I couldn't let the month of September fly by without making this next recipe that features a few ingredients that I grew in my garden this year....or at least attempted to grow.
Okay, so maybe the garden didn't do so well this year. It's a bummer. I put my sweat and tears into it. More sweat than tears. But a few veggies did pop up so it wasn't a total loss.
It was my first year of growing at the new house in a patch of land that clearly had never seen seed of any kind, in a state that got almost no rain this summer. And....maybe....I did neglect it just a little bit. Sue me. Next year will better for sure.
My tomato plants faired well however, (thanks Home Depot!) and my wife and I had plenty of tomatoes to enjoy, including a nice variety of sweet 100's. The vines are just loaded with them, so I picked some tonight to use in this recipe.
There's something to be said about cooking with and eating produce so fresh that it has never seen even a bit of refrigeration. And with a recipe that has such few ingredients, every one of those ingredients has to be a star.
Those of you at home will appreciate this dish in that there is no need to crank up the oven and heat up your home during the Indian summer, nor is some complicated culinary surgery required to prepare it either. It doesn't require that you grow your own tomatoes, but having access to incredibly high quality ones are essential.
I start by bringing salted water up to a boil to cook my spaghetti in. Once boiling, I throw in the pasta and heat a sauté pan with extra virgin olive oil on high heat. Oh and in case I haven't already mentioned it, don't put oil in your pasta water. It's a waste of oil. Oil and water won't mix. I know some people think that it helps prevent the pasta from sticking together, but it doesn't. Stirring the pasta often and using plenty of water prevents your pasta from clumping together.
I add some slivered garlic to the oil as my pasta cooks.
After about 2 minutes, the garlic turns golden brown so I throw in some sweet 100's, basil, and chives.
This gets sautéed until the tomatoes beginning to burst.
Once the spaghetti is just shy of al dente', it gets added to the sauté pan and cooks for about another 30 seconds longer. Why? Because the heat of the condiment will continue to cook the pasta as the pasta simultaneously absorbs the flavor of the condiment. This is something that Mario always harped on on his show 'Molto Mario', and in his countless number of cookbooks. This how it is in Italy, in his restaurants, and making pasta in this manner will really take your noodle cookery to the next level.
The spaghetti is ready to plate.
You would not be shunned in my presence for adding some chili flakes and grated Parmesan cheese to this plate, but really it's perfect just the way it is. That is, of course, unless you have anything less than great ingredients.
Overall, this was way easy, so I'll be looking to find another recipe that offers more of a challenge. Until next time...
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