herbs » Living Lou

Herbed Pasta with Garlic and Walnuts

I’m usually more of a saucy and cheesy pasta kind of girl. You know, that pasta, the quintessential pasta, the one where the pasta sauce that is simmered for hours before being mixed with pasta, then its thrown in a casserole and covered with cheese and baked in the oven until it’s all melted and bubbly. That’s usually the type of pasta I go for, and this dish, well surprise folks, it’s not that. So, why am I sharing it you ask?

Because it’s pretty much perfect, it’s delicious, and flavorful and best of all EASY. It’s ready in the amount of time it takes to cook pasta, about 8-10 minutes.

You say that it’s not as comforting? I say that it’s pretty comforting knowing that it’s not going straight to my hips, or my thighs, or both. Don’t knock in ’til you try it folks, coming from someone who loves her pasta sauce (ahem, my favourite sauce is a loaded and flavorful bolognese sauce.) this is now one of my favourite pasta dishes. Seriously guys, it’s the best.

Herbed Pasta with Garlic and Walnuts (serves 1-2)
Recipe by Lou

Ingredients

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp hot chili flakes
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 walnuts
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
190 grams/7ish oz of whole wheat linguine
lots of freshly cracked pepper and Parmesan cheese (omit cheese for vegan)

Directions

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta according to directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water.

In a frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic and chili flakes until fragrants, 2-3 minutes. Add the parsley and walnuts, stirring to cook. The parsley should wilt and the walnuts will become golden and toasted.

Drain cooked pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. Add pasta and reserved water to pan, stirring to coat. At the last minute, add the basil. Serve.

Enjoy this simple pasta dish, packed with flavour and ready in 10 minutes!

-Lou

Herb Grilled Potatoes

I really love potatoes, whether they’re mashed, roasted, baked or grilled, they are one of my favourite foods. So, it was only fitting that on the hottest day in oh, say 92 years, I was craving some roasted potatoes. Well, there was no chance that I was going to turn on my oven so I decided to fire up the grill and grill some potatoes. Earlier this year I had stumbled upon a recipe for herb grilled potatoes which sounded delicious and I decided to give it a try, and boy, were these ever good. To me, this seems like a healthier and lighter alternative to the ever present potato salad, and personally, I prefer the grilled potatoes over their doused in mayonnaise first cousin, twice removed.

Also, check out the new visual Recipe Index! I have just completely added it to the site, there are different categories such as appetizers, healthy, desserts and baked goods etc. check it out and let me know what you think.

Herb Grilled Potatoes
Recipe source: Epicurious, originally from Gourmet, August 2009

Ingredients

3-4 large Yukon Gold or other yellow-fleshed potatoes
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lemon wedge plus additional for serving

Directions

Slice potatoes in 1/2-inch thick slices, and cook in a pot of salted water for 10 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, in a small bowl, stir together herbs, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Pour the oil mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat.

Transfer the potatoes to a pre-heated grill and grill the potatoes turning once or twice, until tender, about 5 minutes total.

Transfer potatoes to serving platter and squeeze lemon over the potatoes and serve.

These herb grilled potatoes have to be one of my favourite dishes of the summer so far, what’s your favourite?

- Lou

Terrific Trout!

Mmmm, I really love seafood… salmon, octopus, calamari, shrimp, trout… the list goes on and on… So, when I saw that trout fillets were on sale for a ridiculously good price, I was ready to buy the whole stock. But, I realized that that may be a little extreme. Just a little. So I bought myself four fillets and off I was, running home to prepare my delicious dinner.

Terrific Trout

Ingredients
4 medium sized trout fillets
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp each of rosemary, thyme and parsley
3/4 tsp honey mustard
1/8 tsp each of chili flakes, garlic powder and chili powder
cracked pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Mix all of the ingredients together to create a marinate for the fish. Butter or oil your cooking dish and place trout fillets in the dish. Brush the marinate over the fish and bake for 20-25 minutes.

This dish, with the blend of flavors and the melt-in-your-mouth trout is seriously a winner. It takes mere minutes to prepare, and mere minutes to devour!

Happy eating!

- Lou

Meatless Monday … Summer Salad with Basil Garlic Dressing!

As I write this post, it is 11:50pm on Monday, so it is still “Meatless Monday”, I’ve been having issues with my photo editing software and I couldn’t get the pictures to where I wanted them, but I’ve finally conquered the computer and been able to fix the problems!

So, I know in my last post I said that I would be posting about cupcakes next… well don’t worry, those are still to come! But it is Monday, which means it’s time for my weekly “Meatless Monday” post! Today, I decided to have a yummy, super healthy salad for dinner. But the real star of this salad was the dressing, a basil, garlic dressing. And it was delectable… yummmmm!

Ingredients (dressing, makes about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp parmesa cheese (grated)
a pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

Using a food processor, process the garlic until it is chopped, add in the fresh basil and pulse until finely chopped. Add in all of the other ingredients and process until smooth, or desired texture!

And there you have it, a simple to prepare, weeknight, meatless, dish!

p.s In case anyone is wondering what I put in my salad, lettuce, cucumber, mushrooms (matchstick), carrots (grated) and chopped broccoli (for some extra nutrients, broccoli is a super vegetable similar to sweet potatoes!) you can also add in some beans for a bit of extra protein!

- Lou