Pasta Under (Not With) the Stars

Wines:

Concerto Reggiano Lambrusco - 2004
Chateau La Conseillante Pomerol 1982

Our friend John who owns The Wine House in San Francisco, often stays with us. He imports wines and comes to Los Angeles to sell them. We decided to a cook a dinner for him and he brought us a 1982 Pomerol for the dinner.

Los Angeles had been unusually warm and humid. What Global Warming? See the movie: An Inconvenient Truth for the sorry details. At least when the snow caps melt and the water rises, being on top of a hill we will be safe!

The warm weather dictated the menu and the dining location. We decided to eat on the deck overlooking the city and it was a beautiful night.

We started with drinks and a Goat Cheese, Salami Almonds and Olives. We had recently had the Salami from Fra’ Mani at La Terza. It was excellent. We had other sausages from Fra’ Mani but not the Salami. We asked Chris at The Cheese Store of Silverlake if he was getting the Salami and he just happened to have ordered it. It is very good.

We then had Melon and Prosciutto. The melon season is in full swing and every melon we have selected has been excellent.

When we first came to Los Angeles, John came down to visit us and we went to an Italian Restaurant: Locanda Veneta. We had a fabulous Pasta made with Tomatoes, Spinach and Lentils. It is exceptionally rich and you would think it has Meat in the sauce, but it doesn’t. We obtained the recipe and make it every summer using fresh heirloom tomatoes. We first made Oven Candied Summer Tomatoes using a recipe by Lynne Rossetto Kasper from The Italian Country Table.

Oven Candied Summer Tomatoes

Cut up tomatoes into wedges combine with salt and 1 cup extra-virgin oil. Place pulp up on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake 30 more minutes more, reduce heat to 250 and bake to edges of tomatoes start to darken. Remove from oven cool 20 minutes. Transfer to a glass dish pour oil from pan over the tomatoes and let set uncovered for 4 – 6 hours. Refrigerate till use.

Here is the Pasta Recipe using the tomatoes.

Massimo's Spaghetti with Spinach and Lentils

Yield: 6

Ingredients:

3/4 cup lentils
Water as needed
1 bn spinach
6 x Roma tomatoes halved
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
1 sm bunch Italian parsley chopped
2 x garlic cloves minced
Dried oregano to taste
Olive oil as needed
1 sm carrot minced
1 x red onion minced
1 x celery stalk minced
1 lb spaghetti
1 tbl butter - (to 2 tbspns)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:
Rinse lentils, then cover with water and soak 2 hours. Drain.

Rinse spinach and remove stems, keeping some water on leaves. Saute spinach in skillet over medium heat until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

Place tomatoes in 9-inch square baking pan, cut-side up. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, parsley, garlic, dash oregano and 1 tablespoon oil. Roast at 450 degrees until very tender and lightly browned, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside.

Heat 1/3 cup oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrot, onion and celery and saute until vegetables are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add lentils and enough water to come 2 to 3 inches above lentils. Cook over low heat until lentils are al dente, 30 to 35 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Return reserved water to lentils and set aside.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in large saucepan over high heat. Add spinach and tomatoes, breaking them up with wooden spoon. Saute 1 minute. Add lentil mixture and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.

Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Strain and pour spaghetti into saucepan with lentil sauce. Cook together 1 minute over high heat, adding butter and Parmesan cheese while tossing.

This recipe yields 6 servings.

We finished with Brownies from Clementine and Dulce De Leche Ice Cream from Hagen-Daaz.

We then just sat out on the deck and enjoyed the warm weather.

Perfect summer night!