Penne alla Not-Ka

Penne Alla Not-Ka
From the show "Cook Yourself Thin"

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/cook-yourself-thin/recipes/penne-alla-not-ka

This is the low cal version of the dish "Penne alla Vodka" and let me tell you, it was GOOOOOOD. Not just "oh this is really good for being healthy" -- I mean GOOD! It was a little spicy but I loved that about it. The recipe calls for only a half a bag of pasta for 4 servings, which at first, I laughed and said, "That's how they got the calories so low -- you can have like 4 noodles each!" But surprisingly, this made enough for 3 people and 2 lunches. However, I also served garlic bread and a salad -- so that helped with the portion sizes too (and brought the enitre meal's calorie count up). This would be really good to make someone who's sick or something. A good "take to someone's house" dish.

Here's the recipe and then under it - I'll tell you my changes.



Serves 4
Calories per serving: 371

2 teaspoons olive oil, plus extra for serving
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes or whole tomatoes in juice, pureed in a food processor
Pinch red pepper flakes
8 ounces penne
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 tablespoons evaporated nonfat milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the penne.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the 2 teaspoons oil with the garlic over low heat until the garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook until the onion is softened, about 2 more minutes. Add the tomato, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer very gently 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and evaporated milk and simmer 1 more minute.

3. Meanwhile, after the sauce has cooked 5 minutes, add the penne to the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup pasta water. Add the drained penne to the saucepan and simmer until the penne is al dente, 1 to 2 minutes, adding a little of the pasta cooking water if the mixture is dry. Stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, along with the basil and black pepper.

4. To serve, divide pasta among 4 serving bowls. Drizzle each serving with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.


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I bascially follwed the recipe to a T. Here's a couple tips and changes that I made ( which also up'd the calorie count, do beware of that)
1. I LOVE garlic and the cloves I had were on the smaller side- so I used 5 cloves, not just 3. Which probably attributed to the spiciness.
2. I didn't measure out the onions - I just did a half a red onion and that was perfect.
3. Basil -- first off - USE FRESH BASIL. It's like $2 at the grocery store and makes ALLLLL the difference in dishes. Secondly, I didnt' measure out the basil either - I just picked 5 or 6 good size leaves and cut them up to add in. Reserve a little bit and garnish each dish with it at the end. The heat will brown the leaves a little when you add it to the pasta -- so some pretty green on top looks nice.
4. I have a wierd thing of just eating pasta without protein - so I added some grilled chicken. That was good but probably not even needed. The dish offered up a lot of flavor and the penne is pretty hearty, so next time I'm going to exnay the chicken.