Pasta Elle

Pasta Elle

No filter…..

It had been a while since I had seen this but was cleaning space on my phone when I found this photo. The thing you need to understand, that you need to keep in mind with this, is the state I was in. What you’re looking at is love captured in food. You’ll never make this dish as well as I do and there’s no way in hell I could ever make it again. It’s not because it’s a hard dish to make, it’s the simple fact that I’ll never be in that Kitchen cooking for that girl again.

She was special.

There have been a lot of girlfriends and one night stands but there’s only been two that I loved. You can’t fake it, you can’t fight it. Lust is fun but it’s like a nasty synthetic copy and once you’ve had the real thing, nothing else can touch the ecstasy.

When I made this dish I was on a high that no drug I’ve ever done could hold a candle to. When I was with this girl, nothing else mattered and I was fully present and in the moment. It’s as close to enlightenment as I’ll ever get.

Mise

  • Large pot and strainer
  • Mixing bowl
  • Knife and board
  • Saute pan
  • Wooden spoon

Ingredients

  • About a half pound of Penne Pasta
  • About a half pound of pork loin
  • A cup and a half of white wine plus a bit extra
  • A cup of Olive oil plus extra
  • A small pork loin
  • A whole bulb of garlic
  • A handful of cherry tomatoes
  • Fresh Thyme and Rosemary
  • Salt and pepper
  • A large dab of butter
  • Parmesan

Method of Preparation

A few hours before you cook

  • Mix the Oil and one cup of the Wine in a bowl
  • Cut the Pork loin down to size and marinate in the oil and wine for a few hours.

When you’re ready to start cooking

  • Boil some water in the large pot and cook the pasta. Taste it! It should be cooked, not tough and damn sure not mush. Pay attention.
  • When it’s ready, strain and set aside for a minute.
  • Cut the tomatoes in half, chop your garlic, thyme and rosemary and have it ready to go.
  • Pull the pork out of marinade and pour out the marinade.
  • Heat up your saute pan and add a little oil to it. Get it hot but not smoking then add the Pork and garlic
  • You want to make sure the pork gets a nice sear and its cooked about three quarter of the way through.
  • Add the tomatoes and continue to cook.
  • Add the herbs and continue to cook for about another minute but make sure you keep everything moving
  • Add the dab of butter, about a half cup of white wine and the pasta.
  • Toss for another minute, taste and adjust as needed.
  • Serve with a bit of the cheese on top.

Notes

  • Make sure you slice the pork into thin pieces before you add to the marinade. This will help it pull more flavor in less time and will let it cook a lot faster when you make the dish.
  • This sounds like a lot of work but trust me, it’s really not. Prep the pork, cook the pasta get your other ingredients chopped and ready so when it’s showtime, you heat up your pan and are ready to cook.
  • Remember, it’s not the ingredients or the ratios that matter so much as the state of mind that you’re in when your cooking. Its sounds like hippy bullshit but I look and the work I’ve done over the years and you can tell when I’m cooking from my head and when I’m cooking from my heart.

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