Mad About Basil
In addition to Wine Blogging Wednesday, I’ve now discovered there’s also Weekend Herb Blogging. Since I had a container of fresh basil in my fridge, I thought I’d give it a go.
If I had to pick a signature dish that I make, definitely in the running would be Pasta Puttanesca. It’s fast and fun to make, I usually have the ingredients on hand, and it’s helped launch at least one or two relationships. With a great story, to top it off. I love how the kitchen immediately smells fantastic as the anchovies and garlic sizzle on the stove and I adore squishing the whole tomatoes between my fingers, tearing them apart.
Yet I always hesitate to make it if I don’t have any fresh basil. I’ll settle for dried oregeno and forego parsley, but it’s just not right without basil leaves.The dried version is not even in the same ballpark, no hint of licorice, no brightening the entire meal.
And actually, I think it was the basil that saved my wine pairing. I had a 2005 Bolla Soave. Soave, an Italian white from the northern region of Veneto, is notorious for being nondescript. This one was a bit soft for my taste, but the herbs and heat were tempered by the lemon, melon, and gardenia. And for a minute there, I thought I smelled some basil in the wine…
2005 Bolla Soave, Soave, basil, Weekend Herb Blogging
Often I’ll pair Puttanesca with a Caprese salad. Nothing better than some fresh basil, tomato, and buffalo mozzeralla drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With a nice crisp white, preferrably Italian, though Sauvignon Blanc will work if you’re not into themes. If you are, other options for the pasta pairing would be Primitivo (picks up on the red pepper flakes) or Barbera (always good with tomato sauce).
January 28th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
For the record, I like to think of all Italian prostitutes as courtesans - thanks to my all-time favorite movie Dangerous Beauty… But regardless of the inspiration for this dish, I feel honored to have tasted it prepared by our own Miss Wine & Dine Diva. I’m so glad I picked the “right” pasta dish when I was given an option - you didn’t tell me it was your signature dish then! This is definitely a dish I’ll attempt to recreate in my own kitchen.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
[...] A 2005 Bolla Soave makes a perfect match for a basil rich Pasta puttanesca over at Wine outlook. Farley says: “It’s fast and fun to make, I usually have the ingredients on hand, and it’s helped launch at least one or two relationships. With a great story, to top it off. I love how the kitchen immediately smells fantastic as the anchovies and garlic sizzle on the stove and I adore squishing the whole tomatoes between my fingers, tearing them apart. Yet I always hesitate to make it if I don’t have any fresh basil.” [...]
January 29th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Alisha,
I love that movie as well…
I actually didn’t decide it was my signature until I wrote the post, but I’m glad you picked ‘right.’
January 29th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I like the wine match. When I was living in London Soave used to be pretty awful stuff. Lately we’ve been getting some good stuff in Oz and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it especially with Caprese. I was surprised that there weren’t more people blogging basil although I suppose it is winter for most bloggers. Thanks for taking part in Weekend Herb Blogging down under.
January 30th, 2007 at 5:24 pm
I do admire your insistence on fresh basil. Dried basil is not worth much in my opinion. In the summer I usually have about 40-50 basil plants. It’s actually very easy to grow from seed if you live where the summer gets hot.
January 31st, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Basil, mozarella and tomato are the BEST. Yum. We do that all the time.
May 29th, 2007 at 8:00 am
[...] second course is one of my best go-to dishes: Pasta Puttanesca. I’ve mentioned it before here and Sara had lovely things to say about it on her blog. With it, we consumed the 2005 David Noyes [...]