Grilled Asparagus, Lentil Pasta

Wine:

Kosta Browne 2007 Rose of Pinot Noir
Newton 2002 Unfiltered Chardonnay

Bea joined us for dinner.

We had recently eaten at Osteria Mozza and had a wonderful starter that we wanted to replicate. It was Grilled Asparagus with Burrata Cheese, Brown Butter and Hazelnuts.

The interesting thing for us is that Nancy grilled the asparagus on her Panini Maker. We had never used it to grill vegetables. She said that you coat the asparagus in olive oil before grilling. We tried it and it worked! Make brown butter and add the hazelnuts to warm. The asparagus grilled with beautiful hash marks. It was very easy. Place the grilled asparagus on the serving plate, top with the Burrata brown butter with hazelnuts and sprinkle some sea salt. Delicious!

For the next course we had a lentil pasta that we love. We had picked up a large hunk of the end of a prosciutto from The Cheese Store of Silverlake and have been using pieces of it. We made a Pasta with Lentils and Prosciutto Sauce. It is delicious. It is from Cucina Simpatica by Johanne Killeen & George Germon. We highly recommend this dish!

For dessert we had Little Cakes from the Cake Monkey Bakery.

Pasta with Lentil and Prosciutto Sauce
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Ask your butcher for an end piece of prosciutto. Usually these pieces are less expensive, and they are fine for this sauce.

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 stalk celery, diced
1 carrot, scraped and chopped
1 large onion (4 to 5 ounces), peeled and diced
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
One 3-ounce piece prosciutto or pancetta, chopped (1/2 cup packed)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 ounces (1 heaping cup) lentils ^
1 red onion
11/2 pounds imported spaghettini or linguine fini
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut up

1. Heat the olive oil in a small heavy stockpot and add the celery, carrot, diced onion, garlic, jalapeno, red pepper, prosciutto, and salt. Gently saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and aromatic, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add the lentils and 5 cups of water, bring to a boil, and simmer until the lentils are soft but not mushy and falling apart, 18 to 22 minutes. The sauce may be completed to this point and chilled in the refrigerator until ready to use.
3. If you have refrigerated the sauce, heat it slowly over a low flame. Bring 5 quarts of salted water to a boil in another large pot, and chop the red onion for garnish.
4. When the lentil sauce is hot, drop the pasta in the water and boil until it is still quite firm, 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Drain the spaghettini in a colander, then add it to the sauce with the butter. Toss the pasta in the sauce for 1 to 2 minutes until al dente. Serve very hot, topped with the chopped red onion.
SERVES 6 AS A MAIN COURSE