Ham-Pasta ovendish

[PascalScheffers]

Okay, Jason forced me to make a first posting, so here it goes:

Ham-Pasta ovendish (4 persons):

500 gramms Pasta (fusilli, penne, etc.)

150 gramms Ham (not too expensive please)

125 gramms Creme Fraiche

1 egg

salt, pepper

some parmesan cheese

Lots of ketchup. Trust me. Lots of it.

What you do:

* cook the pasta (not too al dente, but not too soft either) with some salt or bouillon

* chop the ham in small pieces

* mix the ham and pasta in an ovendish (a low one, aprox. 4~5 cm high)

* mix the creme fraiche, egg and add pepper and salt.

* spread the mix over the pasta

* sprinkle with parmesan cheese (not too much)

* stick it in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 200C

Serve with plenty of ketchup (I do anyway) and some letuce. Very cheap. Very simple to make and totally jummy.

Tons of variations are possible by adding one or two ingredients to the cremefraiche/egg mix. We usually add some french herb mix and/or paprika powder.

So what do you suggest adding to this recipe for me to try tonight?

- Pascal

[Jason Perlow]

This is a German recipe, right?

Instead of ham I might try a polska kielbasa or some sort of other german-style wurst., sliced up or chopped. Or perhaps a thick cut bacon chopped up. With chopped up parsley and chives.

Serve with a nice dry Reisling.

And hey, welcome to egullet!

Baked pasta dishes are among my favorites. Theres a restaurant here in NY (in the bronx) called Robertos which specializes in pasta dishes cooked "en Cartocchio" which is inside an aluminum foil pouch. He puts in the very al-dente fusilli, some fresh tomato, garlic, and usually some kind of seafood, some olive oil, and then bakes it. I have also seen him do this with wild mushrooms instead of seafood.

[PascalScheffers]

I think it is sort of German-ish. I think my wife's grandma started it, she is German so I guess so. I have no idea where she got it from.

Pasta in a pouch sounds good too. Does he close them, or does one side remain open to make a nice crust?

[Jason Perlow]

He closes it completely, so it seals all the moisture in, which is what you want when cooking seafood. Shrimps, scallops, mussels, clams, etc. , also mushrooms you want to be moist.

[Dave the Cook]

Welcome!

Not having Jason's respect for international boundaries, I would go another direction. Substitute andouille sausage for the ham, leave the ketchup in the pantry and add a can of diced tomatoes (drained, I think), a little thyme and maybe some basil.

Gewurtz or grenache-shiraz. Or lager.

This site never fails to make me hungry.

Just for fun, you can do those cartouche thingies in the dishwasher--upper rack, regular cycle, no detergent.

[PascalScheffers]

:laugh:

Nah, it would not be hot enough. It might be a good alternative for au-bain marie chocolate melting tho...

[Jason Perlow]

Just for fun, you can do those cartouche thingies in the dishwasher--upper rack, regular cycle, no detergent.

Is this more effective than using an oven?

[Dave the Cook]

Is this more effective than using an oven?

I'll assume it's a serious question, but I don't know the answer. If I had to guess, I'd say it probably is, if cost is your main consideration.

You'd have to compare the cost of heating the oven for 35 minutes (plus pre-heating, which would probably cost more than maintianing 400 degrees once you got there) with the cost of heating however many gallons of water one d/w cycle requires. I think most d/w's heat their own water and recycle a lot of it, so they're pretty efficient. The cost of running the mechanical bits is negligible compared to the heating costs.

It does work, by the way, as long as your water is hot enough--about 145F should do it. Shellfish and thin filets come out very well, and it's almost impossible to overcook them, since the temperature never exceeds the temperature at which the fish proteins coagulate (around 170F, I think).

I only do it to prove it can be done; it's not a standard part of my batterie. The dishwasher at our house is always full of other things, anyway.