Loving the Leftovers

Since starting this blog a couple months ago it's become evident to me that we tend to eat the same dinners over and over. In any given week one night will almost definitely feature paht thai, and another is likely to feature spaghetti and meatballs.

(A note about meatballs: although I'm all about eating locally, sustainably and seasonally, there are a few convenience foods I might actually purchase, were they to exist, like frozen, pre-cooked meatballs made from pastured beef. I have never found these anywhere, but it would be great to keep a package on hand for last-minute meals. Instead I make my own meatballs in giant batches, cook and freeze them for quick reheating: DIY convenience food. For just those times when the meatball bag is empty and the guys are too starving to wait for -- and I'm too exhausted to assemble -- scratch-cooked anything, I stash a package of Applegate Farms uncured, grassfed hot dogs in the freezer. Hey, on those nights, it's either that or popcorn for our evening meal; peanut butter sandwiches would be a fantastic dinner alternative, except on those nights we are also invariably fresh out of bread).

Anyway, the guys often request skeddi (as Coley calls it) and meatballs. I usually cook an entire pound of pasta, even though we eat maybe a third of it for dinner, because what I really look forward to is the next day: Skeddi Pie. Or, as my Neapolitan landlady used to call it, torta di pasta.

I've never actually seen a recipe for this, though I'm sure you can find anything on the ol' innerwebs. It's one of those something-from-nothing dishes that Italian cooks seem to emerge from the womb already proficient in throwing together. It's brilliant with any kind of left-over pasta, from short or tube pastas to long strands, even if the pasta is already dressed in tomato, cream or any other sauce. This recipe can also make use of many other odds and ends you might have lingering in the fridge. It's fast, simple, and inexpensive, and best of all really really delicious. Also highly portable -- it's one of my favorite picnic foods.

Basically, once the pasta is tossed with the eggs and Parmesan, you can toss in whatever you've got loitering around: leftover roasted vegetables. Artichoke hearts. Sun-dried tomatoes, or chopped fresh ones. Anchovies or sardines. Olives, capers, marinated mushrooms. Pennies. (Just seeing if you were paying attention).

Torta di Pasta

4 cups cooked/cooled pasta (approx 1/2 lb, a little more or a little less is fine)
3 eggs, beaten,
1 cup grated Parmesan or Reggiano cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated pepper

Add-ins: at least throw a handful of sliced scallions in there, or some olives, but really anything goes -- as little or as much as you like.

Oven to 375.

In large bowl, combine pasta with all ingredients (except add-ins). Using your hands for best results, and also because it's fun, mix gently but thoroughly. Fold in scallions, olives, etc.

In a large (9 or 10 inch) ovenproof skillet (cast iron is brilliant for this), heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. When pan is very hot, pack pasta mixture into the pan as evenly as you can. Cook over medium-high for about 3 minutes, until starting to brown on bottom. Run a spatula around sides and underneath to loosen torta and prevent sticking. Slide into oven for 15-20 minutes, until middle is firm to touch in center.

I usually serve this straight from the pan, but you can run a spatula under and around the cake to loosen it and then invert onto a platter.

Happy New Year's Fridge

One of the sparkling traditions I use to ring in each new year is by cleaning out my refrigerator (woohoo, do I know how to party or what?). January is just about over -- clearly, 2010 is off to a bit of a slow start 'round these parts -- but today I finally managed it.

It was a slightly disgusting but oddly satisfying exercise to ferret out all the little tubs of leftovers that had migrated to the back, hiding behind our massive condiment collection. I meant to cull the condiment herd while I was at it -- does anyone really NEED five different curry pastes? -- but, as happens every time, each one seemed too potentially useful to dump. Even the cocktail sauce that expired last March; it's still sealed and, after all, what can really go wrong with cocktail sauce? Even though I guess if we're housing year-old unopened cocktail sauce, chances are that this family's cocktail sauce needs are pretty minimal. Honestly I'm not even sure how it got here. But I digress.

I reorganized our pared-down fridge while channeling Alice Waters. My kick in the pants to finally tackle this project came from a two year old NYT Magazine article that recently turned up in my office detritus while I was searching around for something else. The writer had had Waters, the Chez Panisse owner and local/organic eating guru, inspect her home refrigerator and evaluate its contents' SOLE value -- how sustainable, organic, local and ethical the writer's food choices were.

I like to think Alice would mostly approve of my fridge's contents. There are a few lingering, wrinkly late fall vegetables from our CSA allotment, and other vegetables and herbs from the farmer's market. Lacto-fermented Amish sauerkraut. Homemade goodies like pickled beets and applesauce made from local organic heirloom apples that I picked myself. Our dairy and eggs are locally pasture-raised. The only non-artisinal foods in my fridge are the United Nations of condiments collection and some cranberry juice.

So after I'm done self-congratuatorally patting my own back with Alice's ghostly hand I must acknowledge the other side of the local eating coin: yeah, this fridge inventory might earn me a green ribbon for supporting local food producers. But, on the other hand, while it's full of food there's not much to eat in there. Plenty to cook, yeah, but darned little to just take out and chow on. I realized this the other day when I had a hankering for an egg salad sandwich.

Lunch doesn't get simpler, right? Right -- except that I have local-fooded myself into this unintentional corner where in order to toss together an egg salad sandwich I first have to bake a loaf of bread, because we ate all of yesterday's bread for this morning's breakfast, and then whip up some homemade mayonnaise, because who wants to eat industrial store-bought mayonnaise? Making this so-called simple lunch could take all afternoon and I had to get back to work. So instead of an egg salad sandwich, I just had a hard boiled egg.

The local foods movement is working to alleviate some of our nation's most pressing problems involving food production, sustainability, and the environment, not to mention supporting small farms. However, eating locally can at times also be a real pain in the ass.