Tonight’s dinner affirmed what I have always suspected. The
emotional involvement of the cook is the most important ingredient in the
preparation of any meal.
Recently I have been approaching the dinner hour with little
enthusiasm, going through the motions of doing what has to be done at the last
minute without any forethought. Fortunately most of the time the results have
been ok, and occasionally better than ok.
I began thinking about tonight’s dinner early in the day,
deciding what I wanted to do, imagining the preparation and how the dish would
look and taste. I knew exactly what I wanted, and how I would do it. And
because I had everything worked out in my mind, I was free to act intuitively
and make additions or subtractions during the preparation. But the real key was
my emotional involvement. I was passionate about what I was doing.
INGREDIENTS:
1.
Angel hair pasta
2.
Chopped clams
3.
Asparagus
4.
Olive oil
5.
Shallots
6.
Celery
7.
Garlic
8.
Lemon juice
9.
Grape tomatoes – halved
10. White
wine
11. Dried
dill or fresh if available
12. Butter
– 1-2 pads
PROCESS:
Cook the shallots and celery in the olive oil until they
begin to soften, add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook uncovered over
low-medium heat for several minutes, being careful not to burn the garlic. Next
add the clams and its juice, the asparagus, and dill, and continue cooking.
Several minutes later (sorry, but there is no rigid time schedule here.) add
the tomatoes, lemon juice, and bless the pan with some white wine. Allow it to
simmer to reduce the liquid while waiting for the pasta. Turn off the heat
about 4-5 minutes before the pasta is ready and add the butter. Then add the
pasta and a bit of the pasta water and dinner is ready.
COMMENTS:
This unpretentious pasta dish was everything I wanted it to
be: light, delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to Patience’s freshly baked
bread.
