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speck, wild dandelion; ravioli ai piselli, shallot, mushrooms

With Tuesday’s dinner I was able to ratchet down the old German kitchen thing that had defined the meal the night before.

Pork, and in fact it was again smoked pork, was the major player in the first course, but this time, while I suppose it was German-ish, or actually, Austrian-ish (read Tirolean), it was an austere, thinly sliced Speck, and not some rich rillettes.

It’s interesting that the wines we enjoyed for both courses were from the same bottles we enjoyed the night before, with a new one opened near the end of the pasta.

  • two ounces of La Quercia’s Ridgetop Speck (applewood smoked prosciutto from pastured pigs)
  • wild dandelion fro Lani’s Farm, dressed with a little olive oil (Badia a Coltibuono, from Gaiole in Chianti, Siena, Italy), sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and juice from an organic Chelsea Whole Foods Market lemon
  • slices of what really is a great classic Italian (Tuscan?) bread, ‘rustic classic’, or ‘rustico’, from Flatiron Eataly’s bakery
  • the wine with the first course was an amazing, brilliant riesling, an Australian (Victoria/Great Western) white, Best’s ‘Great Western’ Riesling 2017, made by Best’s Wines, from Astor Wines

There was no pork in the main course this time. In fact there was no meat at all; instead there were some mushrooms, almost always a good alternative for enjoying an entrée’s vegetables and wine. There were no complaints.

It was going to be a light spring pasta until I remembered the paper bag with a few ounces of mushrooms sitting in the refrigerator. They had  been there for a few days, and had begun to desiccate on their outer surfaces, making them, as far as I was concerned, even more interesting than they’d normally be.

  • twelve ounces of ravioli ai piselli (a filling of peas, mint, ricotta, pecorino romano from Luca Donofrio‘s fresh pasta shop inside Eataly’s Flatiron store, boiled carefully for only a couple of minutes, or until barely cooked through in a large amount of well-salted water, drained, some of the pasta water retained, the pasta slipped into a large antique high-sided tin-lined copper pot in which a simple sauce had been created, beginning with a tablespoon of melted Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ in which one ‘camelot’ Dutch red shallot from Quarton Farm had been briefly sautéed until softened,

  • followed by 5 ounces of sliced shiitake mushrooms from the Union Square Greenmarket stand of Violet Hill Farm (where Patrick told me they were the first of the season, at least for their farm) had been tossed in, everything stirred over medium to high heat until the  mushrooms had properly cooked, salt, pepper, and spearmint from Stokes Farm added and the pasta arranged inside shallow bowls, micro scallion from Two Guys from Woodbridge arranged as a garnish, finished with a drizzle of olive oil around the edges
  • the wine with the main course was a the remainder of the previous day’s terrific German (Ahr) red, Meyer-Näkel Ahr Spätburgunder Pinot Noir 2014, from Gramercy Wine, and when that had disappeared, there was a California (Lodi) red, Jacqueline Bahue Lodi Cabernet Franc 2017, from Naked Wines

 

speck, arugula, ricotta, olives, bread; baked cabbage pasta

It was simply an assembled meal, and it would not have been remarkable, literally, except that it was so good and satisfying.

The antipasto was sourced entirely from things hanging around the apartment.

  • two ounces of La Quercia’s Ridgetop Speck (applewood smoked prosciutto from pastured pigs) drizzled with a little olive oil (Badia a Coltibuono, from Gaiole in Chianti, Siena, Italy)
  • fresh ricotta cheese from a local New Jersey farm (no other information available) from Chelsea Whole Foods Market, also drizzled with the olive oil
  • Gaeta olives from Buon Italia, in Chelsea Market
  • arugula from Phillips Farms, dressed with the same olive oil
  • slices of a Balthazar Bread rye boule from Chelsea Whole Foods Market

The main course has been making regular stops on our table for days; this was its final appearance, at least in this production

  • a rich whole grain pasta combined with cheeses and 2 kinds of cabbage, originally prepared for last Saturday’s dinner, heated in a 350º oven for 12 minutes, now both more chewy and more crispy – and more flavorful – than ever; perfect

[the image of An Xiao at TEDGlobal 2013 in Edinburgh, by James Duncan Davidson, is from TEDBlog]; the image of Jeannette Sorrell, founder of Apollo’s Fire, directing this program of the group, is from Classical Voice North America]

speck; spinach & ricotta ravioli, peperoncino, tomato, basil

It was a night off for the cook, or at least a night when he didn’t have to think much, or juggle a lot of ingredients.

  • three ounces of excellent Iowa La Quercia ’Speck Americano’ from Whole Foods, drizzled with a very small amount of a good Campania olive oil (Lamparelli O.R.O.)
  • accompanied by a bit of red (wild?) cress from Dave Harris at Max Creek Hatchery, and a few stems of parsley from Alex’s Tomato Farm, the greens seasoned with Maldon salt and a freshly-ground strong black pepper, and dressed with the same oil and a few drops of Cesare Giaccone aceto vino bianco, made from a mixture of white wines from Langhe
  • slices of She Wolf Bakery miche

The main course was almost as simple.

  • two bruised and halved rocambole garlic cloves from Keith’s Farm and 2 small whole peperoncini Calabresi secchi from Buon Italia, heated inside a large vintage high-sided copper pot in olive oil until both garlic and peppers were pungent, a little sea salt and some freshly-ground pepper added, one sliced red heirloom tomato from Stokes Farm slipped into the pot and stirred in the now quite pungent oil before a 12-ounce package of cooked (for exactly 2 minutes) Rana spinaci e ricotta ravioli from Eataly was introduced into the pan, everything carefully mixed then stirred with most of one cup of reserved pasta water until the liquid had emulsified, transferred to shallow bowls and scattered with torn leaves of a basil plant from Two Guys from Woodbridge
  • the wine was an Argentinian (Lujan de Cuyo) rosé, Lujan de Cuyo
  • the music was Handel’s ‘Hercules, a Musical Drama in Three Acts’ composed in 1744, Marc Minkowski directing Les Musiciens du Louvre

Speck; lemon marjoram ravioli, pink pepper, micro fennel

(it looks like I have a new photographer)

 

There was a salume and a pasta. Their inspiration was shared. They were both very good.

  • four ounces of thinly-sliced Recla Speck Alto Adige IGP, from Bolzano, via Eataly, drizzled with Frankies 457 Sicilian olive oil, the gift of  a friend
  • the last leaves/stems remaining from an arugula plant from Stokes Farm, plus a little micro red mustard from Two Guys from Woodbridge, both drizzled with the same olive oil, and also a bit of juice from an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, sprinkled with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
  • slices of a crusty semolina baguette from Eataly

The main course was just about as minimal as the appetizer.

  • twelve ounces of fresh ravioli rounds from Luca Donofrio‘s fresh pasta shop inside Eataly’s Flatiron store, filled with ricotta, lemon zest, marjoram, nutmeg, and mascarpone, boiled carefully until barely cooked through 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 2 or 3 tablespoons of Organic Valley ‘Cultured Pasture Butter’ had been melted, stirred over medium heat after some of the pasta water had been added, in order to emulsify the liquid, almost a tablespoon of pink peppercorns (Fr. baie rose) from Dean & DeLuca added before the pasta was arranged inside 2 low bowls where it was topped with the zest from half of an organic Whole Foods Market lemon, and garnished with some chopped bronze fennel from Norwich Meadows Farm
  • the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2016, from Phillippe Wines
  • the music was Philip Corner’s 2014 album, ‘Satie Slowly’

speck, arugula; spaghetti, lemon, fava greens, parmesan

Tuesday was the official first day of spring, but until these greens appeared in the Union Square Greenmarket on Friday, I wasn’t quite feeling it.

We really celebrated the equinox yesterday, after an antepasto which only looked springy.

While the Speck, a dry-cured, lightly smoked ham, isn’t specific to any season, the pasta it introduced was, as it came garlanded with fava greens.

The first course almost came as a kit.

  • four ounces of Citerio Fresco prosciutto from Whole Foods Market, drizzled some Frankies 457 Sicilian olive oil, the gift of a friend, arranged at the edge of a spray of baby arugula from Windfall Farms, dressed with the same oil, Maldon salt, and freshly-ground black pepper
  • slices of an organic multigrain baguette from Bread Alone

The pasta was assembled almost as easily.

  • a few loose handfuls of fava greens from Campo Rosso Farm, washed, drained, and gradually added to a pot more than large enough to hold half a pound of cooked pasta (I used a large enameled cast iron pot in this instance) in which a 3 cloves of Keith’s Farm Rocambole garlic had already been heated and softened a bit, the greens stirred and allowed to wilt only slightly before stirring in some lemon zest and maybe a little lemon juice, then 8 ounces of cooked and drained Afeltra 100% grano italiano spaghetti, produced in Gragnano, from Eataly Flatiron, added and stirred over medium-high heat with some of the reserved pasta cooking water, arranged inside low bowls and finished with some olive oil, grated Parmigiano Reggiano Hombre from Whole Foods Market, and freshly-ground pepper to taste.
  • the wine was an Italian (Campania) white, Fiano di Avellino, Ciro Picariello 2015, from Astor Wines
  • the music was Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, ‘From the New World’, Andris Nelsons conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra