Dgourmac's Blog

Tomatoes make a rich sauce on their own, but if you want to register very high on the mouth-feel scale, just add some homemade roasted red pepper puree.  That was my experience tonight with a pasta dinner I label “Sicilian” because it feels that way to me and the wine was definitely one of the best from that marvelous island.

Tonight was a minor (and private) celebration.  Our air conditioning was repaired after being out of commission for two very hot, very muggy weeks.  I had a burst of energy as the house cooled down, so I prepared for tomorrow’s class, set up the last four class sessions for the summer term, cut the little lawn, and weeded and watered my small vegetable garden.  By 7:15 PM I was ready to create in the kitchen.

I sort of made it up as I went along:

• take out the remaining Lavalle canned organic Italian whole tomatoes and juice (less than a pint) from the refrigerator
• supplement that with one plump Roma tomato, diced
• sauté some garlic in olive oil, to flavor the oil — remove garlic when lightly browned
• start the pot of pasta water on high heat
• add the tomatoes (fresh one first), sauté with some salt and pepper until it starts to blend well with the oil into a sauce, chunks still visible
• cut one small yellow squash in half lengthwise, then across in 1/4″ slices
• sauté the squash and brown on both sides, adding the saved garlic from above
• cover the sauté pan partially while cooking the squash, so it comes out tender
• add the remaining one cup of puree I made from grilling peppers last week to the tomato sauce, stirring and simmering slowly
• pit and coarsely chop 14 Kalamata olives
• when the squash is tender, add it to the tomato sauce, stir, and simmer to blend flavor
• add the olives and stir.  add chopped Italian parsley for color and flavor.
• meanwhile cook 132 g. of high quality spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente
• open a bottle of Occhipinti SP68, a blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato, usually known as Cerasuolo
• serve the pasta in a large bowl and the wine in a good-sized ballon shaped glass; the pasta was delicious, even without any Pecorino (are you reading that, Jan?)  Non-vegans can add Pecorino (preferably Sarde) or Parmiggiano, if desired.
• Buon appetito!

Here are the pix.

I’ve been doing this blog for three years and have been mostly vegan for two.  Tonight’s dinner was pure Italian, more celebrating Marcella’s cooking, touching on Calabria and Puglia as we further explore Italy, and also not-so-vegan.  Since I was a committed omnivore for almost 70 years, I find there are a few times a year when I am happy to have some animal protein — if it’s the right stuff.  While I feel tremendously healthier on this way of eating, I do permit myself small excursions on occasion.

A relatively simple meal, actually: Pasta e Patate from Calabria, and Fagiolini con Pomodoro, Aglio e Basilico, from Marcella’s Kitchen, my rediscovered cookbook.  The Puglia part was the wine selection: 2010 Torre Nova by Natalino del Prete.  Here are the two recipes, one from Marcella’s Kitchen, the other from My Calabria.

This time I remembered to photograph the assembled ingredients for you:

I found it interesting that the recipe said to break the spaghetti in half.  The first steps of cooking took place side-by-side on the stovetop:

The wine choice worked out beautifully — a delicious blend of mostly Negroamaro plus some Malvasia Nera, described nicely in this reference.  And it was only $13.00.  If you are in or near Brooklyn, NY, run right over to Thirst Wine Merchants in Fort Greene, and order some of it — they are probably sold out for the moment.  Tell Michael I sent you.

I learned four things from this dinner:

1. We don’t need all the flavor in the pasta dish; the beans, tomatoes and garlic provided the highlights, with the Pasta e Patate serving as a pleasing background, like a perfect matte for a richly-textured photo.
2. I can be very satisfied with parsimonious choices on the foods I love.  For example, when I shopped today, I decided to buy a small block of Greek Mzithra cheese, which I split with my friend, Hank, and then proceeded to use my piece to replace Ricotta Salata.  In the old days, I would have bought both, but I’m learning.
3. Using whole basil leaves works marvelously well in some dishes.  There is no need to cut or pull them apart.  In the green bean dish, they were simply added and the remaining heat allowed them to curl up nicely and keep their fragrance.
4. There are no practical limits to the myriad of wonderful combinations possible for Italian food and wine.  Salut!

I know it’s only Wednesday, but I am pretty certain that tonight’s supper will stand up as “strangest meal of the week” for at least several more days.

People do weird things when they are hungry.  Tonight I returned home after a three-hour class and an hour commute, caught up on phone calls, emails, and packages, and then found the kitchen again.  But I was hungry, so “quick” and “filling” moved far ahead of “elegant” and “creative. ”

Supper was mostly a replay of recent events:

• pan-grilled multigrain Tartine bread
• topped with black bean and roasted red pepper purées
• three Basque Piparras peppers on the side
• several glasses of Paola Bea 2010 Santa Chiara
• a new entrant in my late-night refrigerator kimchi stash: Wildbrine Arame Ginger Sauerkraut Salad (eaten directly from the container —  I still have dishes left in the sink from lunch)
• a bowl of Collard Greens with Seitan Chorizo soup from a few days ago
• and small amounts of the remaining mushroom pieces, left from my production of an 18th-century British recipe for Mushroom Ketchup — which turned out pretty good.

Unifying themes — if there were any — were full-flavored (understatement), filling, and fast.  I just wanted you to know that I don’t always cook like it’s a special event.  At least this was all vegan.