We’re not planners… never have been, never will be. A lot of times we pay a hefty price for this behavior (figuratively and also quite literally), but that all becomes worth it when exciting surprises and unexpected happenings occur simply because we’re open to following a whim. Not that this is an example of a life changing “happening”, but isn’t it the small moments that really count? Last Saturday night after a long day of working, we were trying to decide which of our “weekend rotation” restaurants we would go to. Every place seemed to have a crazy 2 hour wait and then it dawned on us that it was Valentine’s weekend. The last thing I felt like at 8pm was heading to the grocery store, but then inspiration struck. I had this book right next to me on my desk… I opened it up and let the pages randomly fall, and this pasta dish was the recipe it landed on. Beautiful wide noodles are tossed with an unexpected spiced butter sauce. It’s sort of an Italy meets Morocco… and then they took a quick jaunt to Spain… kind of dish. (Which, come to think of it, sounds remarkably similar to our last vacation.) There is a seriously bold spice mix in this recipe, but somehow the flavor is still light and balanced. Among other modifications, I added a little lemon juice and zest for some brightness and a little brown sugar for some softness. It turns out that good things sometimes happen when restaurants are booked.
adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty
