I don’t know if I could function with “Search” tools.  If they did not exist, I would never have been able to find, and then prepare, a great supper last Friday.  A few days earlier, I had purchased some gorgeous parsnips at our greengrocer.  They were clean, nicely tapered, and fresh-looking.  As I often do, I take an ingredient like this, and I search my own files, as well as the Internet, for recipes that feature it.  Thus, I was able to find “Tagliatelle with Parsnips and Pancetta” in my Pasta recipe folder on my Dropbox account.

I had copied that recipe from an issue of Gourmet magazine in October, 2000.  It was adapted from a Babbo recipe by Mario Batali, and it rested peacefully in my folder for 18 years, until I decided to try it out.

Because i always enjoyed tagliatelle, and I had the time on Friday, I decided to make the pasta fresh that afternoon.  Using the last of a small package of Italian double-zero (00) flour, I quickly made the pasta, and then prepared the rest of the dish.  It was easy to prepare, and quite delicious.  The sweetness of the sautéed parsnips and the contrast of the crisp pancetta made a perfect counterpoint to each other.

For the wine, I chose a 2012 Damiano Ciolli Cirsium Cesanese Riserva, imported by Jan D’Amore and purchased at Eataly Vino in NYC, a fortuitous combination, indeed.