It was a fairly light dinner.

Beginning with a modest antipasto..

• two ounces of La Quercia Ridgetop Picante (fennel and red chili -rubbed) prosciutto from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, drizzled with a little bit of Trader Joe’s excellent Italian Reserve extra virgin olive oil (unfiltered, unrefined, and cold pressed)
• arugula from Lani’s Farm, also drizzled with the oil, plus Maldon salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• oil-cured Moroccan-type (there was no identification in the store) black olives already mixed with small chili peppers, also from Whole Foods
• slices of a Balthazar baguette, purchased at Schaller & Weber’s market.

..and continuing through a pasta that was almost as simple as I could make it, in order to let the subtleties of the sunchokes and kale (grown by the farmers from whom I had purchased it) to shine through.

• eight ounces of Jerusalem artichoke (aka sunchoke) & kale fusilli from Norwich Meadows Farm, cooked al dente while preparing a sauce which was just some chopped ‘yellow shallots’ from Norwich Meadows Farm and thinly-sliced ‘music’ garlic, aka ‘strong neck’ garlic from Windfall Farms heated with a little olive oil inside a large vintage high-sided copper pot until both softened, a crushed section of some lighter-colored dried habanada pepper added, the cooked pasta tossed into the pan and stirred over a low-medium flame, along with some reserved pasta water, to emulsify it, the mix seasoned with salt and pepper, a handful of baby chrysanthemum greens from Windfall Farms tossed in, the pasta divided into 2 shallow bowls and drizzled with olive oil

 

• the wine through both courses was an Italian (Campania/Fiano di Avellino) white, Fiano di Avellino, Ciro Picariello 2017, from Astor Wines
• the music through both was Judith Weir’s absolutely delightful 1987 opera, ‘A Night at the Chinese Opera’, Andrew Parrott conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra