I had gotten bored with my usual approach to a very handy staple we’ve enjoyed so often, and I wanted to better identify the artichoke flavor, so I tried introducing this store-bought ravioli to some new things. Also, I really didn’t have any tomatoes.

• one sliced garlic scape from Berried Treasuress Farm heated in a little olive oil inside a large antique copper pot until pungent and partly softened, then a small yellow grenada seasoning pepper and a very small green aji dulce pepper, both from Eckerton Hill Farm, neither of them hot, both thinly sliced, added and stirred for a minute, then a 10-ounce package of Rana artichoke-filled ravioli from Eataly Flatiron that had been boiled for barely 3 minutes and drained before some of the cooking water was reserved, was tossed into the pot and carefully stirred with the rest of its contents, also adding over half a cup of the reserved pasta water, over medium-high heat until the liquid had emulsified, then ten or so pitted kalamata olives and some chopped peppermint from S. & S.O. Produce tossed in and the mix stirred before being arranged inside 2 shallow bowls, more mint and some pea shoots from Lani’s Farm tossed on top, olive oil poured around the edges of the pasta

There was a small cheese course, but it didn’t manage to get photographed.

• a bit of Coach Farms fresh goat cheese (the package had been in the refrigerator for some time, having been purchased for exactly the eventuality in which it saw use last night: a bite to extend a meal that would otherwise have been too small), on a plate sprinkled with a little freshly-ground black pepper and some chopped dill fronds
• thin toasts from small slices of a Bread Alone miche that had been in the bread box for  a few days

 

• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Karen Birmingham Clarksburg Pinot Grigio 2017, from Naked Wines
• the music throughout was four Bach and Mozart works for small ensemble, performed by the Haydn Sinfonietta Wien

I had a pound or so of heirloom tomatoes, less than a third of which were super ripe (which is good, when it comes to heirlooms). I was determined to use them in Sunday night’s meal, but the amount wasn’t going to be enough to serve with the pasta I had in mind to prepare. The remaining tomato was pretty big, but I couldn’t include just some of it, so the dish ended up less like a ravioli con tomate and more like a ravioli en brodo.

• two sliced fresh garlic cloves from Alex’s Tomato Farm and a thinly-sliced section of a stem of a flowering spring shallot from Keith’s Farm heated together in a little olive oil over medium heat inside a large tin-lined high-sided copper pot until the alliums were pungent, and just before that moment part of a dried Habanada pepper, crushed, was introduced into and the pot and stirred for a minute, then several heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm, roughly chopped, and some chopped fresh marjoram flower buds, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, were added to the the mix and stirred a little before a 10-ounce package of Rana artichoke-filled ravioli from Eataly Flatiron that had been boiled for barely 3 minutes before being drained was tossed into the pot, the pasta carefully stirred over medium heat for a while to reduce somewhat what was basically tomato liquid, and served, when ready, inside 2 shallow bowls, additional marjoram buds tossed on top
• the wine was an Italian (Calabria) white, Scala, Ciro Bianco, 2017, from Flatiron Wines

There was a dessert, basically the one we didn’t get to at dinner the previous evening.

• a scoop of Talenti Vanilla Bean Gelato from Whole Foods Market dropped into a hollowed-out deseeded core of half of an Asian/Korean melon from Norwich Meadows Farm, some raspberries from Berried Treasures Farm scattered over the top, and finished with some of the berries, mashed with a little turbinado sugar and a splash of Toschi Orzata Orgeat syrup

 

• the music was the album, ‘Mark-Anthony Turnage, ‘On All Fours‘

It was June 12, our first full day back from Los Angelos, and I’m just now getting around to posting about it and the next five days of meals, mostly because of time constraints, but also because my hold host sort of collapsed, and I’m still not familiar with how the new one works. These meal descriptions will probably be more abreviated than unusual since I have only sketchy notes and a sketchy memory.

• the appetizer included part of a package of sweet soppressata from Buon Italia and some wild dandelion from Berried Treasures Farm that had survived our absence in terrific shape, the greens sprinkled with Maldon salt and freshly-ground pepper, and both drizzled with juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, accompnaied by a few freshly-pitted Kalamata olives, also from Whole Foods Market
• slices of a an absolutely wonderful, if non-traditional style, baguette, ‘Mediterraneo’ from Eataly (whole wheat, rye flours, pumpkin, sesame, poppy, sunflower, and flax seeds, millet, farro)

The main course was a pasta, a fresh ravioli which began its life that same day only 2 blocks east of us.

• thirteen ounces of an artichoke-filled (with a little anchovy!) fresh ravioli from Luca Donofrio‘s fresh pasta shop inside Eataly’s Flatiron store, boiled carefully until barely cooked through inside a large stainless steel pot in a large amount of well-salted water, drained, some of the pasta water retained, then slipped into a large antique high-sided tin-lined copper pot in which a tablespoon or two of olive oil had softened a bit of chopped spring garlic from Berried Treasures Farm over a medium flame, tossed a bit before being joined by 8 or 10 halved grape tomatoes from Kernan Farms, seasoned with sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, the mix stirred, along with some reserved pasta cooking water, until the liquids had emulsified, followed by the addition of chopped lovage from Berried Treasures Farm, arranged inside shallow bowls, sprinkled with toasted home-made breadcrumbs, and scattered with a bit more lovage

 

• the wine througout the meal was an Italian (Campania) white, Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo 2016, from Garnet Wine 
• the music was the album, ‘Joseph Bodin de Boismortier: Sonates pour basses‘, with Le Concert Spirituel directed by Hervé Niquet

This was the very best artichoke-filled pasta I’ve ever had. Among its other virtues, there was no ‘ricotta extender’, so the artichoke flavors were not watered down – or buried by the heirloom tomato sauce.

The quality of those tomatoes was also a big factor in the dish’s success.

• two sliced garlic cloves from Lucky Dog Organic Farm, heated in a little olive oil over medium heat inside a large tin-lined high-sided copper pot until the garlic was pungent, joined just before that moment by part of a dried Habanada pepper, crushed, which was stirred for a minute inside the pot, followed by 2 heirloom tomatoes from Norwich Meadows Farm (one a deep red, the other a mottled orange), roughly chopped, and some chopped fresh oregano flower buds, also from Norwich Meadows Farm, the mix stirred a little before 10 or 12 ounces of house-made carciofi-filled ravioli, boiled for barely 3 minutes before being drained, were tossed into the pot with some reserved pasta cooking water, the pasta carefully stirred with the sauce over medium heat for a while to emulsify it, and when ready, served inside 2 shallow bowls, a bit of olive oil drizzled around the edges [the pasta filling was composed of artichokes; olive oil; cacio de roma, a semi-soft sheep’s milk cheese made in the Roman countryside; parmigiano; anchovy; tomato; parsley; and basil]
• the wine was a California (Clarksburg) white, Richard Bruno Clarksburg Chenin Blanc 2016, from Naked Wines
• the music was from the Deutsche Grammophon/DGG album, ‘haydn, “sturm” und “drang”, paris & london symphonies’, the pieces performed by the  Orchestra Of The Age Of the Enlightenment, and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Frans Brüggen conducting both

This is a formula for an almost an instant dinner, and it never has to be an exact repeat, thanks to the availability of one or another form of good fresh pasta (frozen, handily little more than an arms distance from the pot), a few fantastic cherry tomatoes (which aren’t fussy/time sensitive), and the possibility of drawing from a healthy variety of herbs or other oddments which can be found in a well-frequented larder.

The bit about the larder is pretty key in any cooking done at home. It really, really helps (makes it far easier, and more exciting) if you cook regularly, because, among so many other reasons, it means you don’t have to shop for as many ingredients to prepare a single meal, and because having stuff on hand pretty much compels improvisation.

• Rana artichoke- and ricotta-filled ravioli, from Eataly, with a sauce which began with sliced organic garlic cloves from Whole Foods warmed inside a good-sized cast iron enameled pot in a little olive oil, followed by the addition of 10 of ‘The Best Cherry Tomatoes’ from Stokes Farm, whole, but slightly punctured, which were heated until almost breaking down, with freshly-ground Tellicherry pepper added before the drained ravioli was added to the pot, some pasta cooking water introduced to the mix to emulsify the sauce while it and the ravioli were stirred up on top of the stove, the finished pasta served sprinkled with a generous amount of fresh milkweed buds from Down Home Acres
• slices from a fresh loaf Sullivan Street Bakery Trucio weren’t really necessary, but how else to be sure none of the savory sauce would be wasted?
• the wine was an Italian (Sardinia) white, La Cala Vermentino di Sardegna 2014
• the music was Jean-Philippe Rameau, ‘Concerts en Sextuor‘