Three Things

A very Sicilian pasta, a new cookbook for vegetable lovers, and all things rhubarb

Greetings readers and eaters! Hope you had a wonderful long weekend. I am back from Sicily and miss my Negronis with a view of the Ionian Sea, and yes, everyone should have my problems! (Reminder: Negronis are a beautiful 1:1:1 drink: Campari, gin, vermouth over ice in a small cocktail glass, garnished with an orange slice.) In other news, I have an excellent pile of well-reviewed books on the nightstand right now: The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese, Everything’s Fine, by Cecilia Rabess, and, lastly, Succession fans, I’m still absolutely shook by the Wambsgans theory on TikTok. (Spoilers!) Herewith: Three Things I’d like you to know about this week, yeah?

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1. Pasta with Almond Pesto

You’ll be shocked to hear that last week’s food tour of Sicily with a dozen Dinner: A Love Story readers was, in a word, epic. Guided by the wonderful Gianluca D’Alia, a Palermo native, the trip was unlike my previous visit to the island when my family primarily explored ancient towns up and down the east coast, eating our weight in gelato. This tour focused on the rich agricultural tradition of the island and the group spent most of the week visiting family-run farms and olive groves and vineyards learning from the people who produce the almonds, olive oil, and wine that the region is famous for. By learning, I of course mean wine-drenched, multi-course lunching. I’ll have a more detailed download of the trip (and its absurdly decadent menus — Andy could barely sit through my photos he was so envious) this week or next for subscribers, but in the meantime, I wanted to share a recipe for one of the best things I ate there, Tagliatelle with Almond Pesto (above), which was only one course of a five-course lunch (!) at an almond farm outside of Noto. The recipe comes from Elizabeth Minchilli (the tour’s curator), and exemplifies the Italian concept of freshness and simplicity: it calls for only olive oil, almonds, garlic, basil, salt, and pasta. Her version calls for Parm, but the one we had at the almond farm was cheese-free (accidentally vegan, as they say) and was certainly silky and indulgent enough without it.

Reminder: Vacation Highlight Reels (London, Vermont, Kiawah Island, SC) are for paying subscribers only. You can subscribe here if you’re interested in the Sicily Highlight Reel this week or next.

2. This week in vegetable-forward cookbooks

As you likely know by now, my most favorite kind of summer cooking is a simply grilled something surrounded by a bounty of farm-fresh, creative salads. (It always reminds me of my old magazine boss, Carrie, whose fashion philosophy was “Gap clothes, Prada accessories.”) This is probably why I love Susan Spungen’s new book Veg Forward so much. You might know Spungen, one of the original Martha Stewart alums, from her legendary annual holiday cookie round-ups. Or you might know her from her newsletter Susanality, a dependable source of inspiration for baking and grilling and — these days — vegetable driven everything. As she writes in her intro: “The veggies in this book are driving the bus, they’re not just along for the ride. Every idea for every recipe puts the vegetables first. They are never just tacked on as an afterthought.” Exhibit A: Grilled Savoy Cabbage Wedges with Spicy Thai-inspired Dressing, shown above, which I made on Sunday night. Holy moly was that a bold, interesting Prada-esque vegetable dish. And so simple! We served it with a grilled salmon, and I loved the fact that most of my psychic energy was directed towards the side dish instead of the main. Next time, I’ll serve the recipe alongside some baked tofu or seven-minute eggs, which would definitely earn it a spot in the Weeknight Dinner Hall of Fame.

I’m working my way through the rest of the book, which is organized by season — at a certain point I just stopped dog-earing pages, because everything just looked so up my alley. The cabbage recipe is over on DALS today (along with a few other details on Saturday’s dinner, including a grilled pineapple topped with shaved Sicilian chocolate) and Veg Forward is available everywhere books are sold. Congrats, Susan!

3. Rhubarb Season

Who else is thrilled to see those beautiful ruby stalks popping up at the market? But, eeek: The clock has already started ticking on maximizing them for the seemingly six minutes they’ll be in season. Should I make a No-Bake Ricotta Cheesecake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote, or Sarah Kieffer’s Rhubarb-Cream Cheese Swirl Muffins, or start in on David Lebovitz’s rhubarb-infused gin, or make that long-forgotten sweet-and-sour rhubarb sauce that is delicious with savory foods, like grilled chicken? Pretty sure this is one of those No Wrong Answer kind of situations.

Have a great week!

Jenny

P.S. If you ever come across a mistake in a recipe or something that doesn’t seem quite right, remember you can always go to my substack home page, where every single newsletter lives permanently and forevermore! Chances are someone else has noticed it, too and it has been discussed and addressed. Thanks for reading!