The best way to eat food is to share what you make with friends. Today two of my dearest friends came over for a casual dinner of pasta, Chilean wine, and rum balls.
In my opinion, everyone needs a fool-proof pasta recipe they can tweak and change according to what's on hand. Here's mine:
What you need:
1 box whole wheat pasta
4 peddadew peppers
7-8 slices of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped coarsely
3 large green olives, sliced
4 large black olives, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbs capers
juice of 1/2 half lemon
3 inches pepperoni, in thick julienned pieces
salt, pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes
2 Tbs fruity, salad olive oil
1/3 c baby tomatoes
Dijon mustard
3 oz Havarti cheese, cubed
(if I had time, I would have also added 1/2 a sauteed onion)
What To Do
Cook the pasta in the way described in a previous post (boiling, salted water with a splash of olive oil) and cook until al dente.
In the meantime, heat some oil in a saute pan and add 2 cloves of garlic. Add all the other ingredients, lastly being the salt and pepper.
Add this mixture to the pasta, then mix in the olive oil and about 1/3 cup sliced, fresh cherry tomatoes. You could add some cut basil here, too.
Finally, add the cubed Havarti. Havarti is a fast melting cheese, so this will probably start melding into the pasta quickly. Squeeze in the mustard (1 or 2 squirts), lemon, add the red pepper flakes, and taste for seasoning.
Finally, dust with a cover of pecorino cheese.
Tips from the Chef
Adding the following things can really make a pasta dish pop:
fresh herbs (basil, for example)
lemon juice and lemon zest
Dijon mustard
red pepper flakes
feta or goat cheese
Luckily, the other little ingredients really pack a punch and I just love them in any dish.
Thanks to my amazing friends who came over to spend a Sunday evening together.
I will miss you so much next year!
