Saturday, January 30, 2010

Mushroom-Flavored Creamy Pasta with Ham and Rosemary

I made a pasta sauce from a cookbook I received at Christmas entitled The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great. (The book was my request-- no one was trying to give me a subtle hint about my weight.) ;-)

I think the recipe is indeed "perfect" for a wintry day-- hearty flavor but not too hefty on the calories.

It's basically a bechamel/veloute sauce made with half milk and half chicken broth thickened with a roux. The mushroom flavor comes from dried wild mushrooms which are reconstituted in the liquids in the microwave previously (then chopped and added to the thickened sauce). I didn't have fresh rosemary, so I heated the dried herb in the liquids too to get the most flavor out of it. In addition to the chopped ham, drained canned tomatoes give a brighter, warm flavor to the sauce, Parmesan cheese adds a luxuriously rich texture, and fresh parsley perks up the color. Served over whole-wheat angel hair pasta. Easy to make using pantry ingredients and quite tasty! I'm adding it to my repertoire.

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