Hello fellow pasta lovers. I know I have been neglecting you. Believe me when I tell you that it is not from a lack of making pasta. Quite the contrary. I make and eat pasta. (Gluten free now) Maybe not as often as before when I used to eat it every day. Yeah, you read that correctly. EVERY DAY. Oh the glory years. Every day requires a lot of invention. Which meant I needed to come up with a variety of combinations to swirl, toss and top my pasta. This is the very essence of the 'something from nothing' style, and how I pretty much make every pasta dish. Which leaves you wondering why the hell I'm not posting them given that it is the literal building block of my blog. Oh the irony. Quite frankly, these dishes, although delicious, didn't seem like such revolutionary ideas, nor ones you wouldn't have thought up yourselves. But maybe not. So, if it's pasta you want, it's pasta you get. Who I am to deny anyone from eating pasta? I'm not crazy.

This combo literally was a throw it together dish from last week. I was spending time with my niece Gianna before she headed back to college, my alma mater Binghamton University. Our afternoon of shopping ended right at the dinner hour and we were hungry. We first thought of grabbing a bite at some local restaurant, but Gianna being every thoughtful and dollar conscious, said why spend money. After mentioning that I didn't have a ton to choose from at home, save pasta, her answer: "Well, I would never turn down pasta." And this why she is my goddaughter. Like minds.

Here we go with the old open the fridge and see what we have...

Container of oven roasted tomatoes

Moroccan oil cured black olives

Baby spinach

That's all we needed to make a pasta that had some real depth of flavor.

Ingredients

1 lb. linguine (I used Tinkyada gluten free)
3.5 c oven roasted tomatoes
1/2c approx. roasting oil & juices from the tomatoes
1/3 c Moroccan oli cured olives, rough chop
4 c baby spinach, rough chop
1/2 med. yellow onion, diced (approx. 2/3 c)
3 large cloves garlic, sliced
pinch red pepper flakes, optional
Magic 3 (Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper)

Instructions

Dice the onions, slice the garlic, chop the olives. While the pasta is cooking, sauté the onions and garlic until just softened. Add the olives and stir to combine.

Add the tomatoes plus their roasting oil and spinach and let cook until spinach is wilted and everything is warmed through. Season to taste. (Note that the olives add a salty flavor so go light handed when adding salt. TASTE, taste, taste.)

Once pasta is al dente, transfer it to the sauce pan and combine all together letting it cook the last minute in the sauce. Top with grated cheese.

The sweetness from the tomatoes, the salty, earthy flavor from the olives and the bite of spinach. There really is no need for me to tell you that this was yummy. Trust me, it was. So much so, I made it again when my sis, Jill came for her weekly visit. Pasta NEVER disappoints. It really does provide a double dose of love.

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Last summer I happened upon long, white eggplants that motivated me to grill them and top them with a feta cream concoction. I, and my guests, loved the combo so much that I was again inspired by the zesty, tangy flavors of feta, herbs and lemon. This time wanting to create more of a gremolata style topping.

Ok, before the emails start coming asking, "What is gremolata" ? (Although trust me, I never mind getting your email questions or suggestions.) Gremolata is an Italian condiment, if you will. Super basic, but like many things Italian, it makes a powerful statement. It's a zesty garnish of chopped herbs. The classic version consists of lemon zest, garlic, parsley and anchovy and is often used as to complement such dishes as Osso Buco alla Milanese, providing a final flavor zip to a rich meat dish.

Classic style is great since most of those ingredients are common to every kitchen, and it creates a wonderful go-to topping to liven up any dish. However, fear not of veering off the common path. I implore you to go ahead and venture out. Mix and match to design your own gremolata. Think other citrus fruits such as lime, orange, grapefruit. Mix up the herb type either substituting or adding to the parsley with cilantro/coriander, mint, sage. When it comes to the spicy zing of garlic, ponder anything zingy: finely grated fresh horseradish, grated ginger or minced shallot. Some chefs even throw in Pecorino Romano cheese, anchovy, toasted pine nuts or grated bottarga. So, no big surprise that I would riff off the classic gremolata to create a garnish that was destined to brighten up another batch of long, white eggplants.

I quickly began compiling items for my dana version. The key to a great gremolata is FRESH ingredients. No jarred herbs or citruses allowed.

ingredients

1/4 c chopped parsley
3 T chopped Moroccan or oil cured olives
1 T chopped fresh, mint
2 T chopped oven dried tomatoes*
1/3 c crumbled feta
1/4 t red pepper flakes
3 T minced shallot
1 T lemon zest
3 T olive oil

*I made my own oven dried tomatoes and packed them in oil. Recipe is linked above but can also use sun dried tomatoes

Instructions

Grill or prepare the meat or veggie of your choice. As I mentioned, I grilled white eggplants and onions.

Chop, prep all the above ingredients and combine together. A true gremolata does not include the oil. But you can add it to the mix or drizzle it over top the final dish.

This adds such a bright, summer fresh flavor to grilled anything. Heck, I bet this would be banging on a grilled hamburger. Skip the ketchup, and pile on the gremolata!!

Another fringe benefit to using gremolata on vegetables is that you rake in all the fresh, brightness of citrus without turning your green vegetables brown. I also tried it on spaghetti squash and it definitely imparted a different flavor profile. Now that's amore!

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