Insalata di farfalle with avocado and emmenthaler

I love the combination of avocado and emmenthaler in a sandwich, so I decided to try it in an insalata di pasta (pasta salad), and it worked just as well!


I call this insalata di pasta instead of pasta salad because to me, "pasta salad" conjures up images of elbow maccheroni smothered in some gooey mayonnaise sauce with a few sorry peas or carrot bits peeping out here and there. Since I can't stand mayonnaise, this is not a pretty image for me, and so I much prefer the term "insalata di pasta" which is really just a name for any type of pasta served cold with various accompaniments.

It's a great dish for summer, when it's too hot for a warm dish, and you can make it with pretty much any ingredients that appeal to you. I sometimes like to add bits of lettuce, peas, mozzarella, green olives - really almost anything will work. The one thing I advise against, however, is serving cold pasta with sauce, gooey mayonnaise or otherwise. The sauce will simply overwhelm the pasta; a light sprinkling of olive oil with perhaps some lemon juice or vinegar is all that's needed.

Ingredients:
75 g. of farfalle (bowtie pasta) per person
50 g. of emmenthaler
1 ripe avocado
A spoonful of fresh lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, and then the farfalle. Let them cook until they are al dente (done, but still firm), then drain them and run them under cold water while they are still in the colander.

Chop the emmenthaler and avocado into cubes, and combine with the farfalle in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a very small pinch of pepper. Mix well and serve immediately or refrigerate until serving time.

Crustless Vegetable Quiche

It's always nice when you make something for the first time and it actually turns out pretty decent!


I had some eggs and vegetables to use up and I realized I had never made a quiche before, and it might be fun. I wasn't really in a pastry-making mood (I also didn't have time) so I decided to make a crustless quiche and, in addition to being very tasty, it was so easy!

You will need:
2 eggs
About half a cup of milk
100 g emmenthaler (gruyère would probably also be lovely)
A small bunch of swiss chard (or spinach)
1 leek
Half a zucchini
Half a pepper
1 carrot
Several leaves of parsley
Salt
Pepper
Allspice

First, prepare the vegetables. Wash the swiss chard and tear it into smallish pieces. Wash the zucchini and pepper and chop them into little cubes. Peel the carrot and chop it into little cubes too. Finally, wash the leek. Leeks tend to get pretty dirty so they require special washing (but they're so delicious it's worth it). My technique is to first tear off the outer leaves, then chop off the top part where the leaves are all splayed out. At this point, I give it a quick rinse and then slice through cross-wise from the top down to just above the root. Then I hold the leek under the sink and splay the leaves out, rinsing thoroughly in between them to get out any icky little dirt particles. After the leek is well washed, chop it up and then also wash and chop the parsley.

Preheat the oven to about 180º C / 355º F. In a large sauté pan, heat some olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the leek and let cook until tender (a couple minutes). Once the leek is tender, add the swiss chard, in bunches if necessary so that there's only one layer covering the pan at all times.

Once the swiss chard has diminished substantially in size, add the zucchini, carrot, and pepper. Let everything cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Once the vegetables are somewhat cooked, turn off the heat and let them cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Butter the bottom and sides of a round pan and then cover the buttered surface with a thin layer of flour. In a bowl, beat the eggs, and add the milk. Grate the emmenthaler into the mixture, and mix everything up. Add in the flour, salt, pepper, and allspice and mix again. Finally, add the vegetable mixture along with the parsley and stir everything up thoroughly.


Pour the mixture into the pan and place in the oven. Let bake for about 40 minutes and then let cool another 10 minutes or so.

Eat and enjoy!