I was cleaning my spice shelf (I feel like I do this like once a week) and found some poppy seeds hiding behind some jars. Accidental spice findings happened more often the then one might think in my house.. I like to buy tiny baggies of spices with good intentions of using them, but because of their tiny size, I often lose them or forget about them due to that tininess. But I usually find those tiny little bags, and when I find them, I try to use them right away..(I don't like having old spices around and no, I will not toss it) And it just so happened that I has a lemon in need of using.. and it was getting close to dinner time. I could wait and make lemon poppy seed cake or muffins, or just start dinner.
Then I was like, " I'll just make lemon poppy seed pasta." And so I did. And of course it needed to have lots of garlic and some kind of vegetable to round out the dish, (I know tomatoes are fruit but you know what I mean)
And the mister….He loved it. And I am sure you will too. How can you go wrong with lemon, garlic and poppy seeds all creamy and fragrant? You really can't, Pus this recipe is so easily adaptable. It can be vegan and or gluten free..whatever you want it to be.
So if you are looking for a fast, delicious, and impressive looking dinner… look no further. You gots one right here!
Start by tuning oven on to 400 degrees. Chopped tomatoes and sprinkle in oil and salt and stick in the oven. Do this first because the rest of the meal only takes about 10 minutes..So fast!!!
Choose your pasta and get a pot of water boiling and start on the sauce.. which includes, olive oil, lots of garlic, flour, milk(any kind you use), lemon zest a little lemon juice, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.
The sauce is pretty much a basic roux…
Crush the garlic and stick into pot with the oil. Let simmer for a few minutes until you can smell the garlic, which smells like heaven. Whisk in the flour and then gradually whisk in the milk. Keep on low heat and continuously whisk until sauce has thickened and doesn't run off a spoon. Add in lemon zest, the poppy seeds, and the salt and pepper. Mix it all up and turn off heat.
Once your pasta is cooked (cook however it says to on package), reserve about a 1/4 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Add the pasta water and pasta the sauce. (the pasta water helps the sauce and noodles canooddle together)
And its all mixed up just waiting to be served…and the roasted tomatoes!
Scooped into a bowl with a scoop of the roasted tomatoes and some chopped chives, served with a couple wedges of lemon..just because.
And dinner is done…. and it took all of 15 minutes.
Thank me later.
-C
Lemon Garlic Poppyseed Pasta with roasted tomatoes
- 3 cups pasta (whatever you want..so it can be gluten free too)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons flour (use corn or arrowroot starch for gluten free)
- 2 cups milk (cow, hemp, soy…any kind you use)
- 6 cloves garlic
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 2 roma tomatoes (optional but really good)
- salt and pepper
Start by chopping tomatoes and placing them in a skillet or baking sheet, sprinkled in salt and a little bit of olive oil, and stick into a 400 degree oven
Bring a large pot of water to a boil add you pasta…cook to the boxes instructions.
While pastas is boiling, crush garlic and add to a pot with the olive oil. Heat on medium low heat until the garlic is fragrant and slightly brown. Now whisk in flour and then whisk in milk. Continue to whisk until sauce thickens to where it doesn't run of a spoon. Add in the zest of 1 lemon, the poppy seeds and salt and pepper to taste. When pasta is done (should be around the same time the sauce is done) reserve about a 1/4 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta from the rest. Add water and pasta to the sauce and mix together.
Remove roasted tomatoes from the oven. Scoop pasta into bowls and top with a scoop of the tomatoes. (you can mix into pasta, but it will turn the sauce red and the tomatoes will fall apart)
Serve with a wedge of lemon and bring food to face!
ENJOY!
Perfect...
To think that both of these dips took about 10 minutes total to make. (I had pre baked the cauliflower and sweet potato) And for real, I would spend much more time if I had too because both of these dips are so freaking good, I definitely will be making these on the regular.
I usually base my meals on what I know I have for food in the house and what I know needs to be eaten. I was a little surprised when muling around in the freezer to find a block of extra firm tofu. (I don't remember buying). Maybe a tofu fairy left it in there for me, or maybe it has been in there for years and I just am now stumbling upon it. Either way, I found it and it had to be eaten. So I cooked it up, and I cooked it up nice and good.
This noodle dish is super easy to make and take only about a half hour. We start with extra firm tofu, a package of buckwheat soba noodle, a nice big broccoli crown, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and soy sauce. oil for pan and lime for a finish. Nothing fancy.
Dice the tofu into small cubes and place onto a clean dish towel and pat dry…It really helps the tofu suck in more flavor and become nice a and crispy.
Tofu get moved into a lightly oiled skillet, ready to go into a hot oven. Why baked instead of sautéed on the stove? I find that the tofu keeps it shape and crisps up better when baked. But do whatever you want….. But just bake it.
While the tofu is baking, make up the sauce. Grate about 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger and4 large cloves of garlic into a bowl. Whisk together with 2 tablespoons honey, 1/3 cup soy ( tamari or brags aminos works too) and 1/3 cup of warm water. Taste it, and if you think it needs more anything, add it. I actually used 6 cloves of garlic, but I really wanted a garlic packed sauce. 
After 15 ish minutes, give tofu a flip, then after about 25 minutes, the tofu should be nearly done. Remove from the oven and toss in the chopped broccoli and 1/3 cup of the sauce. Its a little watery but thats what you want, it will cook down in the oven. Now stick the skillet goes back into the oven and boil the soba noodle.
Another 10 minutes in the oven and the sauce starts to caramelize and the broccoli is cooked but still nice and crisp. Remove skillets from oven and toss in the cooked noodles and the rest of the dressing. Toss and toss and place on a plate, or a bowl, or if your into it, just eat out of the pan. (it happens)
It's all pretty simple...One very tasty ripe avocado, about 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds, a little chopped onion, a bit of chopped tomato, a lemon, a few cloves of garlic and a pinch of salt. It's what dreams are made of.
Mash it all together minus the pomegranate seeds… As smooth or as chunky as you like it….
Fold in 1/2 the seeds
