My online silence since June is attributable to travels, of which I will inform you shortly.  In the meantime let’s talk about today’s lunch.

Toady’s pasta contains a list of ingredients which you would never purposefully buy with a plan to put them together.  However, since I already had them in the refrigerator, it was an easy task, and the results were just short of fabulous.

The elements:

• Casarecce — a whole grain Sicilian pasta
• 1/2 zucchine, cut lengthwise
• 2 cloves of garlic
• a handful of Broad Beans from Joe Raho’s garden
• 1 cup of cooked Swiss Chard ribs
• 1 half of a leftover roasted Provençal tomato
• 1 rresh plum tomato, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 of a small package of dried Italian Porcini, and 1/2 cup of reserved soaking liquid
• 1/4 cup leftover grilled mushrooms — Shiitake and Chanterelles
• 1/2 cup of caramelized onions
• 2 small slices of Friulano prosciutto
• a pinch of Calabrian hot pepper
• fresh basil
• grated Pecorino Sardo and Parmigiano Regiano
• Greek oregano
• salt and pepper

The basic strategy was to cook the pasta until not quite done, Sauté the ingredients in stages to make the sauce, then combine them all in the saucepan to finish cooking and meld the flavors.  Serve in a very large pasta bowl, accompanied by a few glasses of Torre Dei Beati Abruzzo DOC Pecorino wine (not the cheese).

Here’s what it looked like.

Pasta and suace

with grated cheese and olive oil finish

Pecorino white wine from Abruzzo