A Quick, Simple Meal

I do not have Children. I think that's a declaration that I should probably make up front before any posting; and, in time, it may become my tagline. The conclusion being that much of what I write about is from the perspective of someone who, typically, arrives home after the sun has set and can prep dinner while entertained and educated by a selection from audible.com.

Some of you may recall that last summer I was stranded for a night in New York with two of my friends... precipitating Sushi Gate. On the Friday night we stumbled upon the Uber-Chef Incumbent's dressed-down restaurant, Lupa. And as a follow-up, one of my co-conspirators scouted out Mario's Bavette with Cheese and Pepper.

In my household this has become a staple, albeit modified by a subtle touch - I use much less oil (trusting instinct and eye), I eliminate the butter, and I prefer pepper that has been hand-ground in a mortar and pestle.

This evening I arrived home shortly before 7PM and was, therefore, a little pressed for time. When it came to preparing dinner I conjured up a quick salad from 4 different types of lettuce that I had picked up in the market on the weekend. I put on a pot of water and, while the pot was coming to a boil, I ground some pepper in the mortar; I shredded a little parmesan; drained off some diced canned tomatoes; chopped some garlic - put some of the tomatoes into a small cast iron frying pan with some olive oil and some of the garlic; ground a little pepper and salt over top, and let it heat while the pasta cooked.

I then mixed some vinegar and olive oil for a simple vinaigrette - which I also warmed slightly; and drizzled that sparingly... very sparingly... over the salad.

I added some terrific dried pasta, rustichella d'abruzzo, to the pasta pot - tested it frequently to ensure that it was al dente, and when it was ready I drained it off in a collander. I put some on my regular dining partner's plate and topped it with the tomato mixture, and to the remainder I added olive oil (again, a good dousing but not so that it was swimming); I sprinkled a little parmesan and a fair bit of the pepper - I wanted it to look freckled enough worth teasing!

And then I plated my own.

This meal took me no more than ten minutes from prep to plate. Granted, ten minutes of pretty intense focus - I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to replay that section from the audible book. But still ten minutes.

Within this time I served my regular dining partner what she wanted and I served for myself what I wanted; both were based on pasta but they were very different - individual. There are a lot of options here for a pretty broad combination of dishes: Szechwan, with some ground szechwan pepper, a minute drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkling of sesame seeds; something Russian influenced, with a little ground pink pepper corn, a drizzle of vodka and maybe a little chopped cold salmon that is in the fridge - or traditional Italian with the chopped tomatoes, maybe some chopped basil and sprinkled freshly ground parmesan.

OK - back to Children. I know I'll be accused of being delusional and, at their peril, someone may offer up their children as a test, but I'd like to think that this 10 minute meal could be made with or without the little urchins running around. And far be it from me to say, but I can't imagine a child who wouldn't like pink peppercorns, szechwan peppers or vodka. I mean really!