So there
I was. In the kitchen, last night. All I had to work with was a piece
of leftover salmon and a bunch of asparagus. Not just any bunch of asparagus.
A bunch of pencil-thin, luscious green, funky fresh asparagus. They were
so beautiful you could've stuck ‘em in a museum and charged people to
see ‘em. What to do? Well, bein's that I is a creative dude, I got creative
with it. I dug around in the pantry and came up with some sun-dried tomatoes.
I got busy...
First things
first. I got my favorite pasta pot, and filled it with a whole lot of
cold fresh water. Turned the heat on as high as it would go, and put the
lid on. I started the sauce as I waited for the water to come to a boil…
I put some extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan. I use a lot of
olive oil. I don't even measure anymore, not because I’m that good, but
because I’m afraid to know exactly how much I use! I’m guessing…1/2 a
cup? I turned the flame on medium low.
I added some garlic. Actually, lots of garlic. I hate to admit how much,
but…it was 8 cloves, chopped fine. I tossed it into the olive oil. Then
I chopped up one shallot, and tossed that in. Then I put in some crushed
red pepper. I used a lot, but I like it HOT! I let the garlic get golden
brown, and the shallots get clear as I…
Picked out the moistest sun-dried tomatoes I could find. The really dry
ones are…really dry, especially the ones that come pre-packaged in those
plastic bags. They're too dry-they soak up too much of-a-da sauce! I used
approximately cup cup sun-dried tomatoes. Chopped them cuties into small
pieces. After the garlic turned golden, and the shallots turned clear,
I added the sun-dried tomatoes, and let them cook for five minutes or
so.
I added a cup of white wine. I used a good white wine. Why? Because it
tastes better with good wine than bad wine. I turned up the heat just
a touch and stirred it up. Slowly. Lovingly.
After about ten minutes, it was ready for the asparagus. Here's how I
prepared ‘em. Some people peel off the skin. I only do that if the asparagus
is real big. So I left the skin on. I washed the asparagus in cold water.
Then, here's what I did…grabbed the asparagus by each end, between the
index finger and thumb of each hand. Bent slowly until they broke in two.
I threw the stalk end away (you can save these stalks for soup) and chopped
up what was left, leaving the asparagus head whole. You can get fancy,
and slice the asparagus on an angle, but make sure the pieces aren't too
large, except for the asparagus head. Leave that whole. I guess there
were maybe 2 cups of chopped asparagus. I tossed the asparagus in the
sauce, and let them cook for five minutes or so, until done.
I like my veggies crisp, so after about five minutes or so, I grabbed
some leftover salmon from the night before. Salmon is so good and so good
for you! This piece was about 2 inches thick and 3 inches wide and 5 inches
long. I just crumbled it into the sauce and stirred it up. No need to
cook the salmon, you just want to heat it up, and introduce it to the
rest of the ingredients. Let them all get to know each other…
Now, when the pasta water came to a vigorous, rigorous boil, I salted
to taste (once again, Mr. Excessive used a lot) and then I put in 1 lb.
of farfalle. Farfalle in Italian means butterflies. Ain't that somethin’?
The Italians have great names for their pastas: Penne (quills) Acini di
pepe (peppercorns) and my favorite name for pasta? Lingue di passeri (the
tongues of sparrows.) My favorite pasta? Fusilli.
I cooked the pasta under the highest flame possible until it was Al Dente.
Now, Al Dente is not some guy who used to be in the Mafia. Al Dente literally
means ‘to the tooth’, but they mean firm. Chewy. When I had pasta in Rome,
it was a lot firmer than back in the Ol’ USA.
When the farfalle were done, I drained them and put them in a warm bowl.
Then I drizzled just a touch of olive oil on the pasta, and stirred ‘til
they were coated, and then I dumped the whole thing of sauce over the
pasta. Tossed it all together, and…ate like the King of the Castle!