I had the oddest/saddest experience at the grocer today. I was checking out and the young cashier (couldn’t have been more than sixteen) was brand new to the job and needed to ask me what my various items of produce were. I’ve had that happen with single items such as beets, celery root or shallots. I recognise that not everyone is adventuresome in their fruit and vegetable consumption. I was not however, prepared to be asked what red potatoes were. Furthermore, I was truly shocked when she began ringing turnips as onions. By the time she was holding up the bunch of bananas for identification, I had lost control and blurted out:
“You need to eat more fruits and vegetables.”
Which is exactly what my family did this evening. Yesterday, my husband came home with a bag filled with lovely plum tomatoes. In Boston, these were always plentiful, but in Omaha they are a bit of a specialty item. They’re wonderful for pasta as they remain firm and have few seeds. Wanting to make the most of the lovely fruit, I planned a pasta dish around them.
One problem (if if it is in fact an actual problem) was that the crimini mushrooms darkened the dish considerably. The meal would have been much more attractive had I selected a lighter coloured variety of mushroom. It was however, a nice tasting combination.
You Will Need:
Angle hair pasta (I used tri-colour)
½ package feta cheese (or the whole pack if you’re addicted like me)
Romano cheese, shredded
½ dozen (or so) olives(green/black)
# stalks celery chopped fine
1 mild onion chopped fine
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tablespoons (or more) parsley (flat Italian variety)
fresh oregano, rosemary, basil to taste
1 small package mushrooms
4 small red potatoes parboiled and diced
4 red plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2-3 slices roasted red pepper from a jar.
Olive oil for sautéing.
Sauté the onions, garlic celery and spices (except parsley) in a large pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook slowly until they give up
their water and it is evaporated. Add potatoes. Add olives. Make pasta at this half-way point. In the last few minutes, add the parsley, tomatoes and red pepper. Cook a few more minutes and serve over pasta with feta and Romano cheese tossed on with extra olive oil.
Start to finish, under 45 minutes. The meal was a hit with my resident food critic Danny M. who declared it “tasty.”
“You need to eat more fruits and vegetables.”
Which is exactly what my family did this evening. Yesterday, my husband came home with a bag filled with lovely plum tomatoes. In Boston, these were always plentiful, but in Omaha they are a bit of a specialty item. They’re wonderful for pasta as they remain firm and have few seeds. Wanting to make the most of the lovely fruit, I planned a pasta dish around them.
One problem (if if it is in fact an actual problem) was that the crimini mushrooms darkened the dish considerably. The meal would have been much more attractive had I selected a lighter coloured variety of mushroom. It was however, a nice tasting combination.
You Will Need:
Angle hair pasta (I used tri-colour)
½ package feta cheese (or the whole pack if you’re addicted like me)
Romano cheese, shredded
½ dozen (or so) olives(green/black)
# stalks celery chopped fine
1 mild onion chopped fine
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tablespoons (or more) parsley (flat Italian variety)
fresh oregano, rosemary, basil to taste
1 small package mushrooms
4 small red potatoes parboiled and diced
4 red plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2-3 slices roasted red pepper from a jar.
Olive oil for sautéing.
Sauté the onions, garlic celery and spices (except parsley) in a large pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add mushrooms and cook slowly until they give up
their water and it is evaporated. Add potatoes. Add olives. Make pasta at this half-way point. In the last few minutes, add the parsley, tomatoes and red pepper. Cook a few more minutes and serve over pasta with feta and Romano cheese tossed on with extra olive oil.
Start to finish, under 45 minutes. The meal was a hit with my resident food critic Danny M. who declared it “tasty.”
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