Friday, March 5, 2010

Penne with Beet Greens, Olives and Red Pepper

One of my favorite things is to make something delicious out of absolutely nothing. I don't know what it is, but I am tickled pink when this happens. I'm talking the day before you go shopping, and the fridge is empty. "Helloooo in there!" you call, and the mustard bottle shivers, cold and alone. Ah, but what is this? A jar of olives with ten or so lonely swimmers at the bottom of the brine. And this? A jar, half-full (optimistic indeed) of red peppers. Some pasta in the cupboard gets rustled out. An onion. Some garlic. A few mushrooms. Beet greens I intended to eat the day I got them. For shame. All this gets sauteed and tossed with pasta and some of its cooking water. Lots of good olive oil and cheese, fresh-cracked pepper, and we are in business.

5 comments:

  1. i love when that happens too. and this dish looks delicious! i want some!

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  2. It is one of my favorites too... especially when everyone enjoys it! Tonight we had some leftover white beans, some leftover turkey and some pureed tomatoes from last summers garden I had taken out of the freezer for pizza last night. So I chopped up some garlic and shallots and cooked the tomatoes with the last of the kale from the garden, mixed in beans & turkey and lots of pepper. Cooked up some polenta with a bit of feta. YUM! Surprise awesomeness!

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  3. Thanks, Tigress! It's such a good feeling.

    Meg- That sounds great! God, I love me some polenta.

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  4. Hi! First time here! you have great recipes! This penne pasta looks so warm and delicious.

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  5. Thanks, Sook! I'm glad you took the time to say hi. It gave me the opportunity to visit your site--right up my alley!

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