there she is with a whole bunch of fresh onions. she harvests with me every week, and makes things cleaner and more lovely than I ever could. she also shares her recipes. I am going to eventually add them to the blog because you need to know what she’s making with her share. sometimes she goes above and beyond, like with softneck garlic, which she took home and braided:
it’s not just the allium. I mentioned how so many people ask me about how to use marjoram, and she shared this with us (from 101 cookbooks):
3/4 cup / 3.5 oz / 100g walnuts
1 clove garlic, peeled, germ removed if garlic sprouted
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt2/3 cup / 5oz / 150ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons marjoram, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 cup / 1 oz / 30 g pecorino Romano, grated
salt & pepper
1 pound / 16 oz / 460g short farro pasta
Start by heating a large pot of water, it will take a while for it to come to a boil.
In the meantime, toast the walnuts in a 350F / 175C degree oven until they are golden, 8-10 minutes. While still warm, wrap them in a clean dish towel and rub off the skins.
Place the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle, and pound to a fine paste. Add the walnuts to the mortar and pestle and pound into a paste. Alternately, you can do this in a food processor.
Transfer the nut mixture to a bowl. Stir in the olive oil, then add most of the herbs. Stir in the pecorino, taste, and adjust the seasoning.
Salt the pasta water generously, and cook the pasta al dente. Drain and reserve a big cup of the pasta water. Toss the walnut pesto with the pasta, and thin out the sauce with the reserved water. Serve topped with a sprinkling of the remaining herbs.
Serves 6.
This recipe was adapted from Coco: 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs by Editors of Phaidon Press. Published by Phaidon Press (November 16, 2009).
Prep time: 10 min – Cook time: 20 min
it was, indeed, kickass.
