
15. Toss it and serve with Parmesan on top.


Enjoy!