hand-rolled pasta for 13
Have you ever had a “perfect storm” of party guests? This week was my “perfect storm.” I’ve been inviting friends for weeks to come join me for Sunday brunch. I’ve never had more than 4 takers at once.
But this week seemed to be the week when not only were my guests available… so were their friends. (I’ve always had an open door policy on my improv meals and welcome whoever has an interest in a farmer’s market meal. Who knew all of my friends would decide to bring guests in the same week!) So, for this Sunday brunch we had a lucky 13 diners.
The thought of cooking for 13 instead of 4 was no sweat. But what was challenging was schlepping enough goodies to feed the crowd through the busy market on a broken foot. (Anyone have a sherpa I can borrow for the next shopping expedition?) Those of you who follow my blog know I broke my foot back in June and yes, it is almost healed. But the added weight of groceries was a little more than my barely heeled bones could handle. Now I know why the little old Russian ladies all own those hideous metal carts!
To be honest, I didn’t really feel the pain until I got home. The market at the height of summer was such an excitement for my senses. My agenda for the morning took me to the stall boasting “fresh pasta.” I’d been wanting to check it out for weeks. The darling Italian proprietor, so cute I had the urge to pinch his chubby, pink cheeks, introduced me to a product I’d never before seen: trofie. Trofie is a hand-rolled semolina pasta. When I purchased two packages, he ordered me to put the fresh pasta in the freezer before cooking. He explained that hard pasta will better keep its shape. I have no idea if this is true but I did it and the final product looked beautiful, so…
Next priority was bread, one of the food products quickest to sell out at the market. This week it was simply a big, crusty, Italian loaf. Then it was on to fruits and veggies including more of those fabulous chanterelles from last week. (I also got some adorable, baby shitake with heads no bigger than a thumb nail.)
Back home, I unpacked and quickly set to work on a pitcher of lemonade. This week I had several guests either under the drinking age or else too busy to risk the late afternoon haze that comes with day drinking so I wanted to make sure we had a universally appealing drink. I also wanted to avoid the sugar buzz that makes small children bounce off of my red painted walls, so I used tried using stevia as a sweetener. (Stevia is a natural sweetener gaining popularity that doesn’t cause the blood sugar spike of sugar.)
Stay Mellow Yellow Lemonade
2/3 c water
1-1 1/2 tbsp stevia
1/4 c sugar
4-5 very juicy lemons (home grown lemons offer almost twice the juice of your average Sunkist fruit)
In a small saucepan, boil water, stevia and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Squeeze lemons into a small pitcher. Add cooled stevia mixture. Fill pitcher with water to desired sweetness. (Make the lemonade slightly stronger than you like so that you can add ice and not dilute the flavor.)
Because I knew one guest was trying to avoid gluten as a treatment for joint pain, (pasta and bread not a great menu!), I made a second “pasta” with zucchini noodles. I found a goat’s cheddar flavored with garlic to add some robustness to the zucchini. To accompany the main dishes I made a huge fruit salad and platter of melon slices, including watermelon and a fruit that was new to me, a gaya melon, (a small, white, fragrant, torpedo-shaped fruit). I also threw together a green salad with The Love Diet’s one-and-only salad dressing and grilled some Japanese eggplants I found at the price of 6 for $1.50. For dessert I made a batch of The Love Diet’s insanely addictive Blue Cheese Walnut Brittle. In addition to lemonade, we enjoyed a bottle of Jorian Hill Viognier, Sculpterra Zinfandel, a Spanish Tinto Del Torro and Jaja de Jau, a fruity, French Sauvignon Blanc.
Zucchini Pasta with Raw Tomato Sauce
3 large zucchini
5 medium heirloom tomatoes in a variety of colors, roughly chopped
8-10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 ears white corn, kernels removed
1/4 fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 tbsp fruity olive oil
3 oz goat’s milk cheddar, chopped
salt to taste
Trim zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds then cut each half in half again lengthwise. Using a mandolin or vegetable peeler, peel zucchini into noodle-shaped strips. Repeat with all 3 zucchini and transfer to a large serving bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine tomatoes, corn kernels, basil and olive oil. Thoroughly toss and allow the mixture to rest for 20-30 minutes then fold in cheese, season with salt and pour over zucchini.
Fresh Trofie with Mushrooms and Peppered Chevre
24 oz fresh trofie, stored in the freezer for at least 30 minutes
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 shallots
5 oz chanterelles
4 oz baby shitake (or an additional 4 oz chanterelles)
4-5 fistfuls Japanese spinach (or conventional spinach), roughly chopped
1 small bunch fresh watercress
3 oz chevre with black pepper
salt to taste
In a non-stick pan, melt butter and saute shallots for 1 minute. Toss in mushrooms and cook until they are soft and release juices, about 4 minutes. Season with salt. Stir in the spinach and watercress, stirring until just wilted. Set aside.
Cook trofie in boiling, salted water for 3-4 minutes. When trofie is cooked, reheat mushroom mixture, stirring in 2 oz chevre. Cook until thoroughly re-heated and season with salt to taste.
Put trofie in a deep serving bowl. Top with mushroom mixture and toss. Top with an additional oz of crumbled chevre and serve immediately.