Jimmy Nardello Pepper Pesto Pasta

Plus: Heirloom Tomato Salad, War Fries, and Turkish Eggs.

Aug 19, 2024

Hey everyone,

I’m a bit exhausted right now. There was lightning and thunder last night and Winston, who doesn’t get rattled by fireworks like most dogs, was surprisingly terrified. He flopped on to my chest and was quivering and then he’d jump down off the bed and whimper then jump back up and so on. At some point around two AM, I took him down to the basement/TV room where we have a couch and tried sleeping there (away from the noise), but it wasn’t comfortable, so back up we went and eventually we both fell asleep.

Thankfully, this recipe I’m about to tell you about is so good this newsletter will basically write itself.

Last week, I saw this recipe in the San Francisco Chronicle by Christian Reynoso for “Blistered Jimmy Nardello Pesto Pasta.”

If you don’t know what Jimmy Nardello peppers are, they’re these long, red peppers you’ll see at the farmer’s market in summer and though they look like they might be spicy, they’re actually intensely sweet — especially when you grill them.

What I loved so much about this recipe, is it takes an ingredient you can normally only eat in one way (chomping on them once they’re cooked) and transforms it into something else. Let’s go to the tape (click the image to watch the video):

amateurgourmet

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It’s such an easy recipe, I can walk you through it in one paragraph:

Buy a bunch of Jimmy Nardello peppers (I didn’t measure or weight them, but you can see how many in the picture). Grill them until charred all over (you can do this under the broiler too) — you want them black on all sides. Put them in a bowl with aluminum foil over the top so they steam and soften even further. When cool, scrape the seeds out but you can leave the skins on (unless they’re so black, they peel right off). Pop ‘em into a food processor (saving a few for garnish) with 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 4 cloves of garlic, and whir. Then drizzle in 3/4 cups of extra-virgin olive oil, taste for salt, and finally add 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and pulse for a rough texture.

Now the pesto was supposed to make two cups, but when I scraped it into my large measuring glass I only had 1 1/4 cups so I whisked in more olive oil until it made two. You don’t have to do that, but I was feeding four people and wanted my one pound of pasta to go a long way.

To finish the dish, boil one pound of penne in rapidly boiling, salted water and when al dente, lift into a large pot or bowl with all of the pesto and a ladleful of pasta water. Stir stir stir until it all becomes glossy and if it looks too thick, add more pasta water. Throw in some basil leaves and a handful of Parmesan and there you have it.

This was so good, my dinner guests were practically orgasming at the table. Neighbors complained. Television’s Ryan O’Connell, lower left, said it was like “penne all vodka but better.”

So the next time you see Jimmy Nardello peppers at the market, grab ‘em and make this. You won’t regret it.

You’re probably wondering about that tomato salad on the table. I know I am! These pictures should tell the story:

Step one: went to the Union Square Farmer’s Market and bought tomatoes at the Campo Rosso stand. Step two: brought them home. Step three: cut the little ones in half and tossed them with olive oil, balsamic, salt, pepper, and little mozzarella balls. Then took the big ones, cut them in slices, drizzled with more olive oil, Balsamic, salt and pepper, then poured the little ones on top and garnished with purple and green basil. Plus some Aleppo pepper.

It was almost too pretty too eat! Very demure. Very mindful.

On Friday night, I met my friend Jake and his friend Jeff at Rolo’s in Queens. (My mom’s from Queens, so I felt like I was returning to my roots!).

We ate many delicious things there, but the dish that stood out the most was these war fries.

Imagine the crispiest, thickest, fried potatoes topped with mayonnaise, peanut sauce (!), and chopped raw onion. It sounds wild, but it’s a fantastic combination with a rich history. You can read about it here.

Finally, last night I was going to order Chinese food but by the time I saw the total for delivery, I couldn’t justify it just for myself. So instead, I pulled open the fridge, saw labneh and eggs and harissa and decided to make a riff on Turkish eggs.

To whit: I mixed the labneh with a little white Balsamic (in place of lemon juice), olive oil, salt, and pepper, plus chopped dill and basil, and spooned it into a bowl. Then I poached two eggs and lifted them on top of the labneh. Finally, I spooned Rose harissa around the border, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with the rest of the herbs, then toasted some really good sourdough to sop everything up. It was a lovely, surprising, relatively nutritious dinner. And free!

Jimmy Nardello Pepper Pesto Pasta

Plus: Heirloom Tomato Salad, War Fries, and Turkish Eggs.

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