While I studied abroad in Spain I learned that Spanish food, while still very yummy, can be a bit boring sometimes. However, this is coming from the girl who loves all things latin american food, so I am a bit biased. The rest of Spain, though, has captured my heart from the culture, to the architecture, to the night life, and the language. I dream about my time there with rose colored glasses just about daily. I miss it, so what do I do to relive it? Well besides crying to my old roommate about how much I miss it, I make some of the dishes my señora taught me to make (with some variations).
This one in particular I begged her to teach me and then proceeded to beg her to make it all the time. I present:
Mustard Vinaigrette over Pasta with Veggies and Walnuts
Serving Size: 1
Ingredients:
Vinaigrette
1 1/2 Tblsp. of a thick flavorful mustard (I use Garlic Mustard Aioli from Trader Joe's)
*Side note: my señora told me to use a mustard that is "suave", but for the life of me I can't figure out a translation that
really works in english that will help me find the kind of mustard she uses, so I settled for this kind. You can also use a
brown mustard, which is probably closer, some recipes call for dijon, but that was too strong for what I was looking for
1 Tblsp Sherry Cooking Wine/ Sherry Wine Vinegar
3 Tblsp Olive Oil
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| I have this strange need to always cut any veggie that is round into semi-circles. Is that weird? |
Garlic Salt
Rosemary
Other
Pasta
Your favorite veggies
Walnuts
Parmesan cheese
Tuna Fish (Optional)
Directions:
*Now this vinaigrette goes well on a lot of things, like chicken, salads and fish (there are so many variations with this dish), but I like to stick with pasta when remembering Spain.
Boil your pasta.
About halfway through the boiling process, throw the veggies in with the pasta to soften up.
While that's all cooking, take your mustard and slowly add the sherry and the oil to it, blending as you go. The measurements above are an approximation. The general rule is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts olive oil, but I always just eyeball it. Experiment to get it just how you like it.
Give it about two to three turns of the pepper mill, a shake or two or three of the garlic salt (I love garlic), and a few pinches of rosemary, just enough that as you mix it all you can still see the rosemary throughout.
Now strain your pasta and veggies and top with the vinaigrette, walnuts and cheese. Voila! (That's not spanish, but whatever)
*To make this dish more authentic, and by authentic I mean the way my señora did, lose the veggies and rosemary, add raisins and use goat cheese instead of parmesan. My host family loved goat cheese, not necessarily my favorite, but when in Rome, or in my case Sevilla....
EXTRA HEALTHY NOTE:
The walnuts in this dish add some Omega-3's to this meal, but to really pack it full, I like to add tuna and Chia Seeds. Yes, you read that right. Those little seeds you used in the 90's to grow plant pets and plant hair are edible AND healthy. Chia seeds pack quite the Omega-3 punch. And on top of that, they are tasteless and small enough that you can hardly tell they are in any dish. They just look like black pepper. Do yourself a favor and read up on Omega-3's and Chia seeds and see how something so simple can really add to a healthy diet with almost no effort. Chia seeds can be found in most health food stores and the internet is full of recipes on how to incorporate them more deliberately than what I do, which is just throw them in whenever I remember. Eat on!
