Pasta with Chicken Breast, Zucchini and Tomatoes

I never knew what I was getting into when I planted 3 tiny zucchini plants last May. As recommended by GardenWeb members I have planted 3 seedlings on top of mound that was around 8” in diameter and 3“ high. Now it occupies area about 3 X 6 feet! And are they ever prolific! I had to find all kinds of uses for this great summer squash and one of our favorite ones is wide pasta noodles with sautéed onions, garlic, zucchini and tomatoes. Very quick and light summer meal.

Ingredients

1 small chicken breast cut into thin strips

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced 1/4” thin

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 Tbs. Olive oil

1 Tbs. Balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs. maple syrup

2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil or parsley

Salt and pepper

Wide noodles, penne or fettuccine
1tbs butter

Directions

Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and toss with butter and keep warm. While the pasta is cooking heat olive oil in frying pan and sauté chicken breast pieces that were seasoned with salt and pepper for about 10 minutes or until light golden brown on all sides. Add onions, garlic, zucchini and tomatoes and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Season with balsamic vinegar, pinch of salt and pepper. Drop cooked pasta into frying pan with sauce and toss till pasta is well coated with the sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley or fresh basil and serve.

Spaghetti with Lemon and Olive Oil (al Limone)

This is one of my favorite get-to meals when I don’t feel like spending a lot of time in front of a stove. It can be prepared in under half-an-hour.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

Table salt

1 pound spaghetti

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil , plus more for serving

1 medium shallot , minced (about 3 tablespoons)

1/4 cup heavy cream

2teaspoons finely grated zest and 1/4 cup juice from 3 lemons

1 ounce finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus more for serving

Ground black pepper

2 Tbs. shredded fresh basil leaves

Directions

1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water; cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Reserve 1¾ cups cooking water, drain pasta into colander, and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add shallot and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook until shallot is softened, about 2 minutes. Whisk 1 1/2 cups of reserved pasta cooking water and cream into pot; bring to simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat, return pasta, and stir until coated. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3. Cover and let pasta stand 2 minutes, tossing frequently and adjusting consistency with remaining 1/4 cup reserved pasta water if necessary. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, drizzling individual portions with oil and sprinkling with cheese.

Let the dish rest briefly before serving so the flavors develop and the sauce thickens.

From Cook's Illustrated

Baked Pasta with Eggs, Ham and Cheese

This is my take on traditional Schinkenfleckerln that is so popular in Bohemia (Czech Republic) and Austria. In original Schinkenfleckerln, pasta being used are short and flat flakes, sort of like broken wide noodles, or Fleckern. I used spaghettini instead because I had leftovers from my Salmon and Pasta dish that I cooked previous day. Also, instead of traditional baking pan or casserole I used large 8oz. non-stick muffin pan. The reason for this change was that it gave me 4 times more surface area that had a nice crunch, the best part of this meal, as far as I am concerned. My brother and I were always fighting for the corner portions because they were the crunchiest, we have shunned the middle, soft parts.

Another very easy meal to make, especially if you have leftover pasta on hand.

Ingredients

4 shallots or 1/2 medium onion
4 cups cooked pasta, room temperature
4 eggs
1 cup chopped ham
1/2 cup grated cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 °F and place rack on middle shelf.
Sauté the shallots in little bit of butter until soft, about 5 minutes and let cool.
Chop the cooked pasta into 1/2 inch pieces.
In a mixing bowl beat the eggs until whites and yolks are well combined, add pinch of salt and pepper, cooked shallots, ham, cheese and pasta and mix so that all the pasta pieces are well coated with eggs and all ingredients are well combined. Pour into buttered muffin cups or casserole, cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake additional 15 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove pasta from pan by turning it over on a baking sheet and serve with pickles or/and lettuce. It can be served as a light lunch at room temperature.

Pasta with Salmon and Caper Sauce

This is another perfect mid-week meal because it is so easy to make and can be done in under half-an-hour. Since the salmon will be medium rare when served use only very fresh salmon. Of course, if you prefer, you can cook the salmon in the sauce before serving. However, I like my salmon rare (read “raw”). The salmon is so creamy that it completely changes texture of this dish.

Ingredients

1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 Tbs. butter
4 shallots, peeled and finally chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 Tbs. capers, roughly chopped; do not rinse
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup 35% cream

Spaghettini

Directions

Cook the pasta according to packet instructions in a pan of salted boiling water, then drain and keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat the oil and butter in a frying pan, add the garlic and shallots and sauté   until the shallots have softened. Pour in the wine and reduce until less than 1 Tbs. remains.
Add the capers, parsley and cream and continue to cook over moderate heat until the sauce have thickened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the drained pasta and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the salmon and serve immediately.

Another Week of Comfort Food

Actually, way too much of comfort food and way too much pasta for my liking. No less than 4 dishes were pasta and rest had potatoes!  It looks like next week will feature a lot of rice and rice noodle dishes.

Cannelloni.

When I was assembling this great dish I was thinking how closely related it is to Lasagne. In this version I used veal, ricotta and arugula filling with tomato and Béchamel sauce.

Roasted Chicken Legs with oven baked fries.

Crispy chicken skin, moist meat underneath and crunchy potato fries…what a combo!

Chicken breast stuffed with cheese.

Served with buttered noodles, spicy tomato sauce and arugula.

Chicken thighs, tomatoes and red peppers stew with buttered potatoes.

Penne Rigatoni with beef, mushrooms and tomato sauce.

Kassler with fruit sauce.

Traditionally the Kassler (German smoked pork chops) is cooked with sauerkraut but couple years ago I have tried it with pineapple and it tasted great. Since I didn’t have pineapple I tried a can of mandarin and pear compote. Great stuff! I’ll post full recipe later.

Veal and mushrooms ragout with buttered wide noodles.

Perciati with Chicken Tenders & Mushrooms

Another meal that I had to come up with just because I had to work with what I had on hand (pantry, refrigerator and freezer) because neither I nor Marjo felt like going to the store. Previous day I bought beautiful cremini mushrooms that were on special so that was my base. What with? I remembered chicken tenders that I vacuum packed and froze last week and that was a good start. Side had to be pasta but I have so many kinds and shapes that choosing wasn’t all that easy. Fettuccini, linguini or even small penne would work but I have decided to try something new, like perciati that I bought in Italian supermarket few months ago but never found a recipe to go with them. Perciati is a hollow long pasta, sort of like a thick spaghetti tube. When dry the hole is very small but once cooked it triples in size. The texture is fantastic. The problem is that only place you can buy it, I think, is in Italian delicatessen or market.

So far I had pasta, meat and mushrooms. Shallots, garlic and celery are natural with mushrooms so they made the list. Next came the sauce and since I didn’t want regular tomato based sauce I went with white wine and cream sauce flavored with roasted red pepper paste. That was the plan. Everything went smoothly until I added the pepper paste and realising that instead of sweet red pepper paste I used Harissa paste. Good thing I used only about 1/2 tsp. or Marjo wouldn’t be able to eat it, it is that hot. It is of Tunisian origin and main ingredient is bird’s eye chilli peppers and Serrano peppers so little bit goes a long way

Ingredients

1/2 lb. Perciati

1/2 cup chicken tenders or breast, cut into 1” pieces

1/2 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1-1/2 cup sliced cremini or white mushrooms

1/2 tsp. Harissa paste or 1 Tbs. pimento paste

1/3 cup white wine

1/3 cup 35% cream

Olive oil, salt, pepper

Process

Cook pasta according to instruction on package and keep warm.

Toss chicken with little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Heat up non-stick frying pan with 1 tsp. of olive oil and cook chicken for 1 minute on each side. Remove chicken to preheated bowl, cover and keep warm. Sauté onions for 2 minutes, add celery and mushrooms, mix and cook undisturbed for about 3 minutes or till mushrooms start releasing their juices. Flip mushrooms over and cook another 3 minutes. Add wine and reduce until there is just a coating on bottom of frying pan. Reduce heat to medium high and stir in cream. When cream starts to thicken return chicken to frying pan and reheat. Return pasta to frying pan, toss to reheat and serve on preheated serving plate or bowl and topped with freshly grated Parmigiano Regiano on top.

Note: CHOW.com posted video on new way to cook pasta. It is incredibly simple and it works! Check my post on this method.

New Way to Cook Pasta

As a subscriber to CHOW blog and forum I receive cooking tips couple times a week. One of the most recent one was a real jewel: How to cook pasta with little bit of water and salt and lot faster. This tip was submitted by Harold McGee, one of my favorite food and food science writers. He is amazing! I guess that is why I have all of his books.

I have tried this method several time and it does work like a charm.

Chicken Breast Strips with Vegetables

All the veggies I used in this recipe were from my garden and it did taste very fresh. From start to finish it took just little under 30 minutes.

Main thing is to do all the prep first, start boiling water for pasta and you are on a roll. Also, I just do not like mushy vegetables, texture is terrible, they are tasteless and void of any vitamins, so I cook them just until they are al dente or “soft to the tooth”. Same goes with the chicken breasts, they are so easy to overcook. I just cook them till juices run clear when pierced with sharp point of knife or if there is no pink meat when you cut half way in.

I served this meal with wide noodles but I could have used gnocchi, rice or even potatoes with this sauce.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts cut into 1” strips across

3 shallots or 1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup of chopped eggplant

2 red peppers, seeded and chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped or small can whole tomatoes

1 tsp. dry basil or 1 Tbs. fresh chopped basil

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

2 Tbs. olive oil

Wide noodles or gnocchi, rice or even potatoes

Season the chicken breast strips with salt and pepper and coat with 1 Tbs. of olive oil. (I like to use small but deep stainless steel bowl.)

Cook pasta, toss in tablespoon of butter and keep warm.

Heat remaining oil in medium hot frying pan or skillet, drop in the chicken strips and cook on all sides. Test if they are done and remove to bowl. Set aside and keep them warm.

In the same skillet sauté shallots and garlic until shallots are translucent and garlic is fragrant, then add eggplant, peppers and tomatoes and cook on medium high heat until peppers feel soft, about 5 minutes.

Add basil and balsamic vinegar and stir to mix.

Add pasta, chicken strips and mix till pasta is coated with the sauce and chicken and pasta are reheated.

Serve on warm plates and garnish with extra basil.

Where is the Food?

I have just realized that I didn’t publish any food posts for 3 weeks now! Last post was on July 24^th, that’s the longest since I have started blogging. Not that I haven’t cooked anything interesting, I did, but the time is surely at short supply this time of the year.

Anybody who cooks for 2 people knows how hard it is to prepare just enough so that in one week you don’t end up with fridge full of leftovers. Not that there is anything wrong with leftovers, mind you, some leftovers when re-done with other fresh ingredients can be better than the original meal. Take spit roasted whole chicken on BBQ, for example. I grilled one last week, together with grilled carrots, potatoes, onions and long beans. The onions were stuffed in the chicken and whole bird was seasoned inside and out with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and Herbes de Provence and rubbed with olive oil. In 2-1/2 hours of roasting on a rotisserie spit at 350°F the chicken was nice and moist and skin was golden and crisp.

Meal #1:

Roasted chicken leg and wing, potatoes, onions, carrots and beans.
That left rest of the chicken, 1 roasted potato, about ¾ cup of beans and 1 cooked onion.

Meal #2:

Next day all the leftover vegetables and one chicken breast were chopped and mixed with chopped, seeded and drained tomatoes, 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped pickle (gherkin), pepper and mayo and Dijon to bind it all together. This Chicken Salad  was served with toasted baguette slices and fresh tomatoes. There was enough salad left for a nice light lunch.

Meal #3:

I had 1 chicken breast and meat from around cage left. This went into a pasta bake. I cooked about a cup of pasta shapes (sea shells, again), sautéed 1/2 onion, 2 small eggplants, 6 cherry tomatoes (seeded and squeezed dry) and 2 cloves garlic.

Time to assemble. Coarsely chop the meat and mix it with pasta, onion, eggplant, garlic and tomatoes. Mix in 3 beaten eggs, 1 cup of grated cheese (I used 1/2 cup Provolone and 1/2 cup Parmigiano). Mix till well combined and pour into buttered baking dish. Bake uncovered in 425°F oven till top is crisp and golden brown, about 40 minutes.
This will make supper for 2 plus another 4 meals served at room temperature together with salad and pickles. Of course, it has to be stored in the fridge.

One chicken, 4 days and 7 meals. Not bad J!

Pasta and Beans Salad

Pasta and beans salad is so versatile and so much faster to make then my potato salad that it has become our stand-by for busy summer days. This version was done in about 25 minutes from start to plating. There is very little peeling and chopping involved as opposed to potato salad where I can spend at least 30 minutes just peeling and chopping potatoes, onions and carrots, even with my technique using mandolin.

Lately I have been using Lumache shape pasta for salads. The pasta is shaped like a snail and when mixed with other ingredients almost every “snail” is filled with something. In picture bellow you can see how well it holds beans and peas.

Ingredients

(This is just a suggestion, be creative)

1 cup dry Pasta shapes

1 19 oz. can mixed beans

1/2 small onion, chopped

Green beans, cooked and chopped

Tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Fresh Basil, chopped

Balsamic vinegar

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Hot sauce (optional)

Truffle oil (optional)

Parmigiano Regiano, shaved or grated

Directions

§    In a large pot bring salted water to boil.

§    Put chopped onions in a mixing bowl.

§    Drain and wash mixed beans in a colander and place them in mixing bowl with onions.

§    When water comes to boil drop in pasta and scrape bottom to make sure that pasta doesn’t stick.

§    When pasta is almost al dente drop beans and onions into boiling pasta water. This will soften beans and remove harshness from raw onions. I always blanch raw onions for salads.

§    Drain pasta, beans and onions in large colander and run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain well, preferably in salad spinner.

§    Move pasta, beans, onions, chopped tomatoes and green beans into mixing bowl and season with little bit of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, Truffle oil and hot sauce, if using, and taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

§    Serve in individual bowls, sprinkle basil and cheese on top. Seasoned croutons are nice addition. You can also add leftover cooked chicken or hard boiled egg. As I said, be creative, it can be nice light lunch.

Spaghettini with Clams and Cream Sauce

Another in series of comfort food recipes. This one is basically Spaghetti con Vongole recipe but without the shrimps.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil

3 or 4 shallots, finally chopped

3 Tbs. chopped parsley

1 can of baby clams, drained and separated

1 c. of white wine

1/2 cup 35% cream or whipping cream

Nutmeg, pinch

Hot pepper flakes, to taste

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1/4 tsp. dried tarragon

Truffle oil, dash (optional)

Process:

Cook spaghettini till al dente, drain, foss with 1 tsp of olive oil and keep warm.

Heat frying pan and when hot add olive oil and then shallots. Sauté for few minutes but don’t allow to brown. Pour in wine and cook off. Add clam juice and cook till only about 1/4 cup remains. Add clams and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add cream and cook under medium heat till sauce starts to thicken. Add parsley, tarragon, nutmeg, white pepper, chili pepper flakes and optional truffle oil.

When pasta is cooked al dente, drain and toss with the cream sauce.

Baked Penne with Bocconcini

This comfort food dish is based on Mac & Cheese recipe with few twists. Instead of boring macaroni I used Penne Rigatoni. The milk based cheese sauce was replaced with tomato sauce in which I have melted shredded Italian four-cheese mix and topped with sliced fresh bocconcini. The pasta and sauce mix was ladled into oven-proof dish and baked at 450 °F till sauce bubbled and bocconcini was melted. Absolute delight when served with crusty baguette and plain lettuce and arugula on side.

Week of Simple and Tasty Food

Monday

In one of last week’s supermarket flyers one item caught my attention: Real Parmigiano Regiano on sale at less then half price! Wow, got to have that, and lots of it!

Vacuum packed and ready for fridge.

Choice of the supper for that day had to have a Parmigiano in it, of course and since while back I made a big batch of spicy meatballs and tomato sauce and vacuum packed them, the meal was a breeze to prepare.

Wednesday

Russet Potato, Yukon Potato, Sweet Potato and Celeriac.

In the morning I started to crave for mashed potatoes. Not your regular, boring job but mashed root vegetables. I used Gold Yukon and Russet potatoes (baking and mashing potato variety), Sweet Potato and Celeriac. After mashing I added, as I always do, green peas. Served together with caramelized Vidalia onions and juicy pork chops made a really satisfying comfort food to match the lousy weather outside.

 Friday

In the morning it looked like we are going to have a nice grilling weather but as the dinner hour approached it turned cold and windy. The steak I wanted to grill had to be cooked inside. It turned out better then I expected! Tender and juicy and I served the steak on a bed of Napa cabbage and with fresh shitake, steamed asparagus, fresh tomatoes and roasted potatoes. Very, very nice indeed!

Saturday

Nice sunny day outside called for a light meal and since we didn’t have cooked salmon for a while I have decided on a good standby of Salmon Teriyaki with rice and cucumber salad. Foolproof and no fuss meal if you have teriyaki sauce on hand as I always do. We can have this meal every week and in summer we do, I think.

Grilling Season is at the door and I can’t wait. Last week I bought frozen sardines and I want to grill them first chance I get. The whole fish gets grilled with just a salt and pepper, squeezed lemon and fresh Italian bread or baguette with some greens on side and we will have a feast!

We love to eat in our sunroom and to see our garden. Soon, the flower beds will be full of flowers in bloom, starting with tulips and daffodils.

Lasagna

Made with No-Cook Noodles

I didn’t bake Lasagna for at least 4 years! I don’t know why, but I just didn’t. We both love lasagna but I guess that with only two people at the table it is a bit too much. So, I got a smaller Pyrex pan and made one. I bought No-cook lasagna noodles to make it a bit easier but then made meat sauce and béchamel sauce from scratch. For meat sauce I used ground veal because that’s what I had in freezer. I also used my own frozen tomato sauce and four-cheeses shredded cheese mix. It turned out really well and I am glad that there are leftovers! As a bonus, I ended up with a lot of meat sauce that we had next day with spaghettini.

One note: If you use no-cook noodles make the sauce little bit thinner because the noodles need it. They will soak it up like a sponge and are much better then noodles cooked in plain, salted water. I will never use regular dry pasta again but I will use fresh pasta, of course. Also, for diet’s sake I had only one layer of cheese – on the top – instead my usual 3 layers and we didn’t miss it one bit.

Recipe is quite simple. For 9-1/2” X 6” X 2” deep baking pan you will need:

9 no-boil 2” wide lasagna noodles

1/2 cup thin tomato sauce

1-1/2 cups meat sauce of your choice mixed with 1/2 cup thin tomato sauce

2 cups Béchamel sauce

1-1/2 cups shredded melting cheese (Mozzarella, Provolone, Swiss etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

Butter or spray the bottom and sides of baking pan with cooking oil.

Put down thin layer of tomato sauce then noodles. Layer of meat sauce topped with Béchamel sauce. Repeat with noodle/meat sauce/Béchamel sauce and again noodle/meat sauce/Béchamel sauce and topped with cheese.

Cover loosely with aluminum foil making sure it doesn’t touch the cheese and bake on middle rack in oven for 45 minutes.

Remove foil and bake another 20 – 30 minutes or till sauce is bubbling and cheese is golden brown.

Let rest for 10 minutes and serve with lettuce salad and garlic bread.

Bolognese Sauce (Meat Sauce)

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 celery ribs, finely chopped

2 medium carrots, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 pound chopped bacon

1 pound ground veal

1 pound ground pork (not lean)

1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste

1 cup whole milk

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup water

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Direction:

Cook onions, celery, carrot, and garlic in oil in a 6 to 8 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add bacon, veal, and pork and cook over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste, milk, wine, water, and thyme and gently simmer, partially covered, until sauce is thickened, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Sauce may be made 2 days ahead and cooled, uncovered, before chilling, covered. Frozen, it keeps for 1 month.

Based on recipe from Epicurious.com

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Penne

In Slow Cooker

Another comfort food that is better next day. This version is no-fuss, slow cooker job. I cooked tomato sauce in slow cooker for 8 hours one day, stored most of the sauce for future use and then cooked the browned ribs in 2 cups of sauce left over and served next day. The flavor was incredible. I can just imagine how this sauce with shredded short ribs meat would shine in a Lasagna. That is exactly what I will do with my leftovers.

This recipe looks more complicated in writing then it is in reality.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 Lb beef short ribs, fat trimmed

1 Tbs. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 small carrot, shredded

1-1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 Tbs. hot paprika

1/2 dry Marsala wine

3/4 cup tomato paste

1/2 tsp. dry rosemary or 1 tsp. fresh, chopped fine

1 tsp. dry basil

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

Turn the heat on a crock pot to Low - 6 hours.

Sprinkle the ribs generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet, add olive oil and when oil starts to smoke drop in ribs and brown on all sides. When all pieces are golden brown move them to preheated crock pot.

Pour off all oil leaving just a thin film. Stir in garlic, onions, carrot and paprika and sauté till soft. Off the heat pour in Marsala and deglaze the skillet. Put back on a heat and reduce till only 1 Tbs. of Marsala remains.

Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar and rosemary and bring to boil. When boiling, turn off the heat and empty the skillet over the ribs in crock pot. The liquid should almost cover the ribs. Meanwhile cook penne till al dente. Close to end of cooking add balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and taste for seasoning.

For smoother texture and richer sauce remove ribs to serving platter or individual plates and using immersion blender liquefy the sauce.

Serve the ribs on deep platter with sauce and penne and garnish with chopped parsley.

Veal Shoulder Chops – Osso Buco Style

It has been such a long time since we had Osso Buco, meal that we both love. Reason is simple. We just can’t get 3” thick veal shanks here. Acceptable solution for us is to use thick veal shoulder chop instead. Of course the favorite part of Osso Buco is the marrow, a part that we will have to do without but taste should be similar.

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds bone-in veal shoulder chops

Salt and pepper

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup canned whole tomatoes in juice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1 Tbs. lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel plus additional for garnish

Gremolata:

1 Tbs. grated lemon peel

1 tsp. finely chopped garlic

3 Tbs. finely chopped parsley

Mix till well combined.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In wide-bottom Dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high until very hot. Sprinkle veal chops with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to season both sides. Add veal chops to Dutch oven and cook 8 to 9 minutes per batch or until veal is browned on both sides, turning over once. Transfer veal to plate once it is browned.

After all veal is browned, add carrots, celery, onions, and garlic to Dutch oven, and cook on medium 12 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring occasionally.

Return veal, and any juices from plate, to Dutch oven. Stir in tomatoes with their juice, wine, broth, and bay leaf. Heat mixture to boiling on high, stirring and breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon.

Cover Dutch oven and place in oven. Braise 2 hours or until veal is very tender when pierced with fork. Transfer veal to platter. Skim off fat from liquid in Dutch oven.

Place Dutch oven on burner on top of range, and cook sauce on medium-high about 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Add lemon peel and lemon juice and cook 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook noodles till al dente and keep warm.

To serve, pour little sauce on bottom of preheated plates, then noodles, more sauce and then meat. Spoon sauce over veal and place tablespoon of gremolata on top for garnish.