Soup, Pasta and a Cheese Platter

This is a convertible center-piece. It later becomes the cheese platter in the center of the table.

Five different cheeses (choose your own favorites) with pears and grapes.

Addition of chestnut honey, compliments the fruit and cheese.

A Menu of Soup, Pasta and a Cheese platter.

A perfect, easy and healthy dinner when friends stop by.

Start with super delicious and healthy carrot, orange soup. Go ahead and make up a batch and freeze it for future dinners or lunch.

A Sicilian eggplant and pasta dish that’s so easy. You can prepare most of it ahead of time.

No need for dessert. A salad and a platter of cheese, fruit and bread to linger with, while the conversation thickens. Pour more wine.

Carrot, Orange soup served hot.

Carrot, Orange Soup Recipe:

Hot or Cold

Serves 4 adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook

4 tablespoons unsalted sweet butter

2 cups chopped sweet yellow onions

12 large carrots, peeled and chopped

4 cups Chicken Stock or a Knorr’s chicken bouillon cube in 4 cups boiling water

1 cup fresh, no pulp orange juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste

crème fraiche, or sour cream, optional

chopped flat leaf parsley garnish

In a large pot, melt the butter. Add the onions, cover, and cook over low heat until soft and lightly colored, about 25 minutes.

Add the carrots and the stock and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 30 minutes

*With an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot. Add the orange juice and blend.

* Alternately, transfer the solids to a food processor, fitted with the steel blade. Add the cooking stock, one cup at a time and process until smooth and to desired consistency.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream and the chopped parsley.

*Time saving tip- This soup can be made several days in advance, or frozen. Or if you choose cook the carrots the day before and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Gemelli with Eggplant, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella

Serves 6

A Sicilian dish in origin, adapted from Patricia Wells Trattoria

The taste of ingredients in this recipe build as you take forkfuls. I really liked the Gemelli pasta shape and texture, but you can easily substitute, penne, fusilli or ziti.

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Sea salt

One 28-ounce can peeled Italian plum tomatoes in juice (puree the plum tomatoes in a food mill or food processor) or one 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 firm medium eggplant, cut into small cubes *do not peel.

1 pound dried Pasta (Gemelli, penne, fusilli or ziti)

2 cups of cubed whole-milk mozzarella or buffalo milk mozzarella

In a sautee pan, heat ½ cup olive oil over medium high heat. Add the eggplant and cook until lightly colored, about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat so as not to burn the eggplant. Do not add more oil, even though the eggplant will absorb the oil immediately. Season with salt. Remove the cooked eggplant to a bowl, while making the tomato sauce.

In a large pot, large enough to hold the cooked pasta later, combine the olive oil, the onion, and a pinch of salt. Stir over moderate heat until garlic and onion are soft, but not browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the pureed tomatoes and stir to blend. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the eggplant to the tomato sauce and keep warm over very low heat allowing the eggplant to absorb the tomato sauce.

In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a rapid boil. Add 3 tablespoons salt and the pasta, stirring to prevent the pasta from sticking. Cook until al dente, following the timing on the box. Drain thoroughly.

*I like to reserve some of the pasta water, in case I need to thin the sauce a bit.

Add the drained pasta to the pot with the tomato sauce and eggplant. Toss to blend and cover to let rest off heat for 2 minutes. The pasta will now absorb the sauce. Transfer the pasta to bowls and sprinkle each serving with the cubed mozzarella. Serve immediately.

Time saving tip-
Make a batch of tomato sauce ahead and freeze. Or make the tomato sauce and cook the eggplant a day ahead and refrigerate until ready to complete the dish.

Bon Appetito!

Next week, Halloween inspirations.

See you then. And lastly, good-bye to the garden-

I couldn’t bring myself to pulling everything out in the garden, while it was still alive. So I took some photos and made some notes.

My last attempt to sow seeds a few weeks ago of arugula and lettuce only gave me sprouts.

My climatis, which I vowed to pull out of the center of the herb beds, and transplant, came back for an encore appearance.

My sage bush, so huge, I might as well not grow anything else in the bed.

More nasturtium and marigolds than I could ever use.

Basil and pesto in the freezer to remind me of the garden in the winter months.

As Always,
xxoo Sheila