Sun, Italy, wine and pasta

Since the sun is rejecting to show up in Toronto, I'm in the mood to make the day sunny for myself and for the men in the house. Travelling Italy, and especially Tuscany, was a life-time dream filled with sun, impossibly green fields, warm rivers, and late night drinks on terraces built centuries ago. Sleeping was a waste of time. Those were the days when the whisper of the vines in the night sounded secretive and seductive. Those were the times when walking on the beach at night and dancing till dawn around open fires on the white sand was routine. Finally, those were the long lunch hours when I fell in love with pasta and Italian cuisine.

So, to connect this poetic beginning with my prosaic cooking, here is my sunny Italian pasta recipe for today:

Fussili with anchovy and olives

one clove garlic

olive oil

one can of anchovy (I buy the Millionaire's anchovy little can)

olives (I use half of a regular can medium sized olives)

fussili

salt (optional)

diced tomatoes from a can

oregano

Bring the olive oil to the heat and when hot add the sliced garlic. Let it release its aroma for just a minute or it will burn. Add the anchovy and the olives which you have cut in pieces. Cover with a lid and let all these simmer and exchange aromas for a while - 10 minutes is more than enough. Keep the heat low to medium, it is easy to burn the garlic and the smell is terrible. Finelly add the tomatoes and the oregano. Cover and let all cook for half an hour. Salt is optional as usually the anchovy is very salty, so it is up to you.

The fussili are to be prepared as usual - in lots of water with a pinch of salt. I personally never boil the pasta as I've seen it here in North America. In the restaurants here pasta is always overcooked. Besides making it taste worse, overcooking the pasta turns it into a calorie bomb! So, follow the Italians and me, cook it al dente - if the package says 10 minutes, make them 8. Al dente pasta requires more from your body to digest, therefore it uses more energy and less pasta will stick to our thighs. I swear on this. I eat pasta at least two times a week, usually three times. Never in my entire life have I gained weight of pasta.

Enjoy with cold white wine, dry. If you're in the mood, let me send you to Tuscany on one of these stone terraces. Everything tastes different there!

*Photo courtesy of www.classicaltours.net