Jewels Pasta Recipes

CHRISTMAS JEWELS

Steps:

• Grease and line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Stir in flour, baking powder, ground nutmeg, vanilla, candied pineapple, and almond slivers. Mix well. Put in prepared loaf pan. Freeze overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Slice crosswise and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes.

CREAMY BEET PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Rinse beets and trim the top and bottom. Cut in half if they're large. Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.
• Place beets in a baking dish with 1 tablespoon water. Cover tightly and roast 45-55 minutes or until beets are fork tender. Cool until you can handle the beets.
• Using rubber gloves or paper towels, rub the skin off of the beets (gloves recommended). Chop into cubes and set aside.
• In a saucepan, cook onion and garlic in butter until tender.
• Add cooked onion mixture, beets, (about 2 ½ cups of chopped beets) and broth to a blender. Process until very smooth, you should have about 1 ¼ cups of puree.
• Add beet puree to a saucepan and slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Add thyme and cayenne pepper, bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Once thickened, turn heat off and stir in cheese.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta al dente in salted water according to package directions. Drain well, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
• Toss pasta with sauce, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time if needed.

JEWEL BOX PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 210oc and butter a large baking dish or 4 gratin dishes.
• Cook for pasta for half the time on the packet, drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, reserve 6 tablespoons of the tomato sauce and heat the remainder in a pan.
• Add the double cream and 3 tablespoons of the grated parmesan.
• Once the sauce is bubbling, take off the heat and add the part-cooked pasta.
• Empty the contents of the pan into a lightly greased baking dish and spread evenly.
• Cover the pasta with the proscuitto, chopped into large pieces.
• Cover with the sliced mozzarella.
• Add reserved tomato sauce and spread on top.
• Sprinkle the remainder of the grated parmesan.
• To finish, spinkle the oregano and black pepper.
• Bake for 15 - 20 mins at 210oc, until cheese is bubbling and lightly browned.
• Serve with salad and crusty bread.