Friday, July 26, 2013

Cooking Like My Dad

I am not sure why my Dad was on my mind today but tonight's dinner was an homage to my Father. My Dad use to make stews and sauces starting off by using just a few things from the garden. Then little by little he would add this and that and he would end up with a large pot of food that would last him a week. I would stop by the house and he would say, "Lucia you have to try this. It tastes pretty good! But I've got too much. I can't cook without adding more and more to the pan." And I would always take some home.

Tonight's dinner started as Pasta with Zucchini and Eggplant. I worked from home today so at lunch I was able to roast the zucchini and eggplant. I tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano & crushed red pepper. About 20 minutes at 425 stirring and rotating the pans half way through the cooking time. I had peppers, onions and sausage left over from the other night. So while the pasta water was coming to a boil I heated up some olive oil and a knob of butter in a saute pan. I added the peppers, onions and sausage and some sliced grape tomatoes. I let that saute for about 10 minutes and then I added the the roasted zucchini and eggplant. A little seasoning and a little white wine were added to the pan. Just before the the pasta was done I remembered I had arugula. I quickly added that to the saute pan and when it had wilted I added the pasta and a little of the pasta water. The timing was perfect. The plates were garnished with chopped parsley and Parmesan Cheese.
And how was dinner? Amazing! The peppery arugula and the roasted vegetables kept it quite light for a pasta dish. And just as my Dad had too much food we will be seeing our leftovers probably in a Pasta Pie later in the week.

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