I have the coolest job. Ok, technically it's not really a job, it's an internship. With that caveat, I'll repeat again: I have the coolest job.
I intern part-time for Culinate, which is what I've been calling an "online food magazine". It's not exactly a magazine, really, and it goes beyond what my mind classifies as "website". Think Grist, but for food. There are articles, recipes, a multi-person blog. Anyway, I think it's pretty damn cool, but that's probably clear enough from the fact that I work there.
What I love about work there, besides getting to read about food and farmers markets all day, is being surrounded by people who love food as much as I do. The gossip tends to be about restaurants we've eaten at lately, or techniques that have just been tried (apparently spatchcocking was a big one right before I started there). Recipes also get tossed back and forth, and since they're from fellow foodies, I tend to go right home and try them.
Payoff! I can't believe I waited this long on this one. Perhaps I was unconvinced by the hippie-ish ingredients? (I found myself listing off "avocado, quinoa, nori..." to a housemate and watching her eyes glaze over earlier this evening).
Whatever the case, I've now remedied the error of not going immediately home and trying this the very day that Kim suggested it to me.
Tea does an excellent job of describing it all (and the pictures are much prettier than mine!), so I'll just shepherd you on over to her site. Not to be heretical, but counter to her statements, I think I actually did find a way to improve upon it, by adding a bit of pickled ginger. Try it both ways. I'm guessing you'll probably be wanting to eat it multiple times a day, so you'll have a chance.
While you're there, check out the next post up for a poignantly biting essay on foodworker's rights (I always thought there must be something fishy going on with Two-Buck Chuck).
II
As you might expect, I perpetually have about ten billion recipes to try. I've got at least seven different lists floating around, on sticky notes and in my email inbox, on scraps of paper and the backs of receipts. And those are just the recipes from work. So the ones that make it into food form in my kitchen are the cream of the crop, or, say, the crema of the espresso.
This one fits into that category. It's one of those that doesn't sound like it should be good, but melds better than you could have expected. You know, the kind that you're glad worked out well because you can then go around talking about them for weeks, and sound surprised when people don't automatically know these flavors go well together. "Cheese and mint? Well, duh!"
Hell, this recipe can get you job interviews. An application the other day asked for "a favorite recent meal". I put this down, and got an interview. I didn't end up with the job, but I like to suppose that they were so intrigued that they at least had to interview me.
Pasta with Ricotta, Fava Beans, and Mint
From this Culinate recipe. Make sure to actually finely slice the garlic; I didn't read far enough ahead in the recipe the first time. Fine slicing lets them cook through and soften without needing to be on the heat for too long.
2 lbs fava beans, in their pods
2 cups dry pasta
2 cloves garlic
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
small bunch mint
1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
2/3 cup grated pecorino cheese
-Pop the beans from their pods (you should end up with about 2 cups) and cook them in deep boiling salted water until tender. (Seven to 10 minutes should do it.) Drain the beans, rinse under cold running water, and remove the skin from any beans bigger than your thumbnail. Tiny beans will have a thin skin that is perfectly edible.
-Bring a large, deep pot of water to a boil and add the pasta. It should be ready after about 9 minutes, depending on the type.
-Peel and finely slice the garlic. Put it in a shallow pan with the olive oil and let it soften over moderate heat without coloring. Remove the mint leaves from their stems and chop them roughly, then stir them into the softening garlic. Tip in the beans and then the ricotta, in dollops. Add the drained pasta and fold the mixture together lightly with a fork.
-Divide between 2 warmed pasta bowls and drizzle generously with extra-virgin olive oil and grated pecorino.
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