Since I was recently invited to contribute to this blog (thanks!) and I just cooked something wonderful tonight, I thought I should grab the initative here and share it.
I've been in a cooking rut lately too, so this was a really nice surprise. I do almost all of my own cooking, and have for a long time, but I go in and out of these phases of being sick of my own stuff or feeling un-creative. Using almost nothing but the crock pot all winter also did a number on me.
Anyway, I stole this recipe from a recent issue of the New York Times. The original link is here, but I am vegan and alas this recipe is not - it is all about anchovies. My hunch was that capers would be a nice substitute because they are quite salty/briny/savory. I have no idea if they are in fact a good substitute for anchovies, having never eaten the latter, but this did indeed turn out delicious with some minor modifications.
Ingredients:
Olive oil (as much or little as you like)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Several good shakes of crushed red pepper (more or less depending on how spicy your taste is - I love salty, spicy, flavorful food, so I use a heavy hand with my dashes)
3/4 lb. penne or other short thicker pasta
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3.5 oz container of capers
10 garlic cloves, whole, peeled
Chopped fresh parsley to go on top
Instructions:
1. Boil water, and halve the cherry tomatoes and peel the garlic while you're waiting. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.
2. While it is cooking, heat the olive oil and put in the garlic and optional red pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the garlic begins to brown.
3. Add the capers and cook on medium heat for another few minutes.
4. Add halved cherry tomatoes and cook them until they become "saucy" (according to the original recipe). I don't know if mine ever became saucy per se - they don't generate a lot of liquid - but once they become soft and mushy and start to fall apart a little when you stir them around. This took about 5 - 8 minutes.
5. Add the penne and stir around to mix thoroughly with the sauce. You can drizzle some more olive oil on at this point if it is sticky. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Top with a generous handful of chopped fresh parsley.
After eating this, I thought it might have also been delicious with some sliced black or kalamata olives.
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2 comments:
thanks for posting, m. it sounds like a tasty recipe.
you also mentioned the possibility that the end texture may be a little sticky, and i was surprised that, apart from olive oil and the juices from the tomatoes, there was no additional liquid added.
do you think that adding a little liquid, like broth or a shake of vinegar, would prevent 'stickiness' and improve the recipe?
I'm on the fence on that one - I was afraid to add liquid like water or broth because I didn't want to dilute the taste of the sauce. I think the olive oil did a good job of loosening everything up while also adding some flavor, but I think YMMV (as I'm just not a big fan of liquid-y sauce).
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