Pasta!

Oh, cold snowy days. . . you make me miss the summer. Fresh veggies, olive oils, fish, pasta. That my friends is paradise. But of course the winter makes dreams of summer food tougher from the lack of fresh veggies. This is easily overcome with any well stocked super-market and just a few ingredients from the greek pasta bar, you can be in pasta heaven again.

Summer Pasta

Tools:

HUGE arse pot (for cooking the pasta)

Large skillet

Slotted spoon or strainer

Spatula

Cutting board

Knife

Ingredients:

2 cups of dry wheat pasta*

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbsp of olive oil

1 tbsp of butter

1/2 small onion, diced

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup of marinaded olives (black or green, your choice, but get pitted if you can for ease of eating)

1 cup of marinaded cherry tomatoes (cut in half if you have a choice)

1/2 cup of fresh, chopped mushrooms

Pepper to taste

1 tin of anchovies or sardines in oil (I love anchovies for this dish, it reminds me of summer)

dash of salt to cook pasta

* ok, pasta 101 time: get the biggest freaking pot you own and fill it with water and salt and bring to a hard boil. This is the most time consuming part of making this dish. Then add the pasta to cook. The kind of pasta that you use is very important as well, the shapes of pasta were developed over centuries for a variety of tasks, such as holding onto various kinds of sauces. For this kind of dish I love to use a linguini noodle or spiral pasta in this dish. The pasta is done when it is ardent, or cooked right up to the point that it is 'done'. Drain and remove from the heat, but retain some of the pasta water for later!

Ok, first thing first, cook the pasta. From my own experience, pasta boxes lie. They lie like your second cousin who said he slept with a movie star. They lie like a teenage boy talking about making out with a girl. They lie, lie, lie. Don't trust them! Cook the pasta as suggested above, it might take a little bit of practice but it is worth it!

After the pasta is done, put the skillet on the stove on medium heat. Add in the butter and olive oil until the butter melts. Then add the garlic and onion. Let it sizzle in the skillet for a few minutes then add the anchovies and parsley, warm, and then add the tomatoes, olives, and mushrooms.

Pour the pasta into the hot pan and mix it together well, covering all the pasta. Add a little bit of the pasta water into the pan to help develop the sauce if it is too thick. Crack pepper over this all and serve!

Bien Camino!