Pizza Pasta

aka Friday Fettuccini

Some days are meant to be enjoyed as “do nothing, goof off, read a book and grab another cuppa” kind of days. Last Friday was one of those days… or maybe I was just too lazy. Whatever the reason, I did loaf about and read for most of the day, snacked on fruit and cheese for lunch, and ignored dinner prep until the very last minute. I had planned to make pizza, but that sounded like too much trouble; homemade dough would take too long, the oven would really heat up the boat on an already warm day… or maybe I was just too lazy.

Pizza Pasta came to the rescue, utilizing some already-cooked fettuccini and the usual sausage, tomato, black olives, fresh herbs and cheese pizza toppings already on hand. This dish was dee-licious, even better than pizza, and so tasty that RL insisted I record the recipe immediately, before I forgot ingredients and quantities. 

I won, this was a day when being lazy was a good thing.   

Friday Fettuccini 

Serves 2

2 TBS olive oil

1 soft chorizo (I used a 10" link from a Vancouver Island supplier)

4 slices cotto salami

3 large cloves garlic, peeled & smashed

1 TBS capers

3 green onions, sliced into rings

1 tsp dried basil

1 dozen cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ cup black olives, sliced

2 TBS lemon juice

handful fresh Italian parsley, rough chopped

handful fresh basil, julienned

freshly grated Parmesan at finish

grated lemon zest, optional

handful of fettuccini, enough for two servings, cooked until just tender

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the chorizo from its casing and crumble into the skillet; cook until it releases some fat and is no longer pink, but definitely not until crispy.
2. Add the salami and garlic to the pan; cook for a minute or two until fragrant.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the capers, green onions, dried basil, cherry tomatoes, black olives and lemon juice. Stir or toss to mix, cover the skillet and cook for several minutes to soften the tomatoes and heat through.
4. Add two servings of cooked fettuccini plus several tablespoons of pasta water and toss to coat all strands with the olive oil sauce. (If using precooked pasta from the refrigerator like I did today, cover and cook a few minutes longer to warm the fettuccini. Add additional olive oil as needed to loosen the sauce.) Add the fresh parsley and basil to the pan and toss again.
5. Serve in individual pasta bowls, twisting the strands into mounded nests, spooning the meaty sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and lemon zest if using.