sunday

Sunday was a gray and contemplative day. Best spent meditatively rolling pasta (for the freezer), listening to silence and waiting for the pelting of raindrops on the tin roof.
In the early evening the rain came. The sound of rain on the roof is always magnified - a gentle pour sounds torrential, deafening at times, but it can also be the perfect soundtrack for a catnap or soak in the tub. Both of which are excellent ways to spend rainy spring afternoon.

the august kitchen

My kitchen is a sauna.

On any given evening this month, you will find three of my four burners and one impossibly small oven in use. Jars are in the oven keeping hot, a pot of simmering tomatoes, pickling brine, or fruit of the day is bubbling on one burner, a small pan of hot water for sterilizing canning lids and bands is on another, and on the back, boiling and gurgling away, sits the water bath canner.
Batch by batch I'm pickling, jamming and preserving my way through all the irresistible edibles of the August garden...

...and stopping here and there to sample some things picked straight away.


A pretty post not long ago reminded me that there are bouquets of edible arugula flowers in my herb bed that I've been meaning to taste. I hadn't realized the flowers were edible until earlier this year when I saw intriguing bags of the dainty white blossoms for sale at the farmer's market, and I had forgotten about them entirely until Lucy reminded me.

Some just-unearthed potatoes from a friend and a few handfuls of spicy arugula and cooling burnet were on hand, and since the kitchen was already a steamy tangle of pots and pans, I thought, why not boil another kettleful of water? Let's have pasta.


Ziti with Potatoes, Arugula and Burnet
(adapted from Alice Water's recipe for Pasta with Potatoes, Rocket and Rosemary in the Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook and remembered from this post back in the spring)


Ingredients:


2 potatoes, sliced in halve lengthwise, then into 2/3-inch half-rounds
olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped, stems discarded
4 cloves garlic
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 Lb ziti (or other pasta)
1/4 Lb mixed arugula and salad burnet (about 3 cups), washed and spun dry
juice of 1/2 a lemon
a handful of fresh arugula blossoms


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toss the sliced potatoes with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread them in one layer on a baking sheet, and bake until golden - about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. (I found it useful to 'un-stick' the cooked slices from the baking sheet using a spatula soon after they came out of the oven).

While the potatoes cook, heat a pot of salted water for the pasta and mince together the garlic and rosemary.

When the potatoes are done, cook the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the sliced onion for a few minutes, or until beginning to brown. Add the garlic and rosemary mixture and cook for just another minute. Add the sliced, cooked potatoes and toss to coat. Add the cooked and drained pasta and the mixed greens, stirring gently to combine and wilt the greens just a bit. Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice, tossing to combine. Transfer the pasta to a serving dish, scatter the arugula blossoms on top and serve.

waiting for tomatoes

While I'm waiting, waiting, waiting for my very own tomatoes to ripen (so slow this year!), I've been using up what's left in the pantry. And though I'm soooooo ready for the first warm tomato off the vine, I still think it's amazing what a can of whole, peeled plum tomatoes can become. Throwing in some fresh herbs (tarragon, for instance) and making a quick sauce for some spectacular homemade ricotta gnocchi yielded some incredible results the other day.

Waiting for tomatoes might not be quite so hard after all...

Ricotta Gnocchi with Tomato-Tarragon Sauce

(inspired by and adapted from: this)

For the sauce:

Ingredients:

2 Tb. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tb. fresh tarragon, chopped

1-28 oz. can whole plum tomatoes (broken)

sea salt

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt. Saute for a minute or two, until translucent. Add the garlic and tarragon and saute for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juice, bring to a slow simmer, and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until sauce has thickened to desired consistency. Season to taste with salt.

While sauce simmers, prepare the gnocchi.

For the gnocchi:

Ingredients:

1 Lb. Ricotta cheese (I use part-skim)

1/2 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. sea salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 - 1 1/2 Cups flour

See recipe: here.

well-behaved women rarely make... pasta sauce?

Puttanesca is a dish with a history as colorful as a Tommie dePaola book. And that, perhaps, is why I like it so very much. I smile thinking of those Neapolitan ladies of leisure concocting this sauce to woo their men. I can imagine the draw - the scent of a simmered sauce "tarted up" with capers and olives wafting out over moon-lit cobbled streets; the way to the heart found through the stomach. It's as vivid in my imagination as it is in my bowl.

Certainly does warm things up a bit, doesn't it?

Spaghetti Puttanesca

Ingredients:
2 Tb. olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (more or less, to suit your tastes)
1 - 28 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes in puree (or any whole, peeled tomatoes in puree)
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, drained and broken into large chunks
1/4 cup jarred roasted red bell pepper, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and broken
1/4 jarred capers, drained (rinsed if you desire)
a handful of torn fresh basil leaves

1 Lb. dried spaghetti

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

While water is coming to boil, prepare the sauce. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the tomatoes in their puree, until broken, but not smooth. Set aside. In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the garlic and hot pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds or just until fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the processed tomatoes and their puree, the salt, and the pepper to the pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes, partially covered. Add the artichokes, roasted red pepper, olives, and capers, and continue to simmer for 10 more minutes, while the pasta cooks. Remove the sauce from heat and add the torn basil leaves. Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and add the sauce, tossing to coat the pasta.
Serve with a bit of grated Parmesan and wink or two.

seems just right

It's confusing here - near 50 degrees the other day, now hovering near the 20's; bright, sunny, and hinting of spring one moment, then gray, snowy, and definitely still winter the next. I don't know whether to forage for salad, or sink into a bowl of soup. So, I'm doing both...

Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup (from 'Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics')
A steamy bowl of homemade broth, simmering away with tiny pasta stars, little chicken meatballs, and just-wilted spinach - seems just right.

Of course, adding a nice green salad and a loaf of Ina's Garlic Ciabatta Bread is a good idea too.

soup season

Sometimes simplicity is in order.


6 ingredients.


A bowl of broth, a hint of heat, and spoonfuls of tiny pasta and cauliflower.

Perhaps it sounds unremarkable, but one of my favorite spots serves a version of this soup that I continually crave. I find it warm and familiar like my favorite quilt. The broth is nourishing and satiating, but the flecks of red pepper keep it from being a bore. And if you don't mind pasta that has become a bit more than al dente, this soup is even better re-heated the next day.

Sicilian Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:

6 1/2 Cups homemade clear chicken broth*
1 large head cauliflower, cut into very small florets
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 Cup uncooked ditalini pasta
1 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your tastes)
salt and pepper

Bring stock to a simmer in a large stockpot. Add cauliflower, garlic and red pepper flakes. Continue to simmer with the lid on, until cauliflower is tender.

While cauliflower cooks, boil the pasta: fill a separate large pot with fresh water and bring to a boil. Salt the water and cook the pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain pasta and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper.


*Quality of the ingredients is essential in this recipe as there are very few. The success of the soup will depend on the quality of the broth.

spice is nice

So, I didn't think I'd have a recipe to post this week. I thought instead, that I'd write about all the little 'experiments' I made the past week. Like the four berry jam that is delicious, but a bit sweet for my tastes. Or the pasta with green garlic and ricotta which was also very good, but did not have quite the right texture. Then there was Thai peanut tofu with a crunchy Thai salad and sweet chili dipping sauce that just didn't live up to its potential for that 'wow' flavor factor. I could also mention the chocolate mousse I made from another Rose Carrarini recipe. Now that was fantastic. But. I made it line for line from the recipe with no adaptations. And. I had to whisk the egg whites twice because the first batch, rather irritatingly, came just to the point before soft peaks would form and then fell dramatically back into liquid state. Frustrating for sure, but on the second take all went well. So, I had been busy, but with nothing really outstanding to brag about. Then, this happened:

On a Monday, for goodness sake. Perhaps the one day I have little to no motivation whatsoever for anything more strenuous than reclining on the sofa with cool beverage in hand. Especially when the heat index has been well over 100 degrees for several consecutive days. Lazy? Yup. Guilty? Nope.

Out of hunger came the need to make dinner of some sort and when feeling uninspired and not entirely up for being in the kitchen, I often turn to pasta. Good, simple Italian fare is almost effortless and always satisfying. And, it just so happens that this dish benefits from my new favorite pantry staple:

(which I am now looking to add to just about everything, including the aforementioned Thai dishes...)

So here's this week's winner:

Pasta with Spicy Tomato Sauce and Swiss Chard

(A note on choosing pasta: this dish would be fine with any type of shaped pasta, however I tend to choose my pasta shape by the shape of the other items in the dish; for this dish I chose a long (about 3-inch) tubular pasta to mimic the Swiss chard ribbons)

Ingredients:

6 oz. dried pasta

For the sauce:

1 Tb. olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 Tb. ground red cherry peppers (such as 'Sun of Italy' brand), more or less to suit your tastes

1 Tb. garlic, minced

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1 14.5 oz can whole peeled tomatoes

1/4 pasta water

1/4 Lb. Swiss chard, stems chopped and leaves sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons

salt and freshly ground pepper

freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the top

While pasta is cooking in a large pot of salted water, make the sauce:

In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When oil glides nicely across the pan, add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until quite soft, but not brown. Add the ground red cherry peppers and stir for only about 10 seconds. Add the minced garlic and dried oregano and stir until garlic is fragrant (again only about 10 seconds). Add the canned tomatoes and stir to break up the whole tomatoes. Just before pasta is done, add the Swiss chard ribbons and stems to the sauce and stir until just softened. Add 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water to the sauce and stir to thicken, slightly. Season with salt and pepper and add the drained pasta to the sauce in the pan. Toss to coat and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.