With Farmers Markets on both Saturday and Sunday, the end of August was an opportunity to indulge in our favorite adventures — a meal replete with pasta and great vegetables one day, and Sarah and the family the next day for homemade pizzas.  I won’t bury you with details.  The pasta dish contained fresh green beans and zucchini, onions and garlic, cherry tomatoes and black olives, a top-notch Italian spaghetti, and a bottle of 2011 Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti Le Orme, which was featured at a very good price at Panzano Market in Southboro.  This is a wine which I had once before, three years ago, on a visit to see Connie in Connecticut (see my blog for July 2011).  That one was vintage 2006, and I thought it was an exceptional value and quite delightful, so I had been on the lookout for it since then.

We had a good visit here with Sarah and the whole family, doing the usual pizza dinner with the oven at full blast.  What was notable, though, for me was the pizza I made for myself.  No tomato sauce.  Instead, I chose to make one with:

• Satina potatoes from the West Acton Market (Hungry Bear Farm), partially boiled, then sliced, placed on top of shredded mozzarella cheese
• topped with small pieces of eggplant, pre-roasted in the hot oven, and
• partially roasted red onion slices, and
• Barbara’s caramelized onions, and
• finished with grated fresh Pecorino cheese

I loved it!

potato, red onion and pecorino pizza

closeup of pizza topping