Lemon Caper Pasta
Courtesy of UNMC’s Culinary Interest Group
Nutrition as medicine
The recipes: For a healthier, more cost-effective option, skip takeout and prepare a dish from scratch at home. Here are two enticing options. Then check out some online extras at links here and here for recipes to make roasted salmon, quinoa salad, Mediterranean vegetable bisque and more.
First in pan
- 1/8 cup olive oil (enough to cover bottom of pan)
- 1/2 to 1 head garlic, thinly sliced
Second in pan
- 1 tablespoon basil or oregano
- 1-2 tablespoons capers (Briney taste)
- Splash caper brine
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Pinch red pepper flake
Third in pan
- 2 beaten eggs
- 3-4 ounces Parmesan cheese
- Extra pasta water, if sauce needs thinning
- Juice of 1/2-1 lemon
- 1 box preferred pasta (linguine or elbow are good choices)
- Salted water
1. Cook garlic on low heat so oil is lightly boiling (cooking too hotly will breakdown important volatile compounds)
2. Add spices, zest and capers (wind in pan) to the olive oil and garlic. Cook at a barely higher temperature for 5 minutes. The spices should not bubble but should be fragrant. If pasta needs more time, lower the temperature of the spices and garlic. Add pasta to salted boiling water, cook to al dente or slightly less than al dente; it will cook more in the final steps.
3. Maintain heat, add cooked pasta directly from water to the pan of oil and spices (it is OK if some pasta water is added). Mix until spices are thoroughly distributed. Add eggs, Parmesan and lemon juice; continually stir until cheese is melted and has formed a sauce. Add pasta water if sauce is too thick or to help melt cheese. The sauce should coat pasta, but not cause clumping.
Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
Courtesy of the Metropolitan Community College Institute for the Culinary Arts
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 9 ounces carrots, brunoise
- 9 ounces celery, brunoise
- 9 ounces onion, brunoise
- 1 clove garlic, pasted
- 1 lemon, zested & juiced
- 3 quart chicken stock
- Fat pinch, dried basil
- Fat pinch, dried oregano
- 1 each, bay leaf
- 1 pound chicken meat, cubed
- 5 ounces orzo, cooked and cooled
- 1/4 ounce fresh parsley, minced
- 3 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade
- 2 stems fresh oregano, minced
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1. In a large stock pot over medium high heat, add vegetable oil and heat until shimmering.
2. Into the shimmering oil, add the carrot, onions and celery, season and stir until fragrant — about three minutes.
3. Into the fragrant vegetables, add the pasted garlic and lemon zest and heat until just fragrant — about 90 seconds.
4. Into the sofrito, add a small splash of the chicken stock; stir vigorously to lift any sucs from the pan.
5. Add the remaining chicken stock and dried herbs; heat until simmering, reduce heat and maintain a simmer until vegetables are soft and broth is flavorful — about 45 minutes.
6. Five minutes before service, increase heat until soup just comes to a steady boil.
7. Into the boiling broth, add the finely cubed chicken and cooked orzo; broth should cool to a simmer, reduce heat to maintain simmer and stir frequently to break up chicken, simmer until chicken is cooked through — about seven minutes.
8. Finish with lemon juice and fresh herbs in the bowl. Yields 1 gallon.