Late summer is one of my favorite times of year to shop at the farmers market with my two young sons, or I’ll happily make the two-hour drive south to visit the farm run by my dear friends the Chino family in northern San Diego County to buy some of their phenomenal fruits and vegetables, many of them organic.
Often, such a bounty can be overwhelming. You might wonder, how can I possibly cook so many different things while they’re still fresh?
Of course, part of the solution to that dilemma comes through self-discipline. Resist buying more than you could possibly cook and serve within a few days.
Another simple solution is to preserve some of what you buy, if you’re so inclined and have the skills and equipment for the job. Can’t resist that big bag of sun-ripened tomatoes? Make a big potful of tomato sauce or pasta sauce, some to eat right now and some to freeze in containers to provide delicious tastes of summer for weeks or months to come.
Then there’s the irresistible strategy of going a little bit wild, enjoying multiple kinds of produce in a single dish. That’s certainly the inspiration behind one of my best-known dishes from Spago, my Chino Chopped Vegetable Salad, one version of which I’ve shared with you in this column before, and another of which appears in my latest cookbook, Wolfgang Puck Makes It Healthy.
Today, let me offer you yet another recipe I love that features a cornucopia of late-summer produce: my Fettuccine With Corn, Bell Peppers and Wild Mushrooms.
Pasta dishes are a great way to serve vegetables. They easily and quickly transform a medley of produce into a satisfying vegetarian appetizer or main course.
Such recipes are very accommodating, too: You can change the mix of vegetables on a whim, leaving out some and introducing others — depending on whatever is most abundant, in peak condition and most reasonably priced in the market.
Regardless of your selections, all you have to do is cut up the vegetables into small bite-sized pieces that can be tossed easily together with the pasta. Some hardier green vegetables, like the broccoli florets and sugar snap peas I include here, also benefit from quick blanching — parboiling them in boiling water and then instantly “shocking” them in ice water to partially precook them, while brightening and setting their colors before they’re added to the other ingredients.
In this recipe, I sauce the pasta and vegetables with a little heavy cream. If you prefer, you could substitute your favorite tomato sauce for a lighter version. Either way, and whichever combination of
vegetables you use, I hope you’ll add this recipe to your repertoire of great ways to showcase seasonal produce.
FETTUCCINE WITH CORN, BELL PEPPERS AND WILD MUSHROOMS
Serves 6 as an appetizer, 4 as a main dish
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound small broccoli florets, from about 1 crown of broccoli
1/4 pound organic sugar snap peas, trimmed and stringed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 organic red, yellow or orange bell pepper, deveined, seeded and diced
1/4 pound fresh organic shiitake, chanterelle or porcini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
Kernels cut from 1 medium-to-large ear of sweet corn
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound dried fettuccine or other pasta ribbons
3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
Directions:
Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl three-quarters full with ice and water, and set it on a counter near the saucepan.
When the water comes to a boil, add the salt and then the broccoli. Cook just until the broccoli’s color brightens, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then immediately use a slotted spoon or skimmer to transfer the broccoli to the ice water.
Add the sugar snap peas to the boiling water, cook until the color brightens, 30 seconds to 1 minute, and transfer to the ice water. Leave to chill for about 2 minutes. Then drain the broccoli and snap peas, and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
Bring a pasta pot full of water to a boil.
Meanwhile, heat a 12-inch frying pan or casserole over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil. As soon as the oil is hot enough to swirl freely in the pan, add the broccoli, snap peas, bell pepper, mushrooms and corn. Saute the vegetables, stirring briskly with a wooden spoon to heat them through without browning, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cream, and bring it to a simmer. Continue cooking just until the vegetables are tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove the pan from the heat, covering the pan to keep the mixture warm.
When the water in the pasta pot boils, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the fettuccine. Cook until al dente — tender but still slightly chewy — following the manufacturer’s suggested cooking time.
Drain the pasta, and immediately toss it with the vegetables and cream in the pan. Add the Parmesan and parsley, and toss again. Then taste, and if necessary, adjust the seasonings with more salt and pepper before serving.