{"id":4100,"date":"2015-05-09T15:57:04","date_gmt":"2015-05-09T15:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=4100"},"modified":"2015-05-09T15:57:04","modified_gmt":"2015-05-09T15:57:04","slug":"vesuvio-pasta-with-speck-ramps-probably-thyme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/food.hoggardwagner.org\/?p=4100","title":{"rendered":"‘Vesuvio’ pasta with Speck, ramps, probably thyme"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"vesuvio_pasta_ramps_speck\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These are some of my favorite things: \u00a0excellent Italian artisanal pasta, and, not incidentally, with a very sexy shape; S\u00fcdtiroler Speck; and local ramps, those alliums of the abbreviated season; not to forget the good Italian olive oil; and grated Italian parmesan cheese. \u00a0 So the dish was basically assembled out of passion, but also necessity: \u00a0I had the more perishable ingredients on hand and didn’t want to wait longer to use them; \u00a0I also didn’t have much time to cook dinner that night, and this dish would be very quick. \u00a0And it\u00a0really was an improvisation. \u00a0The Speck\u00a0had been in the refrigerator\u00a0longer than it should have, and\u00a0had just begun to dry out a bit. \u00a0No longer ideal as an antipasto, it would\u00a0add great flavor to the dish I was beginning to put together in my head.<\/p>\n

I don’t remember worrying about any recipe; I just\u00a0dove right in. \u00a0One caution: separate the bulbs of the ramps from the leaves, toss them in a bit of oil before adding the Speck, heating it very briefly, then tossing in the ramp leaves.<\/p>\n

I prepared the dish a couple weeks back, did not leave any footprints, and I also don’t remember the details, but I think the smaller<\/em>\u00a0‘specks’<\/em>\u00a0which appear on the pasta are chopped thyme.<\/p>\n