Tuesday, August 7, 2007

ARUGULA SALAD, MINTED SALAD, PASTA WITH RAW MARINATED TOMATOES



What a lazy summer! I am guilty of neglecting this blog - yet again - shamefully. We have had a lovely few months, but little exciting has been happening in our kitchen as far as new recipes are concerned. What we have been doing is buying fresh produce from the Farmer's Market twice a week and having wonderful salads, fruit, and lightly steamed veggies :)

This is a combo that we particularly like - nice and refreshing.

ARUGULA SALAD



No exact measurements here, of course, but for a couple of us we use, well, enough arugula/rocket for two then slice two or three smallish radishes very very finely and a smallish carrot too (only this sliced sort of 'on the bias' to produce lovely wafer-thin ovals). Supposed to be dressed simply with a little extra-virgin olive oil, it is dressed in our kitchen with a little sprinkle of seasoned rice vinegar instead - a far cry from its Italian roots, but equally lovely.

Another, which defies ethnic description is a minted salad made out of whatever I usually have in the fridge.

MINTED SALAD



This one is red onion, red bell pepper, apple, cucumber, celery, tomato and goodness knows what else (I forget!), dressed with a little lemon juice and a handful or whatever of roughly chopped fresh mint leaves.

And here's a pasta dish we have had several times, with minor variations:

PASTA WITH RAW MARINATED TOMATOES



This past is easy, but it does need one to four hours to marinate. Exact measurements depend on number of people and their appetites, but for two of us in the middle of the day I use approximately:

2 large tomatoes, chopped
3 sundried tomatoes, soaked and finely chopped
grated zest of a lemon
1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves, chopped
1/8 tsp of salt or to taste (you may prefer more)
freshly ground pepper to taste, either black or a mix (we prefer a mix of green, red, black, white most of the time)
juice of lemon
pasta to serve (penne or similar shaped/sized past is good rather than long pasta)
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved, to stir through before serving
a few basil or parsley leaves for garnish

Marinate the tomatoes etc., giving it a stir a few times during the process, for at least an hour - longer is better.
When you're ready to eat, cook your pasta according to your usual practice, drain well, toss with the tomato mix and serve.

1 comment:

Carrie™ said...

Good stuff! The salad sounds simple and delightful. The first picture of the dogs & cat sleeping is adorable. I'm glad you're posting again. I was popping by about once a week & I was going to e-mail you because I was starting to wonder if you were OK. But you've been enjoying the season. Nothing wrong with that!