Don't Waste The Winter
Don't Waste The Winter
... giving thanks and making delicious pasta.
Come the dark, cold days of January that seem to number far more than 31, I have to play tricks with myself to pull my mind through. It's not that I don't enjoy winter. Here in the high desert, the white snow stretches from our front porch up to the top of the mountains that surround our little valley. The ice, the sharpness, the muted sounds and tones delight my soul in a way, if only to whet my appetite for the warmer and productive days ahead.
I talk about that a bit more this week over on the blog, a post in which I also share with you my newly inherited practice of making a bounty table in my kitchen.
I, like many of you, are trying to not waste the winter days. I yearn for the summer sun on my face, blushed skin, and fresh tomatoes. But in the meanwhile, I’ve been keeping busy in my little cottage, organizing the pantry, cleaning the root cellar, decorating the laundry room - oh, and that little task called homeschooling.
This week we have the added bonus of hosting an online workshop which will be a highlight of joy (and food!) for the days ahead. After this week’s workshop, next month we will cover einkorn baking and sourdough - a topic that I’ve received more emails on than any other. We’ve set up a new workshop page which will make the registration and payment process much swifter. You can browse all available workshops (and details) right here.
To keep our chins up this winter, I wanted. to share with you a special recipe that I learned to make in Gretari, Sicily. Dolores Taranto and I had the pleasure of eating a wonderful pasta made for us by a woman named Deborah - I’ve been making it ever since. (You’ll get to see Deborah, Dolores, and her beautiful family on this week’s video.)
I also share a bit more about the bounty table in this week’s new video and introduce you to a new jewel in my pantry crown: Bona Furtuna. Each month, I place an order for sun-dried, heritage grain Sicilian pastas, wild foraged herbs, and olive oil so good, I cried the first time I tasted it (ask Stu). I love getting to share companies like Bona Furtuna with you who are actually working really hard to do right by what they’re offering their customers and working really hard to do right by the environment in which those products are grown. Keeping their pantry goods on hand is an ace up my sleeve for quick, delicious dinners (carbonara anyone?).
I can say boldly, hands down, that their dried pasta is the best I’ve ever eaten. You can shop their incredible selection of Sicilian made products right here.
If you’d like to make the dish that we’re cooking together in this week’s video, here is the recipe, special for you.
Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto and Tomato Confit
For the pesto
1/2 cup olive oil
6 sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup almonds
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
For the tomato confit
36 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Large pinch of sea salt
Large pinch of black pepper
6 servings pasta, linguine or spaghetti
Toasted almonds, chopped finely, for serving
Finely grated Parmesan, for serving
Combine all of the pesto ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender. Blend until well combined (it can be as homogenous or as roughly chopped as you'd like). Set aside.
Combine the tomato confit ingredients in a small baking dish. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Heat up a large pot of water to a boil. Add in 2 very large pinches of salt.
In a large frying pan, add in the tomato confit and half of the pesto. Heat it up over medium heat until the mixture begins to sizzle. Add in a few tablespoons of olive oil.
While the sauce is warming up, add the pasta into the boiling water and cook until al dente. Strain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid.
When the pasta is cooked, add it into the frying pan with the tomato sauce. Gently toss the mixture together, coating the noodles with the sauce. Add a cup of the pasta water into the sauce and allow the mixture to gentle cook for just a minute more. If desired, add a tablespoon or two of tomato sauce for a thicker sauce.
Serve the pasta, topped with a large pinch of toasted almonds and Parmesan cheese.
That’s all for now. Remember (saying this to myself too)… don’t waste the winter. Eat well and making beautiful pasta instead.
Cheers,
Shaye