Radiatorre

24-Sep-2006

I’ve had pretty much a perfect weekend. Friday night was the Elton John concert – so much fun! I love him! Saturday night was a cocktail party with great friends. They had purchased the party at an auction a bit ago and I got to join in the fun.

The party was held at the residence on the very top of Smith Tower – yes, above the observation deck and Chinese Room, if you’ve been there. At the very, very top. In fact, many people climbed up into the glass ball on the very top of the building but I had to chicken out. The steep and narrow spiral staircase and ladder didn’t scare me; or the idea that once in the globe you got to look at the city below basically right through your feet; no, what got to me was the last little passage to the ball that required about 4 or 5 feet of squeezing through a very narrow opening in the concrete – like shoulder pinching squeezing. I was afraid my claustrophobia would kick in and the screams might ruin the party for the others… ;-) But that was okay. The 360 degree view and just the experience of being there with friends was really enough.

Then today was mostly spent outside trying to catch up on yard work. I know that doesn’t sound great to many of you but I really like working in the yard. It’s therapeutic. Mid-afternoon, after making a dent in a couple of overgrown beds, I came in a had a big bowl of Radiatorre with Tomatoes and Onion.

I’d actually made this pasta a few days ago, so technically this was leftovers, but that did not diminish how great it was – in fact it enhanced it since I could have a great meal with no effort! And the best part was that the tomatoes and herbs that made the sauce were all from the garden.

This was a really easy recipe even on day one.

You just sauté one chopped medium onion and a couple cloves of garlic until golden. Then add about 3 cups of whole tomatoes that have been peeled (1 minute in boiling water then remove and the peels pop off) and cored. This week I added a bunch of rosemary at the same time.

As the tomatoes cook you sort of mash them up a bit. Once they are boiling add a splash of red wine, some tomato paste to thicken and a bit of anchovy paste for a little depth of flavor. About the time you add the tomatoes to the pan, add your pasta to boiling water and boil until almost done but still a little chewy.

Drain the pasta , add it back to the pan and then add the sauce. At this point I also add a bit of fresh basil. Oh, and I’ve been salting and peppering (are those words?) along the whole way. Let the sauce and pasta meld together – the pasta will absorb some sauce to finish cooking – add a little Parmesan if you like.

Then pour it all onto a plate or into a bowl, top with a bit more Parmesan, pour a glass of wine and you are set!

I really like radiatorre as all its little ridges and cavities really hold the sauce. A couple weeks ago I used it in a shrimp pasta dish (photo below) although I don’t remember exactly what all I did to the sauce. It doesn’t really matter – just use your imagination and you’ll have something tasty in no time.