Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Farfalle Ronaldo


























Ingredients

8 Oz Bow-Tie Pasta
3 Oz Sun Dried Tomatoes
3 Oz Pitted Kalamata Olives
3 Oz Feta Cheese, Cubed
2 Oz Pine Nuts
2 Teaspoons Basil
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil


When Romano's Macaroni Grill opened near me in the early '90s, I was thrilled.  This restaurant really took Italian Cuisine to a new level, one heretofore unseen by a chain restaurant.  Over the years, they've changed their menu from time to time, but I'm still pretty happy with their fare.  Except for the fact that they discontinued my favorite dish, Farfalle Ronaldo.

You can still sort of get them to 'manufacture' this dish for you from the build-your-own-pasta-menu, but it just doesn't seem to be the same.  Can't recall why--perhaps there was some ingredient missing.  Anyway, the next best thing is to make it at home--in fact, that may even be the better thing.  I've been making my own version for years.  It's quick, easy, and can be made from ingredients that you probably have on hand, or should.  Here's how:






You could use any sort of olives in this, but the Kalamata are traditional.



Sun Dried Tomatoes come all sorts of ways, including suspended in oil.  These are two oily for me, I just buy them dry.  You can even get them already julienned.



Pine Nuts:  Make sure you get fresh pine nuts.  Because of their high fat content, these can go rancid quite quickly, so avoid buying them in little packets that have been hanging on the grocery store shelf for who knows how long.  I buy them from Central Market in bulk, then freeze them in a ziplock until I need them.



Feta Cheese comes in all sorts of flavors these days.  Just get regular.  Also resist the urge to buy the already crumbled version--the crumbs in these are too small and melt when you mix things.  Buy the block and cube it.






Okay, let's get down to business.


First, get some water boiling in a large pot.  Do the same in a small sauce pan or saucier, then boil your sun dried tomatoes in the small sauce pan.  Let things boil for a few minutes to soften the tomatoes.



Once they are soft, drain them and return them to the same pan.



Add the olive oil and saute them a minute or two.



While this is going on, add your pasta to the now boiling water in the big pot.  Boil for 6-8 minutes, until Al Dente, or to your liking.



You can also cube your Feta right now.



After a couple minutes, add the olives to the sun dried tomatoes.  Olives, with their high levels of fat, taken on a whole new level of flavor when heated through.



Stir the whole concoction with a fork or spoon while its heating, to keep it from scorching on the bottom.



Add the basil.  If you have fresh, you can certainly use that, but our garden was bare when we made this batch, so we used dried.



Add the pine nuts.



Cook another minute or two to let everything heat through.



Keep stirring it from time to time.

Drain your pasta, place some in a bowl, then spoon on your tomato concoction.  Top with some of the feta.  Serve immediately.


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Until Next Time,

Salute!


Chris







14 comments:

  1. This was one of my favorites from the early days of RMG when they were still a force to be reckoned with. I spent many years in the kitchen there as a manager and a couple of tweaks to this recipe are to use pepper infused olive oil, and a little crushed red pepper.

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    Replies
    1. agreed. Red pepper flakes were a must. I am going to add truffle oil tonight.

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  2. Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try!

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  3. That was my absolute favorite too and I agree not the same when I had to ask for it special. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. Thanks Eat'nMan! This was always my goto dish at RMG and I've been doing a knockoff version for years also. Time to get cookin' - Cheers

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    1. Hi there. Yes, my favorite as well. Cheers!

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  5. Husband made this the other day. He also uses garlic , rosemary and a little thyme for the seasoning. Husband figured out the recipe while eating it one time since we did not live near a RMG. Still one of my favorite pasta dishes

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  6. I've eaten on every continent except Antarctica, and it's crazy how I can't forget a dish from a chain restaurant in 1993. Thanks for posting this recipe, I'm making it this weekend. Cheers.

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    1. Hope it turned out great, Arturo! Cheers!

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  7. My absolute favorite also back in the day. I tried recreating it and the dish has morphed over the years into something tasty but unrecognizable as Farfalle Rinaldo. The question is, if this was such a favorite dish, why oh why did they take it off the menu???

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  8. Was my fav at Mac grill, I try to recreate it all the time. I’m trying this!!

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  9. Recipe is correct, with some small changes.
    Toast the pine nuts and cool them.
    Remove the basil that was not in the recipe
    The actual recipe was
    Sauté in a medium sauté pan with 1.5 ounces ev oil
    Add olives , sundried tomatoes , and pine nuts.
    Toss until cooked then add strained pasta
    Toss this until incorporated then feta cheese on top toss once or twice the it’s ready to eat.
    Your secret Mac Shack Chef

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