Some of my favorite meals are elegant in their simplicity. It’s not that I plan it that way, but sometimes it just seems to work out. Here are some examples from last week.

Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce and Roasted Mushrooms

As always, Ingredients make the dish. In this case the stars were Passata di Pomodoro from Pastaio Via Corta and Gustiamo and Oyster Mushrooms from Fat Moon in Westford, MA.

The sauce (1/2 the jar) was simply poured into a skillet and heated. The mushrooms were slightly more complicated. I trimmed them, tore larger pieces in thirds vertically, tossed them in olive oil, salt, and fresh ground black pepper. and then dusted them in potato starch (you can use cornstarch if you prefer) to make them crispy. They were roasted in a preheated 400° F. oven in 15 minutes, turned over once or twice to brown evenly.

Cooked the spaghetti in well-salted water, drained when al dente into a bowl, and added with a light touch the sauce and mushrooms, tossed it all together and served with a lovely red wine from Val d’Aoste in the north of Italy.

Gnocchi with Spinach and Passata, Side Order of Cauliflower with Mustard-Lemon Butter

The Passata and the wine were back again for a return engagement. Very few ingredients, carefully prepared, and dinner was a delight.

Golden Russet Potato Gratin

We had an abundance of russet potatoes for the upcoming latke party, so I took two of the extras to try out this gratin for supper. With onions and some turkey stock (leftover from Thanksgiving), and some excellent cheese (I used Fontina instead of Gruyère), we had a rich and satisfying meal, accompanied by a lovely Portuguese rosé.