Pasta "Straw and Hay"

This is my take on a classic pasta dish from Tuscany. It gets its name from the two colors of fettuccine traditionally used - yellow (egg) for straw and green (spinach) for hay. It is combined with cream, peas, and prosciutto. You often see this on a restaurant menu, sometimes made with tortellini in place of the fettuccine. 

But I changed it up a little. I did use multi color pasta, but used what I had - these cute curly little guys. And I used leftover ham instead of prosciutto -- and tried to amp up the nutritional factor and take down the fat content by using a combo of plain yogurt and half and half instead of heavy cream.

It turned out wonderfully! If you have leftover Easter ham, I hope you'll try this. It's really simple, and really delicious. Win win!

Start by cooking your pasta. While that boils, make the sauce. 

Traditional straw and hay pasta doesn't have onions or mushrooms, but hey, this is my version so this is what we have. Saute the mushrooms, onions, and garlic in a little butter, 

then add in the cooked ham and heat it through. Combine the yogurt, half and half, garlic powder and salt and pepper, then add that to the pan. Add in the frozen peas (I use a whole bag cause I love peas and I also don't want that "little bit" languishing in my freezer...) and stir it all up to combine.

Then drain the pasta, reserving some of the water. I do this by straining the pasta over a glass measuring cup til I have about a cup of liquid. Add in the pasta, and enough pasta water to thin the sauce so that it coats all the pasta, but is not too runny. I used about 1/4 cup. Finally add in plenty of Parmesan!

This was perfect with a green salad and a crisp glass of white wine! I will never complain about leftover ham when I can use it in recipes like this. Delicious! 

Pasta "Straw and Hay"

8-10 ounces pasta of choice, either medium curly cue-like shapes or fettuccine

2 Tbsp. butter

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chopped cooked ham

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 cup half and half

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 - 12 oz. package frozen peas

3-4 ounces shredded Parmesan

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add in cooked ham and stir until heated through. 

Combine yogurt and half and half in a large measuring cup and add in garlic powder and salt and pepper. Add to the pot and stir well to coat the veggies and meat. Stir in the frozen peas.

Drain the pasta, reserving some pasta water. Add the pasta to the skillet and enough water (about 1/4 cup) to thin the sauce slightly so that it coats all the pasta. Add the cheese, and stir until it is melted and the sauce is thickened. 

Season with salt and pepper and possibly more garlic powder, to taste.  Serves 4-6.

New York Crumb Cake

I'm not sure why this is called New York Crumb Cake. But once you taste it, you won't care what it's called. You will just call it amazingly delicious. Soft cakey layer topped with so much crumble - you definitely need a big cup of coffee or a tall glass of milk with this one. This would be a great addition to an Easter brunch, or for breakfast before church. 

Start out by making the cake layer which is pretty straightforward. It will seem like you don't have enough batter but just keep spreading it out in the pan. You can see I barely got mine to the corners!

Next comes the crumb layer. Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, and combine with a pastry blender or just your fingers. I find it easier to use clean hands (ahem, clean is important) because you can get a sense when you've got the right texture. You want the butter to be incorporated but you want some larger chunks, too. 

Now sprinkle this over the batter. Compared to the batter, it will seem like you have WAY TOO MUCH crumb topping. That's ok. Just keep sprinkling it on top! You will love the results even though it will seem like you're drowning the cake in the crumb topping!

Bake the cake, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. I let this cool completely before serving, cause I prefer a crispier top, but you can serve it warm as well.

Enjoy!

New York Crumb Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk or half and half
2 Tbsp. avocado or vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Crumb topping:
2 1/2 cups flour
Powdered sugar, for sprinkling after baking
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter, melted and cooled

For the cake, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir to mix the ingredients; set aside. In another bowl or large measuring cup, combine the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. Whisk well, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until the batter comes together and there are no flour streaks. 

Spread the batter into a greased 9x13 pan.

For the crumb topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the melted butter and combine with a pastry blender or your fingers until the butter is incorporated and you have soft, heavy crumbs. Sprinkle over the batter.

Bake at 325 for 22-30 minutes. Mine took almost 30 - you want the crumb topping to begin to feel dry to the touch. Let cool then sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Makes at least 16 servings.