Local Pleasures

I feel graced. For the past three or so weeks, I've found myself within two blocks of a farmers market not once, but twice a week, now that the summer-only market commenced in downtown San Diego (Thursdays, North end of Horton Plaza). This means that for the past few weeks I've found myself faced with an abundance of local goodies at a time during the week when I otherwise would have run out from the weekend before (Saturdays, Pacific Beach Drive and Mission Blvd.). I feel like a teenager who’s just gotten her first job and suddenly has a steady income of wealth, giddily unsure what to do with it all.

Needless to say, I've been spending many more hours in the kitchen, usually after I've spent all afternoon after Thursday’s lunch hour thinking about the bag of goodies I've treated myself to. Trust me, you can’t just steam a bunch of these farmers market veggies—this time a year everything is so gorgeous it would be a disservice to prepare them in anything less than a glorious, celebratory manner. Add to this the fact that I’m growing less and less fond of my neighbor next door (a Ralph's grocery—don’t get me started), I've been challenging myself to come up with dinner concoctions that rely as much as possible on the local bounty.

This week, as I strolled through the somewhat small, but nevertheless bustling, downtown market, I was drawn instantly to one thing—yellow squash. These medium sized beauties were positively glowing—not only were they a perfect golden yellow, their skin glistened, radiant. How could I not scoop up a handful? Down the table I eyed the broccoli, which I had been eyeing for weeks but passing up in favor of string beans, peas, and fava beans. But today felt like a broccoli day. And, broccoli and squash in hand, I was inspired—I had the perfect notion of how to properly celebrate the two. I quickly spun through the rest of the market, grabbing a luscious sweet onion here, and a few tender Carlsbad tomatoes there. With the garlic I had bought last Saturday, the Swiss chard begging to be picked in my garden, and the opened bottle of wine in my fridge, I knew I was all set.

On the bus ride home from work, I thought of my work ahead. Pasta primavera, the ultimate springtime dish, seemed a natural choice, but how to ensure I did it right? I decided to look up the classic recipe, the one that started it all, from Le Cirque in New York from the 1970’s. As it goes, Sirio Maccioni, owner and chef (at the time), faced with having to serve a large party with little notice, looked around his kitchen and, much the same way fresh produce can inspire anyone, came up with the dish, pasta with spring vegetables, or pasta primavera.

Maccioni’s version, while indeed a classic, is also incredibly time consuming, as it involves cooking each vegetable separately before combining them all with the pasta. Luckily, my favorite go-to source for recipes, Cook's Illustrated, reworked the dish some years back. Intent on preparing the Cook's version, I was about to head to the dreaded Ralph's for the two ingredients I needed—pasta and cream—when I couldn’t help but think the cream might be just a tad too harsh on this fine summer evening. And then it hit me—thanks to a mention of the possibility in Bon Appetit recently (in the form of a recipe for Brie, pasta, tomatoes, and olives from the May 07 issue)—I remembered I’d been dying to work Brie into a pasta dish.

Half an hour later, as I was stirring the Brie in with the tomatoes, I realized what I was making: Pasta Brie-mavera.

Pasta Brie-mavera

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 tsps. butter

1 head broccoli, stalks removed, cut into tiny florets

1 medium yellow squash, halved and sliced

½ head swiss chard (about 6-8 medium-sized leaves), diced

1 medium sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, diced

1 large or 2 medium vine tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup white wine

8 oz. Brie, rind removed

Salt and pepper to taste

¾ lb. fusilli, or other spiral-shaped pasta

Freshly grated Parmesan (for serving)

Directions:

Bring large pot of water to boil for the pasta.

In a large skillet, melt 1 tsp. butter over medium heat. Add broccoli and 2 tbsp. white wine. Sauté 5 minutes, until broccoli is cooked through but crisp. Remove broccoli from pan. Add melt 1 tsp. of butter, add chopped squash, and sauté 5 minutes. Remove squash from pan. Melt 1 tsp. of butter, add swiss chard, cook 2 minutes. Remove chard from pan. Melt remaining butter in pan, add onion. Sautee 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and rosemary, sauté 30 seconds until fragrant. Add tomato, remaining white wine, and a dash of salt and pepper. Bring to a lively simmer. Cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in Brie, one chunk at a time, until cheese begins to melt. Cover, set aside.

When water boils, add pasta, cook according to package directions, 8-11 minutes.

When pasta is finished, reserve ½ cup cooking liquid. Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir tomato mixture until cheese is well-blended. Add vegetables and tomato mixture to pasta, blend to coat. Add cooking liquid, a little at a time, if needed to loosen sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Scoop generously into bowls. Top with freshly grated parmesan and serve warm.