Puttanesca Pasta - 7/9/2012

I recently spent 5 days at home, a trip that yielded some delicious eats and tantalizing food photos. Although my account will be out of order, I'll write about the dinner that Andrew and I had yesterday before diving into a more extensive recap of my brief time in Sonoma County.

Actually, the grilled zucchini made the trip across the country in order to grace our plates on this Monday night - I am mildly embarrassed to admit that I hand carried the tender slices, grilled to perfection by my father and grown with utmost care at Green String Farm in Petaluma, on the plane with me. The delicate vegetable side dish provided a cold, refreshing taste of home. Andrew and I had purchased the rainbow chard at the Farmer's Market on Sunday, and sauteed it simply that night with garlic, crushed red peppers, and salt. Also served chilled, these other leftovers complemented both the zucchini and the fresh puttanesca pasta. This is one of my favorite pasta dishes, and I've been craving it lately - perhaps this is why it tasted even better than usual. A gloriously simple dish, the speedy preparation only requires sauteing garlic, a couple of anchovy fillets, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt together before adding crushed tomatoes, capers, and olives and simmering the mixture until fragrant. The addition of piping hot al dente pasta and fresh parsley enables flavor absorption, and it is indeed the strong-flavored ingredients that make this dish so toothsome. Indeed, no one aspect is overpowering - the satisfying saltiness of each component somehow complements every other ingredient present in the melee. A most delicious summer meal, thrown together quickly after an hour spent lounging in a nearby summer park..