Dan's Papers - July 11, 2008 - Simple Art of Cooking

We are gliding into summer with long sunny days and fine weather. How great a life it is to spend time outdoors sipping a cocktail or a glass of wine with a bit of cheese or a savory dip before dinner, especially when dinner was planned ahead for easy entertaining. Farm stands, overflowing with all manner of fruits and vegetables, prolific throughout the back roads of the Hamptons are never more than an arms-reach away to help you with this easygoing menu.

You can begin with a cucumber, scallion and cherry tomato salad dressed with lemon thyme vinaigrette. Prepare this room temperature salad up to an hour or so before serving and place at the dinner table.

A couple of days before your planned dinner, prepare this amazing chocolate pate. This style of pate, creamy but with a solid texture, thick but not fudgy, was popular 20 or so years ago and I'm bent on bringing it back into style. It's simply fabulous! Serve it up with a topping of freshly whipped cream, and garnish with a healthy helping of seasonal berries.

Fresh pesto is the best way to use up the sweet leafy basil growing in leaps and bounds in your herb garden or purchased in bushy bundles at your local farm stand. A quick zip in your food processor with garlic, pine nuts, seasoning and olive oil means this too can be prepared a day or two ahead and refrigerated. Before serving, softened butter and grated Reggiano Parmigiano - no substitutes please - are added along with a few tablespoons of pasta water to soften and warm the uncooked sauce. Coat the drained fettuccine, the pasta of choice, with this sublime sauce - taste for seasoning and voila - a simply divine summer dinner.

CUCUMBER, SCALLION AND CHERRY TOMATO SALAD
A light and low-calorie salad with the fresh homegrown flavors of the season
Serves 4-6

2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced
2-3 large scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 cup orange or yellow cherry tomatoes

For the dressing
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Place the cucumbers, scallion and cherry tomatoes in a medium bowl.

2. In a small separate bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary and pour vinaigrette over the cucumber mixture. Toss to coat, plate the salad and serve up to one hour ahead.

FETTUCINE WITH PESTO
Pesto can be prepared ahead and refrigerated or frozen prior to adding freshly grated Parmesan and softened butter.
Serves 4-5

For the pesto
4-5 cups fresh basil leaves, rinse and gently pat dry
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3-1/2 cup pignoli nuts
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup plus 1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter, softened

To use for pasta
1 pound fettuccine, homemade or quality store-bought
2 tablespoons coarse (kosher) salt for the cooking water

1. Pack basil leaves, without crushing them, into a measuring cup. Set aside.

2. Put garlic cloves into food processor fitted with steel knife or into a blender and process until finely chopped. Add basil leaves, pignoli nuts, salt and pepper and process with several on/off turns or blend until ingredients are just combined. Be careful not to over-process or mixture will break down. With a rubber spatula scrape mixture down sides of bowl as necessary.

3. Add oil in a thin stream through feed tube of processor or small hole in cover of blender and blend until mixture is a smooth pureé. Can be prepared ahead. Refrigerate for up to 2-3 days or freeze in a tightly covered container.

4. When ready to sauce your pasta bring pesto sauce to room temperature and stir in cheese and butter.

To cook the pasta: bring 4-5 quarts water to a rolling boil and add salt. Put the fettuccine in all at once and stir into the water. If pasta is freshly made it will take about 1 or 2 minutes to cook after water comes to a boil. If store bought, cook about 8-10 minutes or according to package directions. Just before the pasta is cooked add 2-3 tablespoons pasta cooking water to the pesto to soften and warm. Drain pasta in a colander and transfer to a warm platter. Pour over the sauce and toss to mix. Serve with additional grated cheese, if desired. Serve hot.

CHOCOLATE PATE
This rich dessert was first presented to me as a "no bake chocolate cake." I found it to be more reminiscent of a smooth chocolate pate.
Serves 6

6 ounces of quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 large eggs, separated
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the garnish
Lightly sweetened whipped cream
Large washed strawberries, do not hull

1. Put chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Do not let the top part containing the chocolate to touch the water below. Slowly melt the chocolate with 1/4 cup sugar and butter. When chocolate melts stir the mixture with a wooden spoon.

2. Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate over very low heat, insert a candy thermometer if you have one and cook until the thermometer reaches 160 degrees, or until mixture thickens slightly, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl and let cool.

3. Meanwhile whip egg whites in a stand-up electric mixer or with portable electric hand-held mixture whip the egg whites on low speed with the cream of tartar and when whites begin to foam adjust mixer to medium speed and continue to beat egg whites until firm, but not until dry peaks form. With a large rubber spatula gently fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to soften then fold in remaining whites until thoroughly combined.

4. Line a 6-cup mold with plastic wrap leaving an overhang over the sides of the mold. With a rubber spatula, scrape the chocolate mixture into the prepared mold, fold over the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 2 days.

5. Unmold the pate onto a serving dish, top with freshly whipped cream and surround the plate with fresh strawberries.