Delicious Dishes : Giada's Orecchiette (Pasta)

One of my favorite creative outlets is cooking. It has become challenging to accomplish with two little ones, but I try to fit it in at least once a week. A homemade meal makes it's way into my "to be repeated" category when it lasts for more than one night (we moms love leftover nights!), isn't too challenging to figure out, and tastes absolutely delicious. Now, I know that seems like I'm being kinda picky, but these meals do exist! My goal is to share my meal of the week with you so that I can let other moms (or whoever is cooking dinner) know what is worth putting your time, effort, and money into.

This week's delicious dish comes from my all time favorite chef, Giada De Laurentiis. I LOVE (understatement) Italian food, especially pasta dishes. Do not be surprised if many of the recipes I share on here are pasta! It's hard to ruin, usually delicious, involves cheese (another favorite of mine), and it's a great food for runners. This meal is called Orecchiette with Sausage, Beans, and Mascarpone. It was my first time making it and it was scrumptious! I chose to go with this one because we already had sausage in our freezer, as well as some orecchiette in the pantry. Orecchiette means "little ears" in Italian because this type of pasta actually looks like little ears. It soaks up the mascarpone cheese, while the sausage and beans can be found tucked away inside the "ear". Yum, yum, yum!

How cute is this pasta? Little ears!

What do you need?
1 lb. oreccheiette (or other small pasta)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. sausage (I used regular mild sausage but Giada uses turkey)
1 onion, chopped
1 (15 oz.) cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
2 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves (or just a bunch - that's how I usually use herbs, throw 'em all in!)
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (but I used an entire 8 oz...the more cheese the better in my book)
salt & pepper (for flavor)

Now, this does take a little bit of focus and concentration, so I recommend giving the kids something to do. Victoria has a cabinet in the kitchen that is hers and is filled with "child friendly" cooking bowls and utensils so she can "cook" while I cook. Samuel is constantly crawling in all places he shouldn't be, so I either stick him in the highchair with some puffs to much on, or let him bounce in the exersaucer.

my little chef

The pasta: Boil water & cook your pasta. It takes about 8-10 minutes. Now I have come to realize that not all people know how to cook pasta. So this is important because YES, you can mess this up!
Heat water (I usually fill my pot about 1/2-3/4 way full) and put in a few dashes of salt to flavor the water. It will make the pasta taste better. Add your pasta to the water once it's boiling. Don't put it in and then wait for it to boil - that's another NO-NO. Then, once it's close to the itme it says to cook it on the box, start checking to see how it tastes. You DO NOT want to cook your pasta so long that it's all floppy. That is not how it is meant to be cooked and is a major misconception! You want to cook it al dente so that it is tender, but firm to the bite. Also, before you drain your pasta, use a large ladle to spoon out about 1 cup of the pasta water. You will use this reserved water to add to the sauce and it is SO important! You do not want to use water from the sink because it will not have the same flavoring and thickness of your pasta water.

The sauce: While your water is boiling/pasta is cooking, start your sauce. In a large skillet, heat your olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion together and break up the sausage. Cook until the sausage is brown and the onion is tender. Add the beans and the oregano and cook for another couple of minutes. Now you will add in the reserved cooking water, stir, add the cheese, and stir until the cheese dissolves into a sauce. Add salt and pepper for flavoring and then add the pasta. Stir until it's all mixed together and voila! Dinner is served. OH! And Giada did not do this, but I added some grated parmesan to the top. I always add parmesan to my Italian meals because it's fabulous and tastes good on everything! I feel like my meals are naked without it. I recommend buying a block of parmesan and grating it yourself whenever you need it rather than buying pre-grated parmesan. It's always much fresher that way.

This meal was not only loved by the adults in the house, but 2-year-old Victoria loved eating the "little ears", and 9-month-old Samuel enjoyed the beans! Just the right size for his two teeth to munch on. It also lasted for about 2 and 1/2 nights of meals (4-6 servings) - that means it's a winner!

Enjoy!

xoxo,