Our group of friends love to eat — we love to sit around a big table with plenty of wine and delicious food, and well, enjoy. More and more often we find reasons to get together for appetizers on this night, a dinner party on that night… a BBQ for the weekend. It’s wonderful! After all, it’s these little gatherings that make us laugh, appreciate, and more often than not, pull us through the more difficult and drab moments of the week.
I would classify my husband and I as being more on the random, led-by-our-tastebuds team of cooks (as opposed to the follow-the-recipe sort) and we have learned over the years how to kick out a mean pasta for such impromptu visits. I used to put all pastas in the same little file in my mind: the pasta + red sauce + ground beef (ehhh) file, that I refused to touch. But a few years ago I became ‘enlightened’ to the fabulous world of well-done Italian. AND it’s quick, cheap (at least cheaper than the lamb we made the other night) and if done right, Molto Bene!
So when I came across Sweet Paul, I found this Savoy Cabbage Pasta recipe to be very similar to something we would whip up for a quick meal with friends. If braised leeks, roasted beets and wilted bok choy don’t ring a pasta bell for you — cabbage is an excellent place to start! Oh, and don’t forget the wine. :)
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{Pasta with Savoy Cabbage}
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2 tablespoons olive oil
4 slices pancetta, cubed
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 head savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup vegetable stock
salt
pepper
8 oz pasta, cooked in salted water and drained
1/2 cup grated pecorino
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Heat the oil in a saucepan.
Saute pancetta, shallots, garlic and mushrooms until the onion becomes soft.
Add cabbage, saute until it gets soft.
Add stock and simmer until half of the liquid is gone.
Taste with salt and pepper.
Serve over freshly cooked pasta.
Sprinkle with pecorino and serve.
