Took the train home and got into my car at the station only to realize I left my keys on my desk at the office. Sigh. Thank goodness there is a bus I can take, so I ran and jumped on it. I was perturbed to say the least by the time I got home, not to mention kinda sweaty.
But as usual, cooking soothes me. I was intrigued by this recipe for Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce. It has fennel and leeks in it, something I had not put in pasta before, though I adore leeks. So I gave it a shot, only to discover half way through that I really didn't use/have a lot of the ingredients, so I just used what I wanted, and it still came out really delightful and new. Here's my version:
Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce
served with Arugala and Garlic toasts (originally from Bon Appetit)
For Pasta
1/4 c virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only, chopped, rinsed)
1 1/4 # plum tomatoes (okay here I just used about 3/4 of leftover chopped can tomatoes -the big can, and two diced fresh Romas)
1/2 c dry white wine (here I used some horrid vermouth not worth a martini...I know I am supposed to use best quality liquors in cooking, but really, I am not throwing it in the trash, and it has done really well in pasta sauces)
1 tb white wine vinegar (I used red)
12oz linguine (I used 8)
1 3/4 c freshly grated Parmesan (I used Pecorino Romano)
Saute first five ingrediants over med hi heat about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes; stir 1 minute. Add wine and vinegar; bring to boil. Put lid on and cook till tomatoes fall apart, stir often. In meantime put pasta on to cook. Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. (I forgot that step) Toss Pasta, sauce, 3/4 c of cheese. Use pasta water to thin if too dry/sticky. Serve.
For Salad: Handful of Arugala, a few krinos oil cured olives, a few drops of olive oil and lime juice, dash of salt.
For toasty cheesy guys:
This came out really awesome, now I am pretty sure that most people do not have a mortar and pestle, but I do, and this is the first time I used it for this purpose because I was too lazy to clean the food processor. I threw 1 peeled clove of garlic chopped in with 1/4 c olive oil, 1/2 c pecorino, 5 twists of pepper mill, a bit o' salt and squished it around with the pestle. Obviously you can blend it with the machine or if you feel violent put it all in a baggie and smash/hit it with a rolling pin/baseball bat/hammer, whatever. Smear it on a few pieces of bread (french being common or some sort of crusty loaf; I had neither and used sourdough) and Broil for like 1 minute on low broil.
You can make the toasts with pretty much any dry italian cheese and oil/butter/margerine, and even experiment with adding olives or tomatoes or nuts or herbs.
Beverages were an excellent 2007 Big K Diet Cola with lime and a Citrus Drop.
Today we are grateful for: the boy is grateful for his multiple papers being finished and this class being almost finished; I am grateful for my Otto, my pitbull, who always lays at my feet when I am in my office, and Heidi, a fat beasty girl, who lays on the floor by my head when I do pilates and pants in my ear.
But as usual, cooking soothes me. I was intrigued by this recipe for Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce. It has fennel and leeks in it, something I had not put in pasta before, though I adore leeks. So I gave it a shot, only to discover half way through that I really didn't use/have a lot of the ingredients, so I just used what I wanted, and it still came out really delightful and new. Here's my version:
Linguine with Spicy Leek and Tomato Sauce
served with Arugala and Garlic toasts (originally from Bon Appetit)
For Pasta
1/4 c virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only, chopped, rinsed)
1 1/4 # plum tomatoes (okay here I just used about 3/4 of leftover chopped can tomatoes -the big can, and two diced fresh Romas)
1/2 c dry white wine (here I used some horrid vermouth not worth a martini...I know I am supposed to use best quality liquors in cooking, but really, I am not throwing it in the trash, and it has done really well in pasta sauces)
1 tb white wine vinegar (I used red)
12oz linguine (I used 8)
1 3/4 c freshly grated Parmesan (I used Pecorino Romano)
Saute first five ingrediants over med hi heat about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes; stir 1 minute. Add wine and vinegar; bring to boil. Put lid on and cook till tomatoes fall apart, stir often. In meantime put pasta on to cook. Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. (I forgot that step) Toss Pasta, sauce, 3/4 c of cheese. Use pasta water to thin if too dry/sticky. Serve.
For Salad: Handful of Arugala, a few krinos oil cured olives, a few drops of olive oil and lime juice, dash of salt.
For toasty cheesy guys:
This came out really awesome, now I am pretty sure that most people do not have a mortar and pestle, but I do, and this is the first time I used it for this purpose because I was too lazy to clean the food processor. I threw 1 peeled clove of garlic chopped in with 1/4 c olive oil, 1/2 c pecorino, 5 twists of pepper mill, a bit o' salt and squished it around with the pestle. Obviously you can blend it with the machine or if you feel violent put it all in a baggie and smash/hit it with a rolling pin/baseball bat/hammer, whatever. Smear it on a few pieces of bread (french being common or some sort of crusty loaf; I had neither and used sourdough) and Broil for like 1 minute on low broil.
You can make the toasts with pretty much any dry italian cheese and oil/butter/margerine, and even experiment with adding olives or tomatoes or nuts or herbs.
Beverages were an excellent 2007 Big K Diet Cola with lime and a Citrus Drop.
Today we are grateful for: the boy is grateful for his multiple papers being finished and this class being almost finished; I am grateful for my Otto, my pitbull, who always lays at my feet when I am in my office, and Heidi, a fat beasty girl, who lays on the floor by my head when I do pilates and pants in my ear.
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