Fun fact: Swiss chard is my favorite vegetable, aesthetically speaking. (The favorite tasting award is currently held by Brussels sprouts.) I’m not sure I captured the vibrancy of the sunset-colored stalks in my photo session, but they are unbelievably gorgeous. Paired with their dark and stormy leaves, chard is a dramatic little diva of a plant. (Yes, I am still talking about a vegetable. I’m officially a crunchy hippy weirdo, thank you very much).
I’m in a bit of an eggplant conundrum. He’s been staring up at me from the depths of my refrigerator for days praying that I will, for the love of god, just grill him already. I want to love him. I really do. He’s healthy and in good shape. But he’s just so…purple. And has all that leathery skin hanging around and, let’s face it, no one wants to deal with it. Sorry, bro. Ain’t nobody got time for dat.
Sometimes I hate Pinterest. It’s an overload of awesome and my brain just can’t take it. No-bake peanut butter pretzel bark with a side of rainbows and magic beans! Seriously– who can resist? And when there are 60,000 of those flying in your face in perfect little columns of glory….doomed. Doomed to spend hours every day salivating without ever actually making anything! Oh sure, you want to cover your walls with DIY mason jar crafts and adorn the dinner table with 43 kinds of Baked Alaska, but you can’t because your productivity has taken a destructive nose dive. All you can do is scroll for more…and more…and more.
Today I said “Enough, self! Get up and make something worthy of the Pinterest gods!” And it was done. All with minimal clean up, since my garbage disposal is broken and I’m too lazy to figure out how to fix it. So it goes.
Oh, and it tastes good. I took some inspiration from Pasta Putanesca with the olives and anchovies, which make it salty and delightful and tummy-warming.
Spicy Tomato Cream Sauce
2 T olive oil
2 T butter
1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/4 white wine
12 oz pasta
2 c stock
1 c milk
1.5 c tomato sauce
1 t anchovies, chopped fine
1/2 c olives, cut in half
1/4 c fresh basil, sliced thinly
finely grated parmigiano reggiano
S&P (because of the anchovies, olives, and cheese, you will not need much salt)
Heat a large pot (if you are using linguine-type noodles, make sure that the pot is wide enough to fit the noodles laying down; otherwise, you’ll need to break them in half) over medium heat. When hot, add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add the onion and saute for a few minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about one minute. Add the wine and reduce for a couple of minutes. Add the anchovies and stir until a bit melted. Add the stock, milk, tomato sauce, and noodles. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low. Stir frequently and add more water if the sauce becomes thick and the noodles aren’t yet done. When the noodles are al dente, remove from heat and taste for salt. Top with olives and parmigiano cheese and serve over fresh arugula.
